Betty X
Encyclopedia
Betty X, is an American
musician, artist, and writer known for her controversial stage persona and image as the lead singer of the eponymous band Betty X. Her stage name was formed the combination of 1950's American icons, domestic goddess Betty Crocker
, pin-up model Bettie Page
with the human rights activist icon Malcolm X
. Betty is also the founding member of Satan in High Heels and works with guest musicians to co-write songs. She was the founder and front woman for her previous punk cabaret band Salon Betty
. She is also well known in the underground art/music scene for her guerrilla art and outrageous on-stage antics. She is currently releasing sociopolitical videos on her new video company Brave New Video, and writing a fictionalized auto-biography titled Memoirs of a Pain Junkie.
into a musical family. Betty is the third child of Janice (née Pierce) and Michael Thompson-Gibson. Betty is of British and Irish
descent on her mother's side, and 11th cousin of former President George W. Bush. She is also of Cherokee
descendent and great-granddaughter of Chief John Ross (Cherokee chief)
of the Cherokee Nation on her father's side.
Betty began singing at the age of five she was encouraged by father, a jazz drummer, her mother a pianist/accordionist and sister, a flutist/guitarist. She studied music, theatre, and fine arts throughout her childhood.
As a child, she attended a Protestant church, but left organized religion as a young teenager and studied Native American spirituality and shamanism instead. After she traveled to Japan at age fifteen, she developed an avid interest in Buddhist philosophy.
Betty was accepted into Cornish College of the Arts
at the fifteen years old into the Fine Arts program, the youngest student to be accepted into Cornish at that time. She graduated early from high school at age sixteen.
She earned a BA in arts studying performance art, video, mixed media, interdisciplinary arts and painting. During college years she started spoken word nights, art happenings and she designed clothes for local rock bands in Seattle. She designed costumes and hats for the psychedelic rock band Sky Cries Mary
and Malfuktion.
, which received international attention and positive reviews by audiences. Though a native of the United States
, Betty has previously lived in Prague
, which she credits as being the creative inspiration for Salon Betty
. In 1995, she was credited by i-Music (now Artist Direct) as the first female performer to be broadcast live on the Internet. She was also featured in the first Interactive Paper Doll on the Internet, created by Scott Blum, founder of iMusic (Artist Direct) and in association with Real World Studios
. Both projects received awards and rave reviews.
Audiences and reviewers often describe her work as caustic and controversial as well as surreal. She is best known for mixing performance art and video installations with her live performances. She is also well known in the underground art/music scene for her guerrilla art and outrageous on-stage antics, particularly with her first project, Salon Betty
.
After Salon Betty disbanded, she decided to pursue a solo career, releasing Bad Side of Love in 1999. She worked with music producer, Vincent Saletto (Genitorturers
) in Tampa, Florida, at the now defunct Hotter Than Hell Studios to produce an album that was much darker and heavier than anything she had previously released.
In 2004, several songs on her second solo release, Dystopia, found their way onto the soundtrack to independent filmmaker Craig Kovach's sci-fi horror film, Unearthed, featuring Tom Savini
(Dawn of the Dead
, From Dusk Till Dawn
). Around the same time, she began collaborating with Martin Atkins
(Pigface
, Ministry
, PIL
), providing a live guest performance with Pigface
and vocal recording for Sheep On Drugs
' Machine Sex. Martin asked Betty to join the Pigface tour in spring of 2005, but she declined because of health issues. She was replaced with Hanin Elias
of Atari Teenage Riot
.
During the course of her music career, Betty X has shared the stage with many notable performers, including Asesino (band), Prong, Patti Smith
, Powerman 5000
, Machine Head
, Pigface
, Aiden
, Professional Murder Music, Zeke
, and Tim Cridland (AKA "The Torture King").
has been described as gothabilly
, death lounge, dark cabaret
, punk cabaret, new wave
, or, most commonly, art rock
. Jamie Hook, a reviewer for the The Stranger
described the music as, "Neu-Wavo Ranchero" and referred to the fans as "Bettephiles." Salon Betty was the first band to spear heard the dark cabaret
movement in Seattle in the early 90's.
