SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court early Thursday approved the new arrest of former President Yoon Suk Yeol on charges related to his brief imposition of martial law in December, accepting a special prosecutor’s claim that he poses a risk of destroying evidence.
The arrest warrant issued by the Seoul Central District Court sent Yoon back to a detention center near the capital, four months after his release in March, when the same court overturned his January arrest and allowed him to stand trial for rebellion without being held in custody.
His criminal case is being handled by a team of investigators under special prosecutor Cho Eun-suk who are pursuing additional charges over Yoon’s authoritarian push, including obstructing official duties, abuse of power and falsifying official documents.
Cho’s team questioned him twice before submitting a request for his arrest warrant to the court on Sunday.
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Yoon’s lawyers had described the arrest request as excessive and unsubstantiated. They didn’t immediately react to the court’s decision to approve the arrest of Yoon , who was formally removed from office in April after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment.
Yoon didn’t respond to questions by reporters after arriving at the court on Wednesday afternoon for a hearing to review the special prosecutor’s request. After the hearing lasting about seven hours, Yoon was taken to the detention center to await the court’s decision.
Yoon’s new arrest could mark the beginning of an extended period in custody, potentially lasting months or longer. Yoon can be initially detained at the center for up to 20 days, while the special prosecutor will aim to indict him on additional charges.
If Yoon is indicted on new charges, that could keep him under arrest for up to six months until an initial court ruling. If that court convicts him and issues a prison term, Yoon would serve that sentence as the case possibly moves up to higher courts.
The former conservative leader described his martial law imposition on Dec. 3 as a necessary step to quash his “anti-state” liberal opponents, accusing them of using their legislative majority to obstruct his agenda. But Yoon’s decree lasted only hours, after a quorum of lawmakers broke through a blockade of heavily armed soldiers at the National Assembly and voted to lift the measure.
The charges are punishable by the death penalty or life imprisonment.
Yoon also faces accusations of enforcing martial law without following required legal procedure, such as deliberation by a formal Cabinet meeting, and of unlawfully deploying the presidential security forces like a private army to block an initial attempt by law enforcement to detain him at his residence in early January.
His liberal rival and current President Lee Jae Myung, who won the June snap election to replace him, last month approved legislation to launch sweeping special investigations into Yoon’s martial law debacle and other criminal allegations involving his wife and administration.
Many people don’t know it, but men under age 40 are the most likely age group to develop testicular cancer.
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Just ask Jay Riepenhoff of Upper Arlington, Ohio, who was 29 and still adjusting to life as a new father when he discovered a suspicious lump.
He wasn’t thinking cancer. In fact, Riepenhoff got up for work the next morning and forgot all about it.
He felt the lump again that night, and thought he’d maybe set an alarm to remind himself to call the doctor the next day.
Riepenhoff didn’t feel the first twinge of worry until his doctor told him to come in immediately. And then sent him the same day for an ultrasound.
“Still, I even thought in my head, ‘I’ll go check it out. It’s not like it’s cancer,’” he said.
Soon, Riepenhoff discovered what many don’t realize: Of the approximately 10,000 cases of testicular cancer diagnosed annually, 51% are diagnosed in young men between the ages of 20 to 34, according to the National Cancer Institute, part of the NIH.
Yet a recent survey from The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center shows that few Americans — just 13% — associate the disease with young men.
“When you’re young, in your 20s or your 30s, you certainly do think your health is just something you might take for granted,” said Shawn Dason, a urologic oncologist at OSU’s cancer center and an associate clinical professor of urology at The Ohio State College of Medicine. “You’re more focused on other parts of life: your career, your family, your education.”
While 6% of testicular cancer cases are diagnosed in children and teens and another 8% affect those older than age 55, the vast majority of cases affect men aged 20 to 50. The average age of diagnosis is 33, according to the American Cancer Society.
It is the most common form of cancer among men 20 to 40 and the second most common cancer (trailing leukemia) in ages 15 to 19, but it can happen at any time, according to John Hopkins Medicine.
The Ohio State survey questioned 1,008 respondents about their knowledge of testicular cancer and found general awareness lacking in many areas.
