For the last 15 years, hard rock queen Lita Ford has been under wraps, living on an island with her husband, Jim Gillette of Nitro, and their two sons, James and Rocco, who enjoy dirt biking and cage fighting in the family's octagon.

But she's visible in a slew of new projects: "Wicked Wonderland," her first album in 18 years, due Sept. 15; a movie based on Ford's 1970s band, The Runaways, starring Kristin Stewart of "Twilight" as Joan Jett; a video game featuring her new single, "Betrayal," and a performance at the Sturgis motorcycle rally opening for Toby Keith.

Ford was the guitarist for the all-girl punk band The Runaways in the 1970s and had two pop metal hits in the '80s: "Kiss Me Deadly" and "Close My Eyes Forever," a duet with Ozzy Osbourne.

Although The Runaways and the movie were off-limits, Ford spoke recently about her family and her return to the road.

Have you performed in Sturgis before?

It was 20 years ago. So you know, I had a blast. But the only problem was, we did an encore, and they revved their engines. I thought everybody was leaving.

You live on a Caribbean island. What is your life like there?

It's like "Nim's Island" with Jodie Foster. I live with lizards and pelicans and hurricanes and sharks and power going out and bugs. There's no fast food, no Fed-Ex. It's a good place to raise your family. It's a good place for boys. Little boys get to go fishing, snorkeling with the sharks. It's a good, clean, healthy environment. If anything ever happened and they had to live off the land, I know they could survive. I could give them string and they could make something out of it.

We take away TV, the phone. We do the computer - they play games - but they're so easily amazed with stuff. We get the biggest kick out of things like cockroaches - trying to kill them. It's a major deal.

Has having a family affected the songs you write?

Actually, it has. The songs are now written about Jim and I and the kids as well as having a family, but they're very heavy - they're high energy, and extremely sexual.

It's unlike anything I've ever done before, but as soon as you hear it, you know that it's Lita.

You travel with your husband and two boys, who have been home-schooled. Will they be coming to Sturgis with you? And what do you think they will learn there?

I never leave them anywhere. They go with us everywhere. They will walk across the stage while I'm playing, hand me a drink, talk to the audience. My kids are awesome; they never complain much.

I flunked geography. I got an F. I didn't really get the gist of geography until I joined The Runaways and got to know where everything was.

What are your boys like?

Our older son wants to go to Africa. He's a Ted Nugent-y sort of a kid. He won't kill anything he won't eat.

They're very interested in music. They love the shows; they love being the center of attraction. Rocco does up his Mohawk, which is about 6 feet high. They're really rocking kids. They're absolutely articulate to talk to.

They study ju-jitsu and boxing. They want to be UFC fighters when they're teenagers so they can retire when they're 20.

You took a 15-year break from touring. How did you prepare yourself to go out on the road again?

I just kind of threw myself in head first. I didn't play the guitar until the first day of rehearsal. I think too much of anything gets too monotonous and boring.

Tell me about your new video game, "Brutal Legend" for Xbox 360.

I'm the voice of the queen. It's good to be the queen. I've always wanted to do a voiceover. I've watched too many kids' movies. The kids' movies rock.

What can the rally crowd expect?

We're going to play some new stuff, which nobody's heard, unfortunately. We're real excited to try it out on the audience. They've asked me to play "The Star-Spangled Banner." I'm going to have to put together something rocking for Sturgis. And I want to hear some engines revving.

If you go

Who: Lita Ford

When: 8:45 p.m. Monday, Aug. 3

Where: Buffalo Chip Campground

Tickets: Ticket information is available at www.buffalochip.com.

Contact Deanna Darr at 394-8416 or deanna.darr@rapidcityjournal.com