Salon Betty had a large local cult following. Many of the fans would dress as Betty or other colorful characters from her songs such as "Courtney Hate" and bring food such as whipped cream, sausages and jello to throw during cues in songs. The shows were three quarter in the round and interactive. Live shows were often compared to My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
, Rocky Horror Picture Show meets GWAR
by reviewers and critics.
After Salon Betty disbanded, Betty started to experiment with darker themes, more experimental vocalizations, and a heavier sound in general. The side-project turned into a full time pursuit.
Her current self-titled solo project is much heavier and darker than previous material; with heavy, loud and grinding guitars, breakneck tempos, apocalyptic distortion and noise, moody sound-scapes and extremely aggressive, distorted vocals, the music is best described as industrial metal
, art metal and noise
.
The newer songs cover a range of genres, however: "Human Disease" has the totalitarian/Orwellian
flavor of Marilyn Manson
, "Dystopia
" is a poppy, bass-driven tune à la Nine Inch Nails
, "Mons Venus
" is a dark and sultry rock piece akin to P.J. Harvey, and most of Memoirs of a Pain Junkie
could be considered straight-forward alternative metal
in the style of Ministry
's Psalm 69.
). The album's heavy and dark industrial trip-hop vibe was a drastic change from the campy, light-hearted Salon Betty
material.
Betty X covered "Sex Dwarf" with producer Vincent Saletto and guitarist Bizz aka Bryce Bernuis (both formerly of the Genitorturers
) on her EP Bad Side of Love.
(2004), an EP of six tracks plus one bonus track. This album, co-produced by Betty's silent partner, Hate, featured heavier guitar riffs and more violent sonic tones than the debut album dubbed as dystopian or dystopic rock and/or post-apocalyptic rock. It was fairly successful, gaining some national attention via and an internet cult following, corporate and college radio play and also spawning a national tour. Several of the album's tracks, including "Shoot'em Up" and "Aurora," were featured on the movie soundtrack to Unearthed, starring Tom Savini
.
Behind the Music
"Human Disease" and "Two Minutes Hate" were inspired by George Orwell
's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four
and were the inspiration for the title and concept of the EP .
Hidden last track "Mon Venus" is loosely based on Homer
's Odyssey
and a sleazy strip-club in Tampa and inspired the creation of a Medusa
and Kali
hybrid demon Mons Venus, who is a recurring lyrical character throughout songs in Betty X's lyrics
(2006) is Betty X's third solo release and first full-length album. It is also her heaviest and hardest-hitting material to date. "Memoirs of a Pain Junkie
" is based on Betty X's fictional auto-biography. Released in summer of 2006, the album features a new version of "Shoot 'em Up" remixed by Martin Atkins
of Pigface
on drums and Siebold
of Hate Dept on lead guitar.
"The Snakepit" is a drug induced frenzy with demonic vocalization and screams in the vein of Diamanda Galas
.
released September 9, 2009. The album broaches the controversial topic of the unholy alliance of Church and State in a dystopian society where civil liberties have been stamped out.
The Group Suicide Show, a song from the album, was previewed exclusively on KAOS Radio Austin on September 9, 2009.
's song "More News From Nowhere" on his 2008 release "Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!." Betty has appeared in two low-budget films; "In Your Blood" (1995) and "Psych-o-tropolis" (1995) directed by Jeffro Brunk. She recently appeared in a black comedy film by David Bessenhoffer in "The Birthday" (2010) that was featured in the Austin Film Society SXSW Film Fest 2011. In 1996, The Stranger
reported that fans incited a riot during one of her performances that lead to a dumpster being caught on fire and hundreds of her fans rioting on the streets when the venue wanted to stop her show prematurely.
Betty X interviewed various bands and artists, Hanzel und Gretyl
, Raymond Watts of PIG
, Curse Mackey of Pigface
, Grim Faeries, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
and Evil Mothers, Charles Burns (cartoonist)
, Krysztof Nemeth (Illustrator) of Charm School for various periodicals and magazines The Sinner, The Seattle Underground, The Stranger
, The Rocket, and Hypercult E-Zine.