While most — 63% — knew that testicular cancer is often curable if caught early, just over half correctly said that self-checks should be conducted every month. Additionally, two-thirds of respondents thought that medical evaluations should be conducted during annual exams after age 40.
But waiting until 40 would miss the men most at risk — young men like Riepenhoff.
Self-exams are most relevant between the ages of 20 and 40 and are especially important for anyone with a family history of testicular cancer or who has had an undescended testicle at any time during their life, Dason said.
A painless lump is the most common first sign that testicular cancer may be present, Dason said. Often, that lump will continue to grow and possibly harden.
Few men report that pain is associated with lumps, he said, adding that many incorrectly assume that the absence of pain means the lumps are harmless.
If the cancer has spread — becoming metastatic — other symptoms could develop, like abdominal and back pain, or a cough and shortness of breath if it has spread to the lungs.
Still, testicular cancer is among the rarer cancers compared to, for instance, prostate cancer, the second most common cancer in men after skin cancer. There are approximately 313,000 new cases of prostate cancer diagnosed annually and nearly 36,000 deaths from it every year, according to the American Cancer Society.
While not as prevalent as other cancers, testicular cancer is a fast-growing one, Dason said, and one that will spread to other parts of the body if left untreated.
The majority of testicular cancer cases are curable, however, especially when they’re caught early.
“Now that might beg the question, ‘Well, if it’s mostly curable, what would be the harm in just finding it later?’ And the harm is really that he might need more treatment to ultimately cure it. And these treatments, they can be pretty serious.”
When testicular cancer metastasizes, it often requires a far more invasive surgery — one with a longer, more challenging recovery, Dason said.
Chemotherapy, too, is generally necessary when the cancer spreads. It is a life-saving measure and “a critical instrument in achieving a cure in many patients,” but it can have a variety of both short- and long-term side effects, many of them unpleasant.
“We really do have evidence that some men will pass away from testicular cancer. And so could those men, if they had presented earlier, have been saved? Very, very possibly,” Dason said.
In Riepenhoff’s case, testing following his radical orchiectomy — the surgery to remove his cancerous testicle — revealed that the cancer had begun to spread, and he underwent three weeks of chemotherapy. All of his treatment took place at the OSU cancer center, although he was not treated by Dason.
Fertility especially becomes a concern when chemotherapy is necessary, Dason said.
Riepenhoff and his wife, Rana, had welcomed their first child, John Patrick Riepenhoff V, just five months before he discovered the cancerous lump. They had long hoped for three children, so before surgery, Riepenhoff chose to freeze sperm in case treatment affected his ability to have more children.
His fertility was not affected, and they expect to welcome their second son in August.
While testicular cancer is highly curable — the 5-year survival rate is 95%, per the National Cancer Institute — dismissing the early symptoms such as a newly discovered lump can make it much more challenging to treat.
Dason pointed out that younger men — and, often, men in general — have acquired a reputation for putting off medical care until absolutely necessary.
In his experience as a physician, Dason said, younger men tend to eschew annual physicals. “When you’re in your 20s and your 30s, there aren’t a lot of chronic health conditions that these young men have, and a lot of them are not regularly visiting their primary care provider.”
Plenty of patients put off seeking care “because they were embarrassed about it, or they were busy or they were hoping it would go away.” Often, a partner is the one who insists they finally see a doctor, he said.
“It’s normal to have a male sexual health complaint. It’s normal to feel something abnormal and go get it checked out. And that’s what our medical practitioners are there for: to help out with all of these concerns, not just a flu or an ankle injury.”
And like Riepenhoff once did, many young men see cancer as a far-off threat. And it’s just not discussed much, Riepenhoff said.
Riepenhoff pointed out that breast cancer awareness is everywhere. “You hear it from parents, schools and physicians,” he said. “But with testicular cancer, I don’t really recall. I’m sure in school we talked about it one time or something, but I don’t ever recall that being hammered into your brain the way that breast cancer is.”
He understands well the reasons men might wait to reach out to a physician.
