Angelica Bridges Interview - September 2007

Angelica Bridges is like a mountain climber that has never, not succeeded in reaching the apex. Once she has reached the top of what she has set out to achieve…she looks around and sees another goal and like the mountain climber…begins working toward the top again until it be reached. The list of her achievements is extremely long, covering a wide spectrum of talents all while having time for a family and her love of animals. She has been featured in film…on television including her role as “Taylor Walsh” on “Baywatch” and in live musical/theater productions. She’s also been featured in magazines as well as on their covers…hosted a variety of events, has her own company and has done voiceover work. Her most recent project is her all girl group: “Strawberry Blonde” which evolved from her “Barlesk” concept. She defines “Barlesk” as; “A mutli-sensual experience, merging exotic gorgeous beauties, sexy musical teases and fantasy ambiance, set inside the allure of cabaret.” Our interview got postponed from a Friday afternoon due to an emergency involving her English bulldog “Tonka” but Angelica being the sweetheart that she is…personally got a hold of me as soon as she could to let me know what happened. She took time out of her private time at home to talk with me on a Sunday night just to do this interview! 

The Entertainment Nexus- What have you been doing in your career lately? 

Angelica Bridges- I’ve been so busy. I have a girls group called “Strawberry Blonde” and we just released our first single called; “Do It ToThe Music” and we shot a music video as well. I’ve also been doing a lot of interviews for some of the stations on Sirius Radio and it’s (DITTM) been in rotation so that’s been kinda exciting for the last two weeks. We have another song that after this song…we’ll see what happens with this one that we’re gonna release. The album is gonna be completely finished in February of 2008. I’m working with a couple of different producers and one of the producers is in New York so in two weeks I actually go back to the east coast and go back into the studio with him and work on four songs together. We’ll get the best of the best…the best eleven out of the sixteen that we record and those will be for the album. It’s very exciting!

TEN- The video for “Do It To The Music” is killer.                      AB- Thanks! TEN- How much of an input did you have in the making of the video?

AB- A lot. (Laughs) That was definitely my baby. It was something that I created.  I picked out everything from costumes to the decision to what the make-up was going to look like and the dancers…everything! It was definitely my baby that’s for sure. 

TEN- You enlisted the help of top choreographers to get your show down tight.

AB- Yes! Chris Judd…he was married to Jennifer Lopez. That’s how they actually met on one of her video shoots…he was a dancer. He is an amazing choreographer! Great stage presence! He just knows how to take a song and give it the most sharpest…sexiest…enticing moves. He’s really…really gifted so we loved working with him. He made our show amazing. Of course Keith Young choreographed “Rent” on Broadway and the motion picture “Rent.” He has probably done over two-hundred music videos in his career as well. He was a gem to work with too. He’s completely opposite of Chris Judd which was great to have both spectrums of choreographers like that.

TEN- Kind of “both sides of the coin”… 

AB- Absolutely yes! You’ve got the “Broadway/Motion Picture” part and then you’ve got the “Hip Hop/Music Video” part.

TEN- When the cd is released will there be a tour do you think? 

AB- Oh yeah… I’m actually gonna take it international. I just got back from London two weekends ago and met with a bunch of people in regards to setting up shows for us to go over there and perform. I’m really…really excited about that. I would love to go over there now actually and perform but I know I need to finish the album because we have the release date of February. I’m gonna try and focus on getting the rest of our music recorded. But yeah, we’re definitely gonna go back and do Vegas again. We’re gonna continue to do shows in Los Angeles cause that’s how we kinda started out. That was our first gig…a live show at “The Cabana Club” in Los Angeles. Then we started doing all of the other clubs around town. Then we got invited to perform at “Treasure Island” in Las Vegas which was really awesome. Now, I’ve been invited to bring the group to London and do some shows there.

TEN- Will the tour be based on the intimate “Barlesk” concept or will it be on a larger scale?

AB- No it’s gonna be on a larger scale. It will be more “mainstream”…more commercial. I mean the “Barlesk thing” was awesome. That was how we started out. It was hot at the time. When I started the group a year and a half ago, The Pussycat Dolls started out kinda doing the same thing live with the lingerie and the whole “cabaret feeling” and everyone loved it. I started expanding more and we started working with a really great producer: Robb Boldt who has a song on Fergies’ new album and he is just amazing! We collaborated together and that’s when it kinda started like; “Okay…we’re taking this more “Commercial”…making it more “Pop”…more “Mainstream” where it can appeal to a wider audience than just a “Cabaret kind of audience”. So that’s what we’ve done and the music reflects that so we’ll definitely wear more clothing on stage. (Laughs)

TEN- Will you promise to hook me up on your guest list when you come to Ohio?

AB- YEAH! What city are you close to?

TEN- Columbus.

AB- Okay…cool! (Giggles)

TEN- The list of your accomplishments is over the top and really impressive.

AB- Thanks!

TEN- You’re welcome. What are some of the ones that you’re most proud of?

AB- Definitely “Baywatch” was a big milestone in my career. It was really exciting. There were four thousand girls that auditioned for my role so getting that role was an absolute dream come true. I would say “Baywatch” and I enjoyed doing “Mortal Kombat: Conquest” the TV series.” I had a character where I played a sorceress and her name was “Omegis.” She had like five different personalities and I think that kinda role was absolutely the most fun role to play because one minute I was comedic and the next…my character was really evil and the next minute I’m sassy and sexy…the next minute I’m something else. Having that wide range of split personalities was pretty awesome. Also, getting to host “Talk Soup” on the “E” network was awesome!