She was a guest vocalist on Sheep on Drugs
Sex Machine on the F**CK Album 2006.
She was the first hostess of Go Kustom TV in 2001, and interviewed Charles Burns (cartoonist)
, Kirsten Andersen, Art Curator/Owner of Roq La Rue, Rick Klu, Sabrina Rockarena of Cookie, and Big John Bates and The Voodoo Dollz.
Betty X also collaborated with Jeremy Gloff
and RhondaK in a live cabaret performance of Sham-Pain 2001. She recorded Champagne Blonde and Bohemian Sekt with Jeremy Gloff
recorded in producer Vincent Saletto's Hotter Than Hell Studios.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician, artist, and writer known for her controversial stage persona and image as the lead singer of the eponymous band Betty X. Her stage name was formed the combination of 1950's American icons, domestic goddess Betty Crocker
Betty Crocker
Betty Crocker AKA: batter witch is a cultural icon, as well as brand name and trademark of American Fortune 500 corporation General Mills. The name was first developed by the Washburn Crosby Company in 1921 as a way to give a personalized response to consumer product questions. The name Betty was...
, pin-up model Bettie Page
Bettie Page
Bettie Mae Page was an American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She has often been called the "Queen of Pinups"...
with the human rights activist icon Malcolm X
Malcolm X
Malcolm X , born Malcolm Little and also known as El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz , was an African American Muslim minister and human rights activist. To his admirers he was a courageous advocate for the rights of African Americans, a man who indicted white America in the harshest terms for its...
. Betty is also the founding member of Satan in High Heels and works with guest musicians to co-write songs. She was the founder and front woman for her previous punk cabaret band Salon Betty
Salon Betty
Salon Betty is the raucous and sleazy dark cabaret art rock project formed by singer, songwriter and performance artist Betty X during years of 1994 to 1997...
. She is also well known in the underground art/music scene for her guerrilla art and outrageous on-stage antics. She is currently releasing sociopolitical videos on her new video company Brave New Video, and writing a fictionalized auto-biography titled Memoirs of a Pain Junkie.
Early Life
Betty was born and raised in Seattle, WashingtonSeattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
into a musical family. Betty is the third child of Janice (née Pierce) and Michael Thompson-Gibson. Betty is of British and Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
descent on her mother's side, and 11th cousin of former President George W. Bush. She is also of Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
descendent and great-granddaughter of Chief John Ross (Cherokee chief)
John Ross (Cherokee chief)
John Ross , also known as Guwisguwi , was Principal Chief of the Cherokee Native American Nation from 1828–1866...
of the Cherokee Nation on her father's side.
Betty began singing at the age of five she was encouraged by father, a jazz drummer, her mother a pianist/accordionist and sister, a flutist/guitarist. She studied music, theatre, and fine arts throughout her childhood.
As a child, she attended a Protestant church, but left organized religion as a young teenager and studied Native American spirituality and shamanism instead. After she traveled to Japan at age fifteen, she developed an avid interest in Buddhist philosophy.
Betty was accepted into Cornish College of the Arts
Cornish College of the Arts
-Library:The library at Cornish College specializes in art, dance, design, music, performance production, and theatre. As of 2011 it holds 4700 CDs, 40,000 books, has 2,200 videos, and subscribes to 154 periodicals...
at the fifteen years old into the Fine Arts program, the youngest student to be accepted into Cornish at that time. She graduated early from high school at age sixteen.
She earned a BA in arts studying performance art, video, mixed media, interdisciplinary arts and painting. During college years she started spoken word nights, art happenings and she designed clothes for local rock bands in Seattle. She designed costumes and hats for the psychedelic rock band Sky Cries Mary
Sky Cries Mary
Sky Cries Mary is an American trance rock musical group from Seattle, Washington, that formed in the late 1980s.The husband and wife team of Roderick Wolgamott Romero and Anisa Romero sing dual lead vocals...
and Malfuktion.
Biography
Betty X has been making music since the mid-90's, when she formed the controversial art rock band, Salon BettySalon Betty
Salon Betty is the raucous and sleazy dark cabaret art rock project formed by singer, songwriter and performance artist Betty X during years of 1994 to 1997...