“I’m sure there are a lot of men out there that got testicular cancer that waited to go to the doctor because they just thought it was an abscess or something. Nothing to be worried about. Had they known that this could be testicular cancer, they may have gone to the doctor earlier, and that can change your diagnosis pretty dramatically.”
Riepenhoff said he asked his doctor what would have happened if he had waited to come in or if he skipped the chemotherapy.
“He said within a year or two, I would have been dead.”
“Renting is throwing money away.” Has anyone ever told you this? Well, I’m here to say: It’s bad financial advice.
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My husband and I have owned four different homes in three cities since 2010. If I wanted to, I could buy a house in cash today. But for the last three years, I’ve chosen to rent instead — and my net worth has grown by leaps and bounds because of that choice, not in spite of it.
This is always a hot topic, especially because renting challenges the traditional rhetoric that homeownership is the ultimate path to wealth. And I get it — owning a home is part of the “American Dream.” But if it doesn’t lead to financial freedom, homeownership may be more like a nightmare.
Let me show you how renting, when done intentionally, can actually make you richer.
Renting avoids the hidden costs of homeownership
When you own a home, you’re not just paying the mortgage — you’re also responsible for home maintenance, property taxes and insurance. In fact, Bankrate’s 2025 Hidden Costs of Homeownership Study found that the average annual cost of owning and maintaining a single-family home is more than $21,000.
Now, you’ll incur some of these costs when renting, too. Unless your rental unit includes utilities and internet, you’re probably going to have to pay out of pocket. You’ll probably pay less in electricity than you would in a large, single-family home, but for the sake of argument, let’s take these average costs at face value.
Omitting the expenses you’ll still have when renting, homeownership costs an average of $15,391 — that’s almost $1,300 you could free up each month.
While there aren’t any states that require renters insurance, most landlords have a provision in their rental contracts requiring this form of coverage. While typically less expensive than homeowners insurance, renters insurance is another cost to factor into your calculations.
And don’t forget about mortgage interest
My clients are always shocked when I have them review the amortization table for their 30-year mortgage. In the early years of your mortgage, a large percentage of your monthly payment goes toward interest. You’re not really building equity in the first few years of a mortgage — you’re mostly paying interest.
Let’s say you borrowed a $420,000 mortgage. You qualified for a 6.75 percent mortgage rate on a 30-year term. Your monthly payment is $2,724.
Of your first mortgage payment, only $362 pays down the principal balance — a whopping $2,363 goes toward interest. The balance does shift over time, and by the end of your 30-year term, the bulk of your payment goes toward the principal. But how likely is it that you’ll see the mortgage through to the bitter end, without selling or refinancing (and starting the clock all over again)?
I’ve helped five clients make the decision to sell their homes in 2025, and none of them lived there longer than a decade. So much of their money has gone to interest, and they won’t get much equity in return.
After five years of dutifully paying $2,724 every month, you’ve only gained about $25,000 in home equity. Meanwhile, your mortgage servicer will have made nearly $138,000 from your loan interest. Your five years’ worth of mortgage payments cost you $163,440, and in return, you got $25,000 in equity. Hardly seems worth it.
Rather than paying $15,000 per year in homeownership costs and vast sums of mortgage interest, I pay my rent. Sure, I won’t get a return on that money, but more cash stays in my pocket — cash I can put toward investments. Use a mortgage calculator to take a look at your amortization table and crunch the numbers for yourself.
Renting frees up capital for wealth-building
“Real estate always appreciates in value.” This one’s a myth — just ask anyone who sold a home during the 2008 financial crisis. My husband and I paid $10,000 out of pocket to sell his home at the time.
Yes, real estate can appreciate, but it’s also highly market- and location-dependent. In the past three years, the investments I’ve made in the stock market and my financial education business have significantly outpaced the return I would’ve made on a home in my local market — and with much less headache.
Unfortunately, several of my clients bought their homes at the height of the pandemic boom and are now seeing their home values decline from their peaks.
In today’s economy, renting is increasingly the more affordable option.
According to those numbers, you could save more than $9,000 per year by renting. That money could go a long way for many Americans, and even further if you reallocate that money into wealth-building assets.
