Gretchen Bonaduce is a very strong woman. When I say strong, I don’t just mean in a physical sense, I’m talking about her essence. It’s as if she cannot be broken down no matter how bad the situation may be. She had many ups and downs in her marriage to Danny Bonaduce and towards the end, the world watched it all spiral out of control on VH1’s “Breaking Bonaduce”  which she produced. The show featured a very in depth look into their private lives and often painted a very unnerving picture of Danny. Their marriage ended shortly there after and Gretchen, unsure of her future, began picking up the pieces of her life and putting her world back together. With her fiery red hair, she rose from the ashes like a Phoenix and soon developed a clothing line, her perfume line named “Unearthly Beauty?” and recently a jewelry line. She also became the vocalist in not one but two bands and achieved all of this while maintaining her first priority…her two children. I had the pleasure of meeting Gretchen at the 2008 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California and she was so affable…people were simply drawn to her. I recently spoke to Gretchen while she was filming for her new reality show “Re-Inventing Bonaduce” where she talked about being “hard wired” to overcome obstacles, life after marriage and how to tell if someone is truly “date worthy.” 

 

The Entertainment Nexus- How are you?

 Gretchen Bonaduce- I’m so good!

 

TEN- Could you tell me about your new show “Re-Inventing Bonaduce?”

 GB- Absolutely! I don’t know if you know the concept originally it was called “Gimme My Own Reality Show.” There were several celebrities vying to get their own show and somehow I won. I still cannot believe I won! They showed four episodes and America voted and I won! It’s just amazing. I was so shocked you should have seen my face on TV. You should have seen Kato’s (Kaelin) face and Traci Bingham’s face! They were really shocked. It was awesome! (Laughing) My parents were there. I said “Why don’t you come in from Phoenix and watch me lose. It will be fun.” So, they were there and I won!

TEN- How is this show different from “Breaking Bonaduce?”

GB- Well first of all, it’s fun and it’s happy. (Laughing) There is no shaking of foundations or screaming tantrums. I’m trying to do a show now about my new life. Things are really different for me now. I’m a single mother and every mother out there knows how hard that is and even with the resources I have… it’s still really difficult. I produce TV shows. I have a clothing line. I have a jewelry line. I have a perfume line. I have two bands so I’m very…very…very…very busy and I am just having the time of my life. So basically, we’re just shooting all of that.

TEN- Is there a time yet when the show will air?

 GB- I think maybe in May but I’m not certain of that.

 

TEN- Can we talk about “Breaking Bonaduce” for a minute?

GB- Sure.

 

TEN- It was a very successful show not only because that you starred in it but you were executive producer as well. It often showed a very candid view inside your marriage to Danny. How emotionally taxing was it to have your life filmed and then have to watch it and sort of re-live it over again?

GB- Do you know what? It is difficult. A lot of people were asking; “Do you think this show helped your marriage collapse?” I always felt that it was happening whether we were filming or not. I never felt like the TV cameras put extra pressure on the situation. I was really proud that Danny allowed it to air. A lot of times it didn’t make him look very good. We just wanted to do something very honest and I always just wanted to help people. “Breaking Bonaduce” was not the show we sold. It was originally supposed to be “Rock N’ Roll Dinner Party” and we were supposed to have rock stars over and have potluck. When we started shooting things it totally fell apart and obviously being smart people at VH1 they kept following us and we dumped everything and that’s what happened. I don’t think that we would have been brave enough to do it had we known…you know… what was going to happen. I know it helped people. They would laugh at me when I said “I would really like to help people” and they were like “Oh, you’re so cute with your wanting to help people with your little reality show.” I cannot tell you how much mail I get from people who could just totally identify with people in the same situation…with someone who has alcohol or drug problems or temper problems. To make people feel like they weren’t alone is so huge for me to know that my show did make a difference.

TEN- The show portrayed you as a very strong woman.

GB- I am absolutely! You cannot shake me up! You can make me mad and make me upset but there’s no moving me. I don’t know where I get it from but I remember growing up just driving my parents insane because I’m so stubborn. I think it was just that it was the tools that I needed in my life. Now we all understand why I was so difficult. At the time my parents just totally wanted to ground me for everything. Again, I think it was what I was going to need in my life to help me get through. I don’t know if that makes sense but that’s how I feel.