, which received international attention and positive reviews by audiences. Though a native of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Betty has previously lived in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, which she credits as being the creative inspiration for Salon Betty
Salon Betty
Salon Betty is the raucous and sleazy dark cabaret art rock project formed by singer, songwriter and performance artist Betty X during years of 1994 to 1997...
. In 1995, she was credited by i-Music (now Artist Direct) as the first female performer to be broadcast live on the Internet. She was also featured in the first Interactive Paper Doll on the Internet, created by Scott Blum, founder of iMusic (Artist Direct) and in association with Real World Studios
Real World Studios
Real World Studios is a residential recording studio in Box, Wiltshire, England associated with the Real World Records Ltd. record label founded by rock musician Peter Gabriel...
. Both projects received awards and rave reviews.
Audiences and reviewers often describe her work as caustic and controversial as well as surreal. She is best known for mixing performance art and video installations with her live performances. She is also well known in the underground art/music scene for her guerrilla art and outrageous on-stage antics, particularly with her first project, Salon Betty
Salon Betty
Salon Betty is the raucous and sleazy dark cabaret art rock project formed by singer, songwriter and performance artist Betty X during years of 1994 to 1997...
.
After Salon Betty disbanded, she decided to pursue a solo career, releasing Bad Side of Love in 1999. She worked with music producer, Vincent Saletto (Genitorturers
Genitorturers
The Genitorturers are an industrial metal/industrial rock band from the United States, with influences extending into the 1990s hardcore punk and electronic music. They proclaim themselves to be "The World's Sexiest Rock Band".-History:...
) in Tampa, Florida, at the now defunct Hotter Than Hell Studios to produce an album that was much darker and heavier than anything she had previously released.
In 2004, several songs on her second solo release, Dystopia, found their way onto the soundtrack to independent filmmaker Craig Kovach's sci-fi horror film, Unearthed, featuring Tom Savini
Tom Savini
Thomas Vincent "Tom" Savini is an American actor, stuntman, director, award-winning special effects and makeup artist. He is known for his work on the Living Dead films directed by George A. Romero, as well as Creepshow, The Burning, Friday the 13th, The Prowler, and Maniac. He directed the 1990...
(Dawn of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead (1978 film)
Dawn of the Dead is a 1978 zombie film, written and directed by George A. Romero. It was the second film made in Romero's Living Dead series, but contains no characters or settings from Night of the Living Dead, and shows in larger scale a zombie epidemic's apocalyptic effects on society...
, From Dusk Till Dawn
From Dusk Till Dawn
From Dusk till Dawn is a 1996 horror film directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino. The movie stars Harvey Keitel, George Clooney, Quentin Tarantino and Juliette Lewis.-Plot:...
). Around the same time, she began collaborating with Martin Atkins
Martin Atkins
Martin Clive Atkins is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd., Ministry, Pigface, and Killing Joke...
(Pigface
Pigface
Pigface is an industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin.-History:Pigface was formed from Ministry's The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste tour, which produced the In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up live album and video. For the tour, Al Jourgensen brought...
, Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
, PIL
Public Image Ltd.
Public Image Ltd are an English post-punk band formed by vocalist John Lydon , guitarist Keith Levene and bassist Jah Wobble, with frequent subsequent personnel changes. Lydon is the sole constant member of the band....
), providing a live guest performance with Pigface
Pigface
Pigface is an industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin.-History:Pigface was formed from Ministry's The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste tour, which produced the In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up live album and video. For the tour, Al Jourgensen brought...
and vocal recording for Sheep On Drugs
Sheep on Drugs
Sheep on Drugs are a British techno / dance-punk music group, formed by Duncan X [aka King Duncan] and Lee Fraser [aka Dead Lee] and currently composed of Fraser and Johnny Borden...