After selling my home and returning to renting, I took the proceeds of the sale and invested in growing my business — that cash injection allowed me to surpass my first $1 million in revenue. In the time since, my husband and I have also contributed the maximum amount to our 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), allowing us to pursue early retirement.
When I transitioned from homeownership to renting, I used the proceeds from my home sale and invested in low-risk, interest-bearing accounts, like high-yield savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs). This passive income has covered my rent and other living expenses.
I have more money working for me as a renter than I did as a homeowner.
Renting can offer new social networks and income opportunities
Some of my older coaching clients tend to wrongly believe that renting equates to a decrease in quality of life. I’ve been happy to dispel that myth when they comment on the dance, improv and travel that my renting lifestyle accommodates.
I live in a one-bedroom rental in a walkable neighborhood filled with restaurants, music, theater and fitness. Post-COVID apartment buildings often feature co-working spaces, gyms and even social events that allow me to meet people from all walks of life. I felt a lot more isolated in the suburb where I used to live, which was more homogeneous, less active, and farther away from cultural events.
I’ve also been able to find more side hustles than when I lived on the outskirts, like teaching financial literacy classes or dog walking and babysitting for neighbors in my building.
The combination of downsizing and renting has also allowed me to pick up and move quickly to capitalize on potential business or job opportunities in other cities. I can afford global travel with business partners using the money I previously spent on lawn care and home DIY projects. I’ve expanded my social and professional networks and spend more time doing things that bring me joy.
Why renting can be strategic
According to Bankrate’s 2025 Emergency Savings Report, fewer than half of U.S. adults have enough emergency savings to cover three months of expenses, and about a quarter have no emergency savings at all. When you don’t have money set aside for a rainy day, it’s especially important to have tight control over your monthly spending — predictable monthly payments are key.
A fixed-rate mortgage may seem stable, but property taxes can always go up. Insurance premiums can rise, and maintenance is always more expensive than you think. Avoiding surprise repairs to water heaters, HVAC systems or roofing can also decrease the anxiety of not having enough cash savings on hand, especially when those repairs cost thousands of dollars.
Your next steps
What expenses will actually help me build the life I want?
Do I want a house in the suburbs because I believe it’s what’s expected of me?
Could my money be better spent elsewhere?
If I already own a home, have I considered the real-world costs associated with my mortgage, maintenance and other housing costs?
How do my homeownership costs compare to rentals in my area?
Final thoughts: Owning a home can be great — if it fits your financial plan
As a first-generation American, I felt the weight of my family’s expectation to live out the American Dream — after all, they emigrated here so I could realize it. But I’m living proof that renting isn’t a step back, nor should you feel any shame for choosing to rent.
It’s been a strategic move that’s made me richer — financially, mentally, and emotionally.
Think of rent the same way you think of a gym membership or software subscription — it’s a monthly cost that may support the lifestyle you want. It’s not “throwing money away.” It’s buying peace of mind, freedom of movement and time to grow wealth in other ways.
For me, real wealth isn’t found in square footage. It’s in the daily opportunity to move and live freely according to what aligns with my own version of the American Dream.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — When Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill married in 2003, you might be forgiven for thinking that a song, an album or a show might follow.
After all, Peterson cofounded the Bangles in 1981 with her sister Debbi Peterson, Susanna Hoffs, and bass player Annette Zilinskas (who would be replaced by Michael Steele). And from the mid-’60s, Cowsill was a member of the Cowsills with siblings Bill, Bob, Barry, and Susan Cowsill, as well as their mother Barbara Cowsill.
That’s a lot of musical legacy between them, but no, there was nothing more than the occasional backing vocals for friends or fellow musicians over the years, until April when the first-ever Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill album, “Long After the Fire,” arrived.
Maybe that’s how it was meant to be, though. The album is a collection of covers of songs written by Bill Cowsill, who died at 58 in 2006, after a long run of poor health, and Barry Cowsill, who died at 50 in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina tore through his then-hometown of New Orleans.
Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill’s debut album together, “Long After the Fire,” is a tribute to Cowsill’s late brothers Bill and Barry Cowsill. On it, he and wife Vicki Peterson, a founding member of the Bangles, cover songs written by the brothers for the Cowsills band as well as solo projects. Peterson and Cowsill will perform songs from the album, the Bangles and the Cowsills in concert at the Muckenthaler Center in Fullerton on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Photo by Pamela Springsteen)
Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill’s debut album together, “Long After the Fire,” is a tribute to Cowsill’s late brothers Bill and Barry Cowsill. On it, he and wife Vicki Peterson, a founding member of the Bangles, cover songs written by the brothers for the Cowsills band as well as solo projects. Peterson and Cowsill will perform songs from the album, the Bangles and the Cowsills in concert at the Muckenthaler Center in Fullerton on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Photo by Pamela Springsteen)
Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill’s debut album together, “Long After the Fire,” is a tribute to Cowsill’s late brothers Bill and Barry Cowsill. On it, he and wife Vicki Peterson, a founding member of the Bangles, cover songs written by the brothers for the Cowsills band as well as solo projects. Peterson and Cowsill will perform songs from the album, the Bangles and the Cowsills in concert at the Muckenthaler Center in Fullerton on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Photo by Pamela Springsteen)
Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill’s debut album together, “Long After the Fire,” is a tribute to Cowsill’s late brothers Bill and Barry Cowsill. On it, he and wife Vicki Peterson, a founding member of the Bangles, cover songs written by the brothers for the Cowsills band as well as solo projects. Peterson and Cowsill will perform songs from the album, the Bangles and the Cowsills in concert at the Muckenthaler Center in Fullerton on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Photo by Pamela Springsteen)
Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill’s debut album together, “Long After the Fire,” is a tribute to Cowsill’s late brothers Bill and Barry Cowsill. On it, he and wife Vicki Peterson, a founding member of the Bangles, cover songs written by the brothers for the Cowsills band as well as solo projects. Peterson and Cowsill will perform songs from the album, the Bangles and the Cowsills in concert at the Muckenthaler Center in Fullerton on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Photo by Pamela Springsteen)
Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill’s debut album together, “Long After the Fire,” is a tribute to Cowsill’s late brothers Bill and Barry Cowsill. On it, he and wife Vicki Peterson, a founding member of the Bangles, cover songs written by the brothers for the Cowsills band as well as solo projects. Peterson and Cowsill will perform songs from the album, the Bangles and the Cowsills in concert at the Muckenthaler Center in Fullerton on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Photo by Pamela Springsteen)
Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill’s debut album together, “Long After the Fire,” is a tribute to Cowsill’s late brothers Bill and Barry Cowsill. On it, he and wife Vicki Peterson, a founding member of the Bangles, cover songs written by the brothers for the Cowsills band as well as solo projects. Peterson and Cowsill will perform songs from the album, the Bangles and the Cowsills in concert at the Muckenthaler Center in Fullerton on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Photo by Pamela Springsteen)
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Vicki Peterson and John Cowsill’s debut album together, “Long After the Fire,” is a tribute to Cowsill’s late brothers Bill and Barry Cowsill. On it, he and wife Vicki Peterson, a founding member of the Bangles, cover songs written by the brothers for the Cowsills band as well as solo projects. Peterson and Cowsill will perform songs from the album, the Bangles and the Cowsills in concert at the Muckenthaler Center in Fullerton on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Photo by Pamela Springsteen)
“The idea was floating around for years and years,” Peterson says on a recent phone call with Cowsill. ” And some of the songs have been in our world for decades, including the song ‘Don’t Look Back,’ which was recorded by the Cowsills back in 1970. So as a kid and a Cowsills fan, I knew that song and loved it.
“It was an idea John and I talked about for a long time, and then finally, circumstances kind of came to the point where we were able to start recording together,” she says. “We have a studio here in our home, but John was touring with the Beach Boys for 23 years, and was rarely actually physically home. So it took a while to actually get into the studio and make the commitment to, like, we’re going to do this.”
Recording together isn’t the only thing Cowsill, 68, and Peterson, 67, have learned. With only one or two exceptions, they’d never shared a live stage either.
