Bettie Black

"Be the FLAME"

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    members

    Sean Griffin, Ralph Spight, Lucky

    tags

    Iggy Pop, PJ Harvey, Kim Deal, Joy Division, Velvet Underground

    into

    salmon, fruit and hummingbirds

    state of mind

    searching

    vices

    falling for unavailable men (I'm working on it though)

    favorite artists

    Velvet Underground, Gary Numan, Joy Division, Johnny Cash, Jimi Hendrix, The Clash, John Lee Hooker, Iggy Pop, Bauhaus, David Bowie, NWA, Stereolab, Tom Waits, Big Black, Alice Cooper, Buzzcocks, PJ Harvey, Film School, Hank Williams Sr., Joan Jett, Jonathan Richman, The Kinks, The Clean, The Rolling Stones, Louie Armstrong, Kraftwerk, The Cure, Violent Femmes, Brian Eno, The Sex Pistols, Rolling Stones, Crispy Ambulance, Sam & Dave, The Beatles, Fischerspooner, Gang of Four, Black Sabbath, Manhead, Ministry, New Order, Nina Simone, Prince, The Magnetic Fields, Revolting Cocks, Soul Coughing, Minny Pops, Devo, Elliot Smith, William Shatner

    favorite movies

    Lord of the Rings, Men in Black, Elizabeth, Seabiscuit,
    GENRES: rock, alternative, goth, new wave, dark wave
    LOCATION: San Francisco CA, US
    WEBSITE: http://www.bettieblack.com
     PERMALINK:
    About
     
    “My earliest memory was this little green radio I had. I memorized every song I heard." Bettie Black recalls growing up in the California suburbs. “I must've been 3 or 4 years old listening to everything coming out of my mom's car radio; lots of soul, disco, whatever; it got my attention.”

    After moving to the Haight Ashbury in the 80's, Bettie began jamming with a lot of musicians from the vast wealth of local bands. “They liked my ideas and began encouraging me to write my own songs so one night I stayed up all night and by the morning had my first song. I was so excited; this opened the floodgates and songs just started pouring out of me.”

    After a particularly transformative experience at a 1990 Iggy Pop show, Bettie realized
    her destiny. “Iggy had the wild self expression I always wanted for myself. I knew there and then that music was the only thing for me.”

    Her fascination of the theatrics of rock and roll led Bettie to pursue a degree in drama and performance at San Francisco State University. After graduation, she fronted several acclaimed bands in the San Francisco club scene such as Glow and Runaway Bunny. This led to her first record. Since then, she has continued to write new and innovative material, drawing from her daily experiences. “I feel like I have a channel within me that constantly sends me riffs and scraps of melodies.”

    With churning guitars and driving bass and drums, Bettie's music provides a large and relentless backdrop to the undeniable and universal heartache of healing the human condition. The darkness of the music is punctuated by the ultimate confidence and strength of her words. There is no mistaking her voice. It's a clear and present, unbridled understanding of the struggle of the human spirit. “I am happiest when I'm writing and playing. It's who I am. I will never stop.” Bettie Black is preparing for her new CD release in May 2006.