In a new interview with Stereogum, Scandal singer Patty Smyth discusses recording new music, what life might have looked like if she opted to join Van Halen, and more. An excerpt follows:

Stereogum: How about when you were asked to join Van Halen? I’ve read that your decision not to replace David Lee Roth was partially to do with the fact that you were pregnant at the time but that it was more to do with your not being interested in the party-hard LA lifestyle.

Smyth: "They were heavy drinkers. I don’t drink. I never saw myself living in LA. I was like, 'I’m from New York, we don’t move to LA.'

"It’s all semantics because if [Eddie] had said to me, 'Let’s make a record,' then I would have said yes to that. But joining the band - to me then, 'Oh god, they fight all the time, him and his brother, and I don’t want to get into a volatile situation.' And I was probably heavily hormoned out because I was eight months pregnant, so there was a state of mind that I was in of how I need to take care of myself. But I regretted turning him down. For a long time I regretted it. When you start to have regrets, I was like, 'Oh man I would’ve made so much money.'

"I wish I had the right kind of luck. I feel it’s just like I’m in this stream or this river and sometimes it’s just taking you where you need to go. Sometimes you’ve got to paddle and go in certain directions and other times you’re just letting it take you. And for me, like I said, my life has turned out unbelievable. That I’ve been married and with the same man for 25 years is insane."

Stereogum: Yeah, that is amazing.

Smyth: "Who the heck knows what would’ve happened if I joined Van Halen?"

Read more at Stereogum.com, and watch Patty Smyth's video for the new song, "Drive", below.