“It’s brand new,” Cowsill says, as both laugh. “We were just a domestic couple for, like, the longest time of our relationship. I mean, other than playing 20 years at Bill’s benefit, singing ‘A Thousand Times’ [which is now on their album] of all songs, we never really did anything together. Unless occasionally somebody would send us a file and ask us to put vocals on it, and we’d go downstairs in the studio and put vocals on other people’s stuff.
“Then we’d come upstairs and make dinner and that was it,” he says.
“We’re a baby band,” Peterson says. “We’re the oldest baby band in the world.”
“Because nobody knows who we are really,” Cowsill adds. “That’s why, like, Vicki wanted to call it the Peter-Sills – “
“No, I didn’t,” she says in mock offense as both laugh again.
“OK, but she wanted to name us something else than our names,” says Cowsill, who earlier this year toured with the Smithereens in place of the late singer Pat DiNizio. “I said, ‘No way, we need all the help we can get. Somebody might recognize those names and answer the phone when we call.’”
In an interview edited for length and clarity, Peterson and Cowsill talked about how they picked the songs from Bill and Barry Cowsill’s individual catalogs, what it was like taking on songs for loved family members who no longer alive, and why Peterson says Cowsill was inconsiderate on the day they first met some 47 years ago now.
Q: My understanding, John, is that ‘”Is Anybody Here” was the song that got the ball rolling when Paul Allen [who produced the record] called you from Nashville one day.
Cowsill: That’s right, yep. He was in Nashville and I was playing with the Beach Boys in Memphis and he called me up and asked me randomly: Do I want to record at Sun Studio? And I kind of laughed and said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Because you’ve been telling me about the Dead Brothers Project forever,’ and I kind of said, ‘Oh yeah sure.’
So we went there, it was a perfect choice. [“Is Anybody Here”] is a very Roy Orbison-y kind of melody and feel to it. It just was a beautiful place to record that song. It came out nice. So that started the project for sure.
Q: I’d heard that you and Vicki were calling this the Dead Brothers Project as you worked on it.
Cowsill: Yeah, we called it that forever. We were gonna even name it that, but then went on the internet and everybody has a ‘dead brothers’ something. To me, it was like that was risqué, but it wasn’t at all.
Q: Didn’t Bill used to do something where he’d only play songs by dead rock stars?
Cowsill: He said, ‘We only do dead guy music.’ So he would totally appreciate the Dead Brothers Project. My family’s pretty fun and dark like that.
Q: You chose six songs by each of Bill and Barry. Was it difficult to decide which ones to do?
Peterson: I would say it was easy, but there were definitely choices that had to be made. These were just the ones that rose to the top for us. We love the songs that Bill recorded with his bands Blues Shadows and Blue Northern, but some of those songs on those albums Bill did not write, so they weren’t eligible.
And Barry just has a very eclectic songbook, and some of the stuff is quite out there and quite particular to his artistry. We had to really think about that, like that’s so Barry, how can we put ourselves into that song and perform it and find a way that would feel comfortable doing that? Because he was such a character in so many ways. The guy was like a vaudeville character or something.
Cowsill: He didn’t do a lot of cowriting. He wrote for himself. Bill always loved writing with other people. Him and Jeffrey Hatcher wrote a lot of songs on the Blue Shadows, and Jeffrey is an incredible songwriter. Those guys tell stories even if it didn’t happen to them. They can get outside themselves. But Barry is very personal. He lives by example.
Q: What was a song of Barry’s you did that you had to really think about including?
Peterson: I would say “Ol’ Timeless.’ It’s just his voice and sort of a harmonium sound, and so, so personal that it felt a little ballsy in a way to take a stab at it. We wanted to honor the almost spiritual quality of that song, but then frame it very differently musically. That one was like, we’re taking kind of a giant step here.
Cowsill: And it pertains to people on the outside. Like, we couldn’t do a song like “My Car Don’t Lock.” It’s so Barry. I mean, you could do any of them, but it’s still very stylized. I wouldn’t want to mess with it.
Q: Bill and Barry have been gone for about 20 years now. I’d imagine that working on this record stirred some strong memories of them for you both.