' Machine Sex. Martin asked Betty to join the Pigface tour in spring of 2005, but she declined because of health issues. She was replaced with Hanin Elias
Hanin Elias
Hanin Elias is a German industrial/techno artist. She was a member of Atari Teenage Riot and is now a solo artist....
of Atari Teenage Riot
Atari Teenage Riot
'Atari Teenage Riot' is a German digital hardcore group formed in Berlin in 1992. The name was taken from a Portuguese Joe song 'Teenage Riot' from the 'Teen-age Riot' album, with the word 'Atari' added as an Atari ST computer was used to create compositions...
.
During the course of her music career, Betty X has shared the stage with many notable performers, including Asesino (band), Prong, Patti Smith
Patti Smith
Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an American singer-songwriter, poet and visual artist, who became a highly influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses....
, Powerman 5000
Powerman 5000
Powerman 5000 is an American Metal band formed in 1991. Through the span of over two decades, the group has released several albums and gained their highest commercial success with 1999's science fiction themed Tonight the Stars Revolt!...
, Machine Head
Machine Head (band)
Machine Head is an American heavy metal band from Oakland, California. Formed on October 12, 1991, the group was founded by Robb Flynn and Adam Duce. There have been 4 member changes since their inception. The current lineup of the band comprises Flynn , Duce , ex-Vio-Lence guitarist Phil Demmel ,...
, Pigface
Pigface
Pigface is an industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin.-History:Pigface was formed from Ministry's The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste tour, which produced the In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up live album and video. For the tour, Al Jourgensen brought...
, Aiden
Aiden
Aiden is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington that formed in the spring of 2003. The members are WiL Francis , Nick Wiggins , and Angel Ibarra . wiL originally played bass but took over lead vocals when the original singer left...
, Professional Murder Music, Zeke
Zeke (band)
Zeke is an American hardcore punk band from Seattle, Washington formed in 1993. They are known for their extremely fast, energetic guitar sound. Zeke mixes this with strong influences from hard rock, and occasionally blues-rock, and are often compared to Motörhead.Zeke has released six full-length...
, and Tim Cridland (AKA "The Torture King").
Genre
Betty X's earlier sound with Salon BettySalon Betty
Salon Betty is the raucous and sleazy dark cabaret art rock project formed by singer, songwriter and performance artist Betty X during years of 1994 to 1997...
has been described as gothabilly
Gothabilly
Gothabilly , is one of several music and cultural subgenres of rockabilly. The name is a portmanteau word that combines gothic and rockabilly. The earliest known use of the word gothabilly was by The Cramps in the late 1970s, to describe their blend of somber, rockabilly-influenced punk rock...
, death lounge, dark cabaret
Dark Cabaret
Dark cabaret may be a simple description of the theme and mood of a cabaret performance, but more recently has come to define a particular musical genre which draws on the aesthetics of the decadent, risqué German Weimar-era cabarets, burlesque and vaudeville shows with the stylings of post-1970s...
, punk cabaret, new wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
, or, most commonly, art rock
Art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, with influences from art, avant-garde, and classical music. The first usage of the term, according to Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, was in 1968. Influenced by the work of The Beatles, most notably their Sgt...
. Jamie Hook, a reviewer for the The Stranger
The Stranger (newspaper)
The Stranger is an alternative weekly newspaper in Seattle, Washington, USA. It runs a blog known as Slog.-History:The Stranger was founded by Tim Keck, who had previously co-founded the satirical newspaper The Onion, and cartoonist James Sturm. Its first issue came out on September 23, 1991...
described the music as, "Neu-Wavo Ranchero" and referred to the fans as "Bettephiles." Salon Betty was the first band to spear heard the dark cabaret
Dark Cabaret
Dark cabaret may be a simple description of the theme and mood of a cabaret performance, but more recently has come to define a particular musical genre which draws on the aesthetics of the decadent, risqué German Weimar-era cabarets, burlesque and vaudeville shows with the stylings of post-1970s...
movement in Seattle in the early 90's.
Salon Betty had a large local cult following. Many of the fans would dress as Betty or other colorful characters from her songs such as "Courtney Hate" and bring food such as whipped cream, sausages and jello to throw during cues in songs. The shows were three quarter in the round and interactive. Live shows were often compared to My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based out of Chicago, Illinois.-History:...