TEN- My wife and I met you at the 2008 Winter NAMM show.

 GB- Was I cool? (Laughing)

 

TEN- Yes, it was total chaos there but you took the time to take a picture and talk.

 GB- I had never been there before and I was really overwhelmed. Usually when I do those things I am there as an invited guest and this time a friend had asked me to go. I didn’t have a place to go and people just wanted pictures and autographs. I love doing it but I didn’t expect it because usually I was with Danny and here is the first time I was by myself at a huge music convention and it was kind of weird to experience.

TEN- Yeah, but you took time out to talk with everyone.

GB- I feel that these people that have attitudes and “I don’t owe you, I’m a celebrity and keep everyone away from me” I don’t understand that. I feel like the people pay your bills and if you can’t he nice to them you know I don’t get people like them. So anyone who wants a picture although it is a bad looking picture of me they have to delete it and retake the picture. (Laughing) I just feel like you owe that and that nothing makes you better than anyone else and to pull attitude like that I can’t tolerate that at all. I try to be nice to everyone and I think you would be hard pressed to find someone that would say that I’m being a bitch because I try not to be. Everyone needs to just love each other and be nice. That’s so easy it’s not hard to do.

TEN- It would be better if a lot more people were like that.

GB- You know…it really would be. But look what happened to me I tried to be that way in my marriage and it didn’t work out for me. (Laughs)

TEN- They say “When one door closes another one opens.”

GB- Well that’s the thing that’s so amazing. I can’t believe this is happening to me. I really can’t. I figured that I was gonna be dead in this town, ya know. I figured nobody was going to take my calls and it just hasn’t turned out to be the case. Do you know why? Because of just what we talked about that I was nice to everyone and people will try to help me. If I was a jerk to people and was rude…nobody would have felt that way. You know; “You reap what you sow” and I am such a case of that. You know this business is cutthroat. People don’t help people and that is not happening to me at all and I think that is so incredible. I am so lucky people feel like they want to help me.

TEN- Let’s talk about your divorce. What was it like when you found out your divorce was final after reading it in the news?

GB- Well yeah, that was the funny thing. That’s how I found out. I was on AOL and it popped up. I didn’t know that I was divorced from my attorney. AOL and the press knew before my attorney even knew. He called me a couple days later and said; “Oh your divorce just went through” and I was like: “Thank you, I knew that two days ago!” So, that was very odd to find out that my divorce was finalized when I was on my computer online. It was really funny because it was everywhere like CNN and one of my friends sent me a picture of Sarah Palin riding the bus during her campaign and she was watching the news and up comes; “Danny Bonaduce pays $10,000 in divorce”. It’s my favorite picture of her. I love that, it’s awesome! I’m sure she had other things to think about and I don’t think it really shook her up to much to be sitting on her bus and find out that Danny had to pay me a large amount of money. (Laughs)

TEN- The most important part of your marriage is your two children. How have they adjusted to everything?

GB- Absolutely! I think that I would do every second of that marriage again to have the exact two kids that I have. His DNA was gold to me to have Isabella and Dante who are just incredible kids. I can’t believe how fine they are with what they’ve been through. They are really happy and really good kids and people always complement me on how nice my kids are. I am just so proud of them. They are really fun and funny and just great kids.

TEN- Is there anybody special in your life now?

GB- Well I am dating. I have been divorced for almost two years now so I’m kind of out there tryin to see what’s out there. It was hard though. A lot of people didn’t want to go out with me because I was married to Danny and they felt like they didn’t want to have to deal with that guy. It’s been kinda hard but I’ve met some really nice people and I definitely want to get married again. I really like being married. Hopefully I’ll find somebody great and I’ll be able to do that again.

TEN- You’ve always had a deep passion for music. Let’s talk about the bands that you’re in.