TEN- What did you most retain from starring on “Baywatch?”

AB- Oh my goodness! I learned a lot. Being on a show like that looks so glamorous but it is not all glamorous…trust me. It is a lot of hard work and they had us out in the pool at six o’clock in the morning two months before we even started shooting the show training for swimming because they wanted our “swim takes” like when we’re rescuing people to be so authentic. They wanted to keep going and going and going on some of the takes so they wanted us to be in really great shape. Boy…they worked our butts off right before we started filming with the swim training. What else…the sand sharks that were in the water at times, when we were shooting and the jellyfish…just having to get out of the bay at Santa Monica and having to put anti bacterial drops in our ears and our eyes because the water’s so dirty…they were concerned about us getting something. Of course on TV the water looks so clean and beautiful and “Oh, California’s beaches are the best” but it was actually really…really filthy. A lot of people don’t realize that either.

TEN- There was more that just the glamorous part of it.

 AB- (Laughs) Oh yeah. That’s my whole point…it’s not all glamour. There was a lot of hard work. But it was a fun hard work because you felt like you were accomplishing something…ya know. You felt like you were really learning…like to be a lifeguard and to save someone’s’ life. Learn the CPR and everything along with it. We took some classes to get certified and I also became a diver as well. I had to get certified as an underwater scuba diver. That was a really great experience for me too. I learned a lot from that show…definitely!

TEN- I’m gonna shift gears on ya for a minute.

AB- That’s fine…

 

TEN- How did you become involved with the reality show; “Glamour Gals In Hicktown?”

AB- (Laughs) Well…it was a publicist of mine that I had worked with during the time that I was on “Baywatch.” She was a publicist on the East Coast and she actually introduced me to “Trim Spa.” I was one of the first girls to work for “Trim Spa” before Anna Nicole Smith. A lot of people don’t know that. We had always stayed in touch and she and another producer who worked on Miami Vice…thought up the concept because she lives on a farm in New York way…way out in the country in this place called “Cherry Valley.” They live on one hundred acres and she thought it would be great to bring girls out and get them to compete in photo shoots on bales of hay or on tractors or in a stream or on the lake…all of these things that are on her farm. They would compete to see who would be the most “Glamorous gal in Hicktown.” It was very much like a “Green Acres meets America’s Top Model.” That kinda thing with a little bit of “The Simple Life” mixed in there. I went down there and hosted the competition. The girls came from small towns and we just had such a great time! I was there for a week and I sang the theme song for the show called: “Hottie In Hicktown.” I sang live with a band and when all of the contestants showed up that night to the competition…they were serenaded by me and the band…which was really fun. I was also one of the judges as well. So, that’s what that was about.

TEN- Speaking of small towns, you’re a “small town girl” yourself. AB- I am…yes! TEN- What does it take to go from a “small town girl” to one of the hottest celebrities today? AB- (Laughs) ya know it takes a lot of perseverance and dreaming about what you really want in your life and what you see yourself doing. That was me getting to California and making those dreams come true. Ya know…being an actress…being a singer…being a TV hostess…being a model and really…really being focused and staying on that plan. When I did come out to L.A. it was so exciting for me and I just wanted to conquer it all in one week. But, things took time and I learned a lot and it’s just amazing how things just fell in place month after month and then year after year. All the things added up to what I’d accomplished were exactly what I dreamed and saw myself doing. It’s been pretty amazing…

TEN- Do you still retain the “small town girl” inside or are you more “Hollywood” now?

AB- Absolutely! I think that’s the best thing about me is that I am “super down to earth.” I’m just an absolute “country girl.” I love to be with animals. I’m an absolute animal fanatic. I love to rescue animals. I like to spend time with them and help with projects and funding for animals and situations. Growing up on a farm…I think that’s where that came from….just that “small town mentality.” I’m really…really “down to earth.” I don’t like to wear shoes especially outside or around the house or wherever I can just throw the shoes off and go barefoot. That’s just “alright” with me. (Laughs) I did that pretty much my whole life growing up in Missouri and I still like to go camping and I still like to ride horses. I still like to just do all those things yet just because I live in L.A. that didn’t change me at all.

I think it just gave me those experiences of what I’ve accomplished and what my career path has been like. But inside…I’m still that “small town girl” and nothins’ changed.

TEN- I’m shifting gears again. Please tell me something disturbing about yourself that you’ve never told anyone before.

 AB- Oh… my…gosh! Something disturbing…which thing…let’s see. Okay something disturbing. We used to go and play in graveyards in my town at night. I’d like go out on a date and make out in a graveyard. How sick is that? That’s pretty sick isn’t it? I’ve never told anyone that. You’re the first person. (Busts out laughing)

TEN- That’s great! (Laughing)

AB- Quit! (Still laughing)

 TEN- Is there anything else that you want to add or say?

AB- Yeah, I’m really excited for December to come and we’ll have a whole album so that’s the only thing I wanna add.

TEN- Will it be distributed in stores nationally?

AB- Yeah and all the info for what’s going on and where we’re gonna perform next or whatever they can always go to www.officialstrawberryblonde.com

 Please check out Angelica’s website in our Artists links for a complete resume of her work and everything Angelica.

I want to thank Jeff Abraham for being cool and Angelica for taking the time to reschedule to talk during her own personal time on a Sunday night.
Photos courtesy of Angelica Bridges
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