, Rocky Horror Picture Show meets GWAR
GWAR
Gwar is a satirical heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, United States, in 1984. The band is best known for its elaborate science fiction/horror film inspired costumes, obscene lyrics and graphic stage performances, which feature humorous enactments of politically and morally taboo...
by reviewers and critics.
After Salon Betty disbanded, Betty started to experiment with darker themes, more experimental vocalizations, and a heavier sound in general. The side-project turned into a full time pursuit.
Her current self-titled solo project is much heavier and darker than previous material; with heavy, loud and grinding guitars, breakneck tempos, apocalyptic distortion and noise, moody sound-scapes and extremely aggressive, distorted vocals, the music is best described as industrial metal
Industrial metal
Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws from industrial music and many different types of heavy metal, using repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals. Founding industrial metal acts include Ministry, Godflesh, and KMFDM.Industrial metal's...
, art metal and noise
Noise
In common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the acoustic noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission with significant electrical noise...
.
The newer songs cover a range of genres, however: "Human Disease" has the totalitarian/Orwellian
Orwellian
"Orwellian" describes the situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free society...
flavor of Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson
Marilyn Manson may refer to:* Marilyn Manson , an American rock musician* Marilyn Manson , the American rock band led by the singer of the same name...
, "Dystopia
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
" is a poppy, bass-driven tune à la Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock project, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio. As its main producer, singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction...
, "Mons Venus
Mons Venus
Mons Venus is a nude lap dancing strip club in Tampa, Florida.The club and its owner, Joe Redner, have frequently been engaged in legal battles with the Tampa City Council, which has tried to place restrictions on the industry for 25 years. Redner's advocacy group Voice of Freedom was originally...
" is a dark and sultry rock piece akin to P.J. Harvey, and most of Memoirs of a Pain Junkie
Memoirs of a Pain Junkie
Memoirs of a Pain Junkie is the 3rd studio album by industrial metal artist Betty X. The album was released on June 06, 2006 through Anti-Social Records.It is also her heaviest and hardest-hitting material to date...
could be considered straight-forward alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
in the style of Ministry
Ministry (band)
Ministry is an American industrial metal band founded by lead singer Al Jourgensen in 1981. Originally a synthpop outfit, Ministry changed its style to industrial metal in the late 1980s. Ministry found mainstream success in the early 1990s with its most successful album Psalm 69: The Way to...
's Psalm 69.
Albums
With Salon Betty:- The Big Hair Sex Circus, 1996 (iMusic)
- Arizona, 1997 (Anti-Social Records)
- "It Came From Planet X", 1999 (Anti-Social Records)
Bad Side of Love
Betty X's debut solo album, Bad Side of Love (2000), was written and co-produced by Betty X with Vincent Saletto (GenitorturersGenitorturers
The Genitorturers are an industrial metal/industrial rock band from the United States, with influences extending into the 1990s hardcore punk and electronic music. They proclaim themselves to be "The World's Sexiest Rock Band".-History:...
). The album's heavy and dark industrial trip-hop vibe was a drastic change from the campy, light-hearted Salon Betty
Salon Betty
Salon Betty is the raucous and sleazy dark cabaret art rock project formed by singer, songwriter and performance artist Betty X during years of 1994 to 1997...
material.
Betty X covered "Sex Dwarf" with producer Vincent Saletto and guitarist Bizz aka Bryce Bernuis (both formerly of the Genitorturers
Genitorturers
The Genitorturers are an industrial metal/industrial rock band from the United States, with influences extending into the 1990s hardcore punk and electronic music. They proclaim themselves to be "The World's Sexiest Rock Band".-History:...
) on her EP Bad Side of Love.
Dystopia
Betty X's second solo release was DystopiaDystopia (Betty X album)
-Track listing:#"Human Disease"– 3:40#"Two Minutes Hate"– 1:18#"Shoot 'em Up "– 3:39#"Teen Dream"– 2:56#"Aurora "– 5:13#"Dystopia"– 5:08#"Mons Venus "– 5:09-Info:...
