PCM's Kristyn Clarke was able to catch up with Cindy Wilson of The B-52's to chat about the new album, the band's legacy, and more!

The B-52's have recently released their first-ever live album "With The Wild Crowd! Live In Athens, GA"! Purchase here! The album was recorded in the band's hometown of Athens, Georgia and captures a gig celebrating the 34th anniversary of the band's first-ever live show on Valentine's Day 1977!

Q: You have recently released your first live album "With The Wild Crowd! Live In Athens, GA". How exciting is it that this is the first live B-52's album?

Cindy Wilson: We have been looking forward to doing something like this for quite awhile. We had the right company and the right equipment, and it just turned out so well and so professional. It's wild and I can't believe it, we didn't think it would ever get recorded properly, but it turned out so well, so we are really happy with it.

Q: I can imagine! And Athen, GA has a very special place in the band's heart and history, correct?

CW: Yeah, that's where Keith Strickland and I are from and Kate and Fred live there and Ricky, of course, my brother and you know that is where it all started. We thought that was appropriate to record the anniversary show there and it was so much fun. It was such a great night and looking out in the audience, you get the energy from the audience. We felt so much love that night. It was almost overwhelming really. I think the filming really captured something in the music that night.

Q: What do you feel it is that has led to the staying power of the B-52's over the years. You have turned into very iconic musicians.

CW: We started out as a very original band and we took our influences from different places. Everybody brought something to the table and we threw them in a big pile and we made this really interesting music. The music resonated for the time and still resonates today. I think it is just originality and I think that stays in style more than other stuff. I think that we put out a good vibe, there's messages but I think the most imporant thing to us is bringing good karma and good vibe and just entertaining people.

Q: Absolutely! You always look like you are having the best time ever while performing.

CW: Well, the thing is you try to always stay in the moment and even if we have been doing it for a number of years to just experience it like the audience is and you really do bounce off the energy of the crowd. That energy can make it or break it, so it is always just living in the moment and doing it like you are doing it for the first time every night.

Q: What I love so much about your music is that it absolutely can't be boxed into a single genre, it really stands for itself. How do you feel about that?

CW: It's orginial and I think it covers a few genres maybe...I don't know! It's rock n' roll though and it's a lot of people contributing in the band and people take turns, it's a lot of energy. It's a really flow writing process with us, but it's a lot of fun. I think that's what made us have some staying power too...how interesting it is and we're not hacks, we are actually still creative people and still brining that to performances,recording,and writing.

Q: How is it for you to know that you have been an influence on other musicians?

CW: It's gratifying and it's full circle. Certainly everyone in the band has been influenced by different artists and not just music, there have been influences in the culture as well. We have also had a lot of influence from foreign films, different magazines, the sixties, you name it. Coming from the seventies, coming off of the freedom and bohemian era then, there was so much freedom then and I think we were part of that. I think it is very gratifying to see it come full circle and people use us as an influence. I think it's great!

Q: How do you feel about the current state of the music industry? Obviously you have witnessed the rise of social media and the way we share and learn about music is very different now.

CW: Yeah, it's really bad! I mean in some ways! Of course in a lot ways it's amazing. It's a balance, there's really great stuff and really bad stuff. The communication with everything being right at your fingertips, I mean I do it too, with YouTube you can go back and look at artists from as far back as you want to go and it's amazing that with a single click of a button being able to call that up and relive some of those moments. The music industry itself is really hard now for new artists to get supported. It is very hard to make money off of CD sales, you can't count on that as your way of making a living, which makes it all come down to working live and doing shows. Fortunately for The B-52's we've always loved playing live and I think our music is better in the live setting than it is recorded. I feel that people really get a true experience that way and that comes back down to the live recording "With The Wild Crowd". I think you experience our songs now, you can feel the live vibe and I think it's incredible.

Q: It's almost like revisiting a lot of older songs and fan favorites and being able to hear them in a new way is fantastic.

CW: Yeah, again I think these songs were meant to be played live, with that kind of vibe so you really can feel it.

Q: What is next for The B-52's? Any upcoming touring planned?

CW: We are constantly touring! We don't stop touring, even when we are at home, we still go out. We have to support the machine which are the people that work for us and we have to constantly keep it going. So, you're at home for awhile and then you go out, home for awhile, go out, that's the way we do it and we are definitely going to do more of that. The CD helps keep our name out there and keeps the shows coming.

Q: Great! Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me, it's quite an honor.

CW: It was a pleasure talking to you! Take care!