Gary James' Interview With Terri Nunn of
Berlin



Do you remember the song "Take My Breath Away" from the movie Top Gun, starring Syracuse's own Tom Cruise? Berlin recorded that song, featuring Terri Nunn on lead vocals. In late 1987, Terri Nunn left the band to pursue her own career. Her debut solo album, titled "Moment Of Truth" was slated for a January, 1992 release. And it's hot!

Q - Terri, it says in your official record company bio that you were "lonely." Explain to people who don't understand how someone at the top of their chosen profession can be lonely.

A - Maybe that's just an experience that we all have to go through no matter what we're doing. How can a person be lonely? Because it happens.

Q - We think you have it all.

A - That's crazy, because nobody has it all. Nobody can avoid all experiences. Nobody can avoid being devastated, having losses in their life, being disappointed. That's part of playing in this world. That's part of going for it and taking a chance. Taking a risk. Those things happen. It's part of life. I haven't, met anybody, even that I considered as having it all, who has avoided all that. And thank God, because their experiences round us out. They make us compassionate. They make us real. They make me able to write music that people can relate to. Who would relate to someone who had it all and never had problems?

Q - It also says in your bio that you're scared sometimes. What scares you?

A - Trying something new. It's a combination feeling. It's being scared and it's being excited. It's both at the same time.

Q - You can't be concerned about your singing, can you? You hear playbacks every day during recording.

A - Yeah. I know that I love it. But then it's another thing, is it getting across to people? Ultimately, I do have to love it. That's the bottom line. I found that the success of something when I don't love it doesn't mean a whole lot. When other people like it, it's nice, but I think, well, it isn't really that great and it's not the best I could have done. And it's a big let down. So, the bottom line is, you gotta love it.

Q - You were born in L.A. Your parents had a record store in L.A. in 1967. Did any of the L.A., San Francisco musicians come to the store? Jefferson Airplane? Janis? Morrison?

A - Oh God, no. I wish. Not that I know of, no. Leonard Nimoy did our grand opening. (laughs)

Q - That's pretty big.

A - Yeah, it was 'cause Star Trek was pretty big at the time.

Q - So, your parents were in show biz?

A - My father was when he was a kid. He was a child actor at M.G.M.

Q - And that would partially explain why you became an actress at 15. Your father was able to point you in the right direction.

A - Somewhat. He was dead when I was 15. He died when I was 14. But yeah, it definitely helped because it was someone who who told me and showed me what it was actually like. It's a good job. It's fun. I was good at it, but it wasn't the ultimate passion, which is scary in itself. I always felt passionate about it, that scared me. (laughs) But I finally decided I had to try it or I'd regret it forever.

Q - Grace Slick was the first female rocker you admired. I'm surprised you didn't into Janis Joplin' act.

A - I did admire her because she was so strong. But it was Grace, because Grace was in a band and I loved that idea a lot. I loved the idea of her singing, of harmonies, of her singing by herself. There was another singer, Marty Balin in the band. There were a few writers. That was my idea of Heaven. A band that got to go around together and tour and play.

Q - Being a singer and in a band, does it come easy for you or do you have to work hard at it?

A - Both. It takes a lot of work. I love it. And that's what gets me through the times when I have to work real hard.

Q - Break that down for me. What is working hard for you?

A - The difference between music and say a 9 to 5 job for a lot of people, it's harder work in the sense that it's never done. There's always something to do. It's very rare that I can go to work and then come home and leave it. I've either got to be finishing writing something or getting ready for a tour, rehearsing, or actually being in the studio and spending fourteen hours a day there, because it's expensive to be in there. So, it's more encompassing. It takes more time. It's hard work. I'm not saying that other things aren't. It's just that the time it takes, the discipline that it takes, and that it's constant. It's never done. I remember having a job once that I actually kind of enjoyed in its own way. I worked at an answering service when I started with Berlin, and I needed a job to keep me gong because were just working clubs. The great thing about that job was just getting to go spend eight hours answering a phone and then you leave it. That's it. You don't have to think about it. It's done. When the day is done, the work is done. And in music, it's not that way. It's creative process that there's always something that had to be worked on. So, you just kind of have to put it out of your mind sometimes to get a break. (laughs)

© Gary James. All rights reserved.

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