Peterson: I knew them mostly as a fan. But I did spend quite a bit of time with Barry because he lived in New Orleans at the same time that I did, so we crossed paths many times there. I had a couple of misadventures with Bill in the ’90s at South By Southwest, but he was mostly a guy on the other end of the phone for me.
I was just hoping and believing that Barry would be very happy to have this project out in the world. He said more than once – actually we’re sitting in our kitchen right now, and he said it in this very room. One night, he goes, “I just want my music to be heard. I just want it to be heard.” That’s what I keep thinking about
Cowsill: Yeah, we’re reintroducing these songs that have been out before, and so it’s a reawakening of the songs. I always bonded with Bill – in later years we did. He basically raised some of us. Me, for sure. Trained me as a musician and a singer. I consider him our Brian Wilson in our family.
Q: In the making of the record, you must have gotten to know each other musically in ways that were new and different.
Cowsill: Just discovering how we sound together, we were kind of smiling at each other. Said, ‘Oh, this is good.’ Because we started in the living room, you know. The first time we realized that we have a nice blend together was like, ‘OK, we can definitely do this. This is going to be fun.’
And it has been fun. We smile and laugh a lot. If anybody’s a hothead it’s me. I have to put notes on the table telling me, “Be patient. Be calm. Don’t get mad.” Because, you know, I want to hurry up and figure out what’s going on, and sometimes it takes people a little bit longer to do stuff, and you have to be patient.
Q: As you were figuring things out, what were the songs where you had that feeling of ‘this is working’?
Peterson: I think John mentioned “A Thousand Times.” That is a song that actually 21 years ago, we performed at a benefit for Bill to help raise some money for his medical needs. He was having some issues up in Canada and had no money.
So this wonderful concert was put on, hosted by the Cowsills mostly, but with great guests: Peter Tork [of the Monkees], Waddy Wachtel [musician and Bill’s close friend], Shirley Jones [who starred in “The Partridge Family” TV series, which was inspired by the Cowsills].
Q: And Barry’s song from your wedding is on the album, too.
Cowsill: I’ve always loved “Hearts Collide,” and Barry sang it at our wedding. I just love that song. I mean, yes, there’s just so many connections and dots connected doing this project on many, many levels. And it was a very moving project as well, because they’re not here.
Q: The wedding was in 2003, but I’d assume you knew each other for much longer, given the community of musicians in Los Angeles in which you both have traveled. How far back does your friendship go?
Cowsill: Well, I’m going to take a nap, and Vicki can tell you the story. [Both laugh]
Peterson: It’s not long at all. We date back to April 28, 1978.
Cowsill: We did not date.
Peterson: We were not dating. We met that day at a small club in Redondo Beach. But even if we hadn’t met that day – and you can look at it like sliding doors, like if life had worked out slightly differently – we probably would have met in the coming years because the Cowsills were already out and about playing again after many years of not working together.
I was a big Cowsills fan. I would have found them in some other club, Club Lingerie, at the Whisky, at the Troubadour. At some point, I would have gone to see the Cowsills play, and I would have gone up and introduced myself, because my sister and my best friend and I were already playing in clubs ourselves at that time, just out of high school. And our paths did collide over and over again over the next couple of years.
But as far as personal relationships, no. We met in April, and by May, John was married to Wife No. 1. So that was very inconvenient and inconsiderate of him, I thought.
Then Susan Cowsill and I became very close friends. [They formed the duo the Psycho Sisters and were also members of the Continental Drifters.] So I was just like Susan’s friend for many years to John, I think. Just those girls who used to hang out at rehearsals, and now they’re on MTV.
Q: So, at some point after John’s no longer married and you started to date?
Peterson: We never dated until after Wife No. 2.
Cowsill: I collect the whole series.
Peterson: He does. He was practicing, and he did very well. He’d kind of got it down.
Q: And now that you’ve discovered the joy of performing together – another album, more shows?
Cowsill: We’re planning on going forward. An album will be in the works eventually. But we haven’t really toured yet. We’re happy to have the date in Fullerton. So we’ll see if they come. We want them to come. They’re gonna have a great time, because we’re fun. Let’s see what happens.
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