5 Questions With Lita Ford: Writing New Music, Releasing Her Memoir, KISS Kruise + More

From playing with the Runaways to taking heavy metal by storm, guitarist and singer Lita Ford continues to rock fans' faces off. We caught up with Ford as she dished on the experience of playing with the Les Paul Trio and her excitement to be part of this year’s KISS Kruise. She also honestly spoke her upcoming book, Living Like a Runaway, and what fans can expect as well as working on new music. Check out our interview with Lita Ford below:

I’ve seen you perform at large festivals like Heavy Montreal and then at a small jazz club in The Iridium. How was that experience of performing in such an intimate setting with the Les Paul trio in New York?

Well the Iridium in particular, I wanted to show class and respect for Les Paul. I didn’t want to go in there blasting and playing as loud as I possibly can and drowning out everybody in the room. I wanted to show my respect for him because I felt like I had been given the chance to be in his shoes for that evening. It was such an honor to be able to play there.  I actually chose a B.B. King song, a couple of other blues songs and the sound man came up to me after the show and he hugged me and he said, “It was an absolute honor to have mixed you and done sound for you tonight.” I was so grateful for that because that’s what I wanted, he was Les Paul’s sound guy.

On the flip side you’re headed out on the KISS Kruise. What are you looking forward to most about this experience?

We were talking about the KISS Kruise in the car and we were thinking about Halloween, what a great time of the year to be on a cruise with KISS. We get to dress up so we’re going to take it to max and we’re going to go get some costumes. We’re thinking maybe Star Wars, I could be Princess Lita instead of Princess Leia.

Now for the KISS Kruise, you have to be handpicked by the band. How would you describe your relationship with the guys from KISS?

I have a great relationship with the guys from KISS. I’ve got a good relationship with Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley] and have known them since The Runaways days. I’ve seen them go through their ups and downs. Eric Singer, their drummer was actually my old drummer. Eric played with me before he played with Alice [Cooper] before he played with KISS so we have that in common. Tommy Thayer is just a great guy and a great guitar player.

You’re coming out with a memoir, Living Like a Runaway. Can you talk about that?

It’s funny because it really is so much more than just a memoir. It’s an emotional roller-coaster ride of stories that will make you cry with laughter that are so frickin' funny and stories that will make you cry with sadness. It’s a great read and I’m super proud of it. Right now we’re working on putting together the photographs for the book so the actual book is done

What does the rest of 2015 have in store for you?

We have a lot of writing to do for the new album, we’ve been writing songs like crazy. We go out and do a few shows and then we go home and work on the new album. The writing has been awesome, I can’t wait to record. The writing you just have to do when it comes to you, I’ve written some of the most tender songs in the most bizarre places like backstage at a W.A.S.P. concert or something.

Our thanks to Lita Ford for the interview. Be sure to pre-order her book here.

Watch Lita Ford Play 'Wikipedia Fact or Fiction?'