GB- OK I’m in one band called “Ankhesenamen” which is the name of King Tuts’ wife. I always thought that would be a really cool name for a band. We are an 80’s cover band and we wear the “Adam Ant makeup” and we do The Cure, The Cult and Romeo Void and we’re so much fun. I have a girl violin player and all of my musicians are fantastic. I tell you what; we are getting some huge gigs. We just played a sold out show at the House of Blues. We are doing the “Dinah Shore Girl Bar Tournament” in Palm Springs. We just booked a festival gig.

TEN-When will you take the band to the next level and start touring?

GB- You know what…I don’t know. We will see if that opportunity presents itself but you know I have kids so it would be hard for me. I could do a “couple week thing” but I can’t see myself going on tour for two or three months at a time. May be in the summer when they are off from school. I would love to do that it would be a lot of fun to even do it for a few weeks. I’ve never been on a tour bus. It would be so cool.

TEN- You could take them with you in the summertime.

GB- You know that if it comes up, it would definitely be something I would consider. But, everybody in my band also works so it would be a question of whether they could take off work. I am sure that it’ll all come down to money…if it was worth it or not. They would have to take a leave of absence and they would be able to do it if they were making money I’m sure. My other group is the “Muddflaps” and that is a cover band as well but we also do some originals. We really don’t play out very often though. It’s just that we are never in this town together at the same time…we probably only play three or four times a year.

TEN- And sometimes it’s for charity events?

GB- It’s almost always for charity. I think that we maybe have gotten paid once or twice. (Laughs) We don’t really do it for the money. We all love what we do and it’s just fun to be up there and play songs that you love and I love doing covers. I would prefer that because you know that you’re going in ahead of the game because that’s what people want to hear…what they know. We try to do them and do them better. That’s the biggest complement I get when people go “Wow that was way better than the original version!” So I feel like I’m doing my job.

TEN- The video for your cover of “Kids in America” is all over You Tube.

GB- Yeah, you know we really haven’t authorized any of that and a lot of times its people using their camera phones which kinda bums me out because they’re not wired for sound and the sound quality is not good. But there’s nothing I can do because people are going to take out their camera phones and post it. You know what I mean and what can you do?

TEN- It’s still exposure though.

GB- Yeah, absolutely but I would definitely prefer to sound good and not sound sucky. (Laughs)

TEN- You grew up singing in church and school. Tell me about that.

GB- I was in gospel choirs in Tennessee and I sang my whole life. I have always loved doing it. The funny thing is that I didn’t think I had the confidence to really pull it off until I was in my forties. I don’t think you could compare me as a singer in my thirties to my forties. I don’t know what happened and maybe a lot of it is not being married to Danny. I just feel so free and I think it affects my appearance when I’m on stage. People that saw me when I was married verses now they say: “You don’t even seem like the same person!” I just think on so many levels I just feel free instead of walking on eggshells and looking to see what he’s up to or if he’s drinking. I just can concentrate on what I’m doing and I enjoy so much and you can see the joy on my face. I just ask people “Can you not tell how much fun that I’m having?”  It’s pretty obvious I think.

TEN- Who were some of your musical influences growing up?

GB- Well I’m a total 80’s girl I love The Cure, The Cult, early U2, R.E.M., Gary Numan and Sisters of Mercy. I love “Goth.”  Even when I was in Tennessee I was a little odd. I liked those kinds of things and they weren’t really that popular there. I love the new wave and punk…The Ramones and Blondie...all those bands. I think I was a little too young to really be really into that and of course as a singer I really admire their talent and what they brought to music. Those are the bands that we cover now and it’s great because I feel like I have early Alzheimer’s so I have been singing these songs for 20 years and it’s a lot easier for me to remember than something now. (Laughs) I try to pick my songs by what I have been singing for 20 years… it’s easier to remember. (Still laughing) And sometimes I’m not even in the ballpark. I laugh because we do “Cars” by Gary Numan… the easiest song in the world and for the life of me I cannot get lyrics right. No…I cannot. I tried to learn it and I just gave up. I’m just like “I’m going to say it and what comes out…comes out.”  The real hard-core music fans I am sure catch on and are probably like “That is the most general vicinity singer I’ve ever seen!” (Laughs) Everyone always has fun when they see my band. My keyboard player is incredible. My bass player is really cool. My drummer, on top of being really hot is a really good drummer so I have something for everyone. My little violin player…all my God…I get so many questions, every guy in the world when she steps off of the stage grabs me as and are like “Could you set me up with her?” It’s cute.