(2004), an EP of six tracks plus one bonus track. This album, co-produced by Betty's silent partner, Hate, featured heavier guitar riffs and more violent sonic tones than the debut album dubbed as dystopian or dystopic rock and/or post-apocalyptic rock. It was fairly successful, gaining some national attention via and an internet cult following, corporate and college radio play and also spawning a national tour. Several of the album's tracks, including "Shoot'em Up" and "Aurora," were featured on the movie soundtrack to Unearthed, starring Tom Savini
Tom Savini
Thomas Vincent "Tom" Savini is an American actor, stuntman, director, award-winning special effects and makeup artist. He is known for his work on the Living Dead films directed by George A. Romero, as well as Creepshow, The Burning, Friday the 13th, The Prowler, and Maniac. He directed the 1990...
.
Behind the Music
"Human Disease" and "Two Minutes Hate" were inspired by George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
and were the inspiration for the title and concept of the EP .
Hidden last track "Mon Venus" is loosely based on Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
's Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...
and a sleazy strip-club in Tampa and inspired the creation of a Medusa
Medusa
In Greek mythology Medusa , " guardian, protectress") was a Gorgon, a chthonic monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. The author Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives Medusa another chthonic pair as parents. Gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone...
and Kali
Kali
' , also known as ' , is the Hindu goddess associated with power, shakti. The name Kali comes from kāla, which means black, time, death, lord of death, Shiva. Kali means "the black one". Since Shiva is called Kāla - the eternal time, Kālī, his consort, also means "Time" or "Death" . Hence, Kāli is...
hybrid demon Mons Venus, who is a recurring lyrical character throughout songs in Betty X's lyrics
Memoirs of a Pain Junkie
Memoirs of a Pain JunkieMemoirs of a Pain Junkie
Memoirs of a Pain Junkie is the 3rd studio album by industrial metal artist Betty X. The album was released on June 06, 2006 through Anti-Social Records.It is also her heaviest and hardest-hitting material to date...
(2006) is Betty X's third solo release and first full-length album. It is also her heaviest and hardest-hitting material to date. "Memoirs of a Pain Junkie
Memoirs of a Pain Junkie
Memoirs of a Pain Junkie is the 3rd studio album by industrial metal artist Betty X. The album was released on June 06, 2006 through Anti-Social Records.It is also her heaviest and hardest-hitting material to date...
" is based on Betty X's fictional auto-biography. Released in summer of 2006, the album features a new version of "Shoot 'em Up" remixed by Martin Atkins
Martin Atkins
Martin Clive Atkins is an English drummer and session musician, best known for his work in post-punk and industrial groups including Public Image Ltd., Ministry, Pigface, and Killing Joke...
of Pigface
Pigface
Pigface is an industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin.-History:Pigface was formed from Ministry's The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste tour, which produced the In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up live album and video. For the tour, Al Jourgensen brought...
on drums and Siebold
Siebold
von Siebold is a German surname:* Adam Elias von Siebold , medical doctor* Philipp Franz von Siebold , German physician, significant for his study of Japanese flora and fauna.* Eduard Caspar Jacob von Siebold , medical doctor...
of Hate Dept on lead guitar.
"The Snakepit" is a drug induced frenzy with demonic vocalization and screams in the vein of Diamanda Galas
Diamanda Galás
Diamanda Galás is an American avant-garde composer, vocalist, pianist, organist, performance artist and painter.Galás has been described as "capable of the most unnerving vocal terror", with her three and a half octave vocal range. She often screams, hisses and growls...
.
Religious Reich
Religious Reich (2009) is Betty X's official fourth solo release,released September 9, 2009. The album broaches the controversial topic of the unholy alliance of Church and State in a dystopian society where civil liberties have been stamped out.
The Group Suicide Show, a song from the album, was previewed exclusively on KAOS Radio Austin on September 9, 2009.
Other appearances
She is mentioned in Nick CaveNick Cave
Nicholas Edward "Nick" Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, and occasional film actor.He is best known for his work as a frontman of the critically acclaimed rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984, a group known for its eclectic influences and...