TEN- How much of your song “Rock N’ Roll Soccer Mom” is autobiographical?

GB- Totally everything! My bass player in the Muddflaps wrote that song. He had a conversation with me and I was telling him about my day one day and he went home and wrote a song about it. So yeah, that’s totally my life! It is get up…get the kids fed… make lunches…then rush off to get them to school…rush to try to get any meeting I can fit in before I have to rush to pick them up. L.A. traffic is so bad so it’s really hard to do more than one or two things during the day before I have to pick up the kids again. And that’s the other thing. It’s hard for me to date because I’m out so much working. That is the bar that I set. That I love my girlfriends so much and if I have a night where I can go out if I won’t trade my night with my girls for you…then I’m not going to go out with you. I don’t want to waste their time. I would rather be out with my friends where I know I’m going to have fun than to take a chance on a date where it might not be that fun. Then I would feel bad when I got home because I could have been out with my girlfriends.

TEN- Where did the inspiration for “Without You” come from?

GB- Well that is the cover from “Rent” I wish I would have wrote that song. Isn’t that an incredible song?

TEN- The way you cover it is amazing.

GB- Well thank you. I just always wanted to cover it so I did. I would be so lucky to write a song like that.

TEN- Can we talk about the “Re-inventing Bonaduce” campaign? Tell me about your clothing, fragrance and jewelry lines that you have.

GB- What I am trying to do is to get some store to use me as a spokesperson like Jaclyn Smith has a line at Kmart and Daisy Fuentes is at Kohl’s. There are quite a few people who do stuff like that. That’s what I would love to do. I have tried to set up everything so it’s ready to go and I am hoping that someone will just want to take it all.

TEN- Are you involved in the process of the picking materials and fragrances?

GB- Oh yeah…I sew the samples! It’s nothing I could sell to people because I am not that good of a sewer but yes a lot of times I’ll make the sample up. With the fragrance, I told them what I wanted and they sent me a lot of samples so I could pick what I wanted to do with the fragrance. I really wanted to do something that smelled like a Candies scent. I think that smells so good so we tried to get as close to that smell as we could. The name for the fragrance came from one of the guys in my band who calls me “Unearthly Beauty” and I thought that would be a good name for a perfume. I thought that it was a far too big of a complement without a question mark at the end. (Laughs)

TEN- It’s time to shift gears on you. Tell me something disturbing about yourself that you’ve never told anyone before.

GB- I’m going to have to think about that. I’m sure there are many things but nothing is coming to mind right now.

TEN- I just have one more question to ask you. Is there anything else you’d like to add or say?

GB- You know what? I think that you did such a good job covering everything. I think we talked about the shows, the clothing line, the perfume, the jewelry, the band and that’s pretty much everything I’m doing.

 

 

 

TEN- You’re extremely busy!

 GB- I’m so busy like I said, it’s hard to date because I am out working…I can’t be out anymore you know? Now we’re shooting the show so now I am out a little more than I like to be as well but it’s only for a short time period. Then everything will be back to normal. I’m just trying to have a lot of fun and do a really fun show and give people a little insight to the mayhem of being a single mother. I am still thinking of something disturbing about me…

Disturbing hmm…lets see. I have so many things that disturb me now of course I can’t come up with one. Let’s see… I hate my boob job. How’s that? That is very disturbing! Although, I breast-fed both of my kids so I kind of had to do it. (Breast augmentation) But now I think it makes me look heavy so I wish I could take them out. Is that disturbing enough for you? You can also tell people that I am completely pieced together and that if you pulled a string on me…I would entirely unravel. And I’m OK with that. The final presentation will have to do. (Laughs) But, I am so “smoke and mirrors.” (Laughs even harder)

 

I would like to thank Victoria Talbot at Hype Inc. www.allabouthype.com  and Beth Corrigan for going above and beyond in making this interview happen and to Gretchen for not only filming the interview but yet again opening up to the public for another glimpse at her spirit.

 For more information on Gretchen please visit www.myspace.com/gretchenbonaduce and www.bonaduce.biz