's song "More News From Nowhere" on his 2008 release "Dig!!! Lazarus, Dig!!!." Betty has appeared in two low-budget films; "In Your Blood" (1995) and "Psych-o-tropolis" (1995) directed by Jeffro Brunk. She recently appeared in a black comedy film by David Bessenhoffer in "The Birthday" (2010) that was featured in the Austin Film Society SXSW Film Fest 2011. In 1996, The Stranger
The Stranger (newspaper)
The Stranger is an alternative weekly newspaper in Seattle, Washington, USA. It runs a blog known as Slog.-History:The Stranger was founded by Tim Keck, who had previously co-founded the satirical newspaper The Onion, and cartoonist James Sturm. Its first issue came out on September 23, 1991...
reported that fans incited a riot during one of her performances that lead to a dumpster being caught on fire and hundreds of her fans rioting on the streets when the venue wanted to stop her show prematurely.
Betty X interviewed various bands and artists, Hanzel und Gretyl
Hanzel und Gretyl
Hanzel und Gretyl are an Industrial metal music group formed by members Kaizer Von Loopy and Vas Kallas in February 1993. In the 1990s their sound was described as a genre-defying blend of sci-fi metal/electronic and experimental, but into the new millennium they adopted a decidedly heavier sound...
, Raymond Watts of PIG
Pig
A pig is any of the animals in the genus Sus, within the Suidae family of even-toed ungulates. Pigs include the domestic pig, its ancestor the wild boar, and several other wild relatives...
, Curse Mackey of Pigface
Pigface
Pigface is an industrial rock supergroup formed in 1990 by Martin Atkins and William Rieflin.-History:Pigface was formed from Ministry's The Mind is a Terrible Thing to Taste tour, which produced the In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up live album and video. For the tour, Al Jourgensen brought...
, Grim Faeries, My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult
My Life With the Thrill Kill Kult
My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult is an American electronic industrial rock band originally based out of Chicago, Illinois.-History:...
and Evil Mothers, Charles Burns (cartoonist)
Charles Burns (cartoonist)
Charles Burns is an American cartoonist, illustrator and film director.-Life:Burns is renowned for his meticulous, high-contrast and creepy artwork and stories. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, painter Susan Moore, and their two daughters Ava and Rae-Rae.His father was an oceanographer for...
, Krysztof Nemeth (Illustrator) of Charm School for various periodicals and magazines The Sinner, The Seattle Underground, The Stranger
The Stranger (newspaper)
The Stranger is an alternative weekly newspaper in Seattle, Washington, USA. It runs a blog known as Slog.-History:The Stranger was founded by Tim Keck, who had previously co-founded the satirical newspaper The Onion, and cartoonist James Sturm. Its first issue came out on September 23, 1991...
, The Rocket, and Hypercult E-Zine.
She was a guest vocalist on Sheep on Drugs
Sheep on Drugs
Sheep on Drugs are a British techno / dance-punk music group, formed by Duncan X [aka King Duncan] and Lee Fraser [aka Dead Lee] and currently composed of Fraser and Johnny Borden...
Sex Machine on the F**CK Album 2006.
She was the first hostess of Go Kustom TV in 2001, and interviewed Charles Burns (cartoonist)
Charles Burns (cartoonist)
Charles Burns is an American cartoonist, illustrator and film director.-Life:Burns is renowned for his meticulous, high-contrast and creepy artwork and stories. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife, painter Susan Moore, and their two daughters Ava and Rae-Rae.His father was an oceanographer for...
, Kirsten Andersen, Art Curator/Owner of Roq La Rue, Rick Klu, Sabrina Rockarena of Cookie, and Big John Bates and The Voodoo Dollz.
Betty X also collaborated with Jeremy Gloff
Jeremy Gloff
Jeremy Gloff is an American performance artist, advice columnist, singer, and songwriter.-Biography:Jeremy was born in New York on January 8, 1975...
and RhondaK in a live cabaret performance of Sham-Pain 2001. She recorded Champagne Blonde and Bohemian Sekt with Jeremy Gloff
Jeremy Gloff
Jeremy Gloff is an American performance artist, advice columnist, singer, and songwriter.-Biography:Jeremy was born in New York on January 8, 1975...
recorded in producer Vincent Saletto's Hotter Than Hell Studios.