Go Betty Go! A Classic Rebel Soul of Rock ‘n Roll

By: Salim Ghazi Saeedi (*)

Who cannot have respect for the rebel souls of rock ‘n roll? Go Betty Go has got everything. A classic band line-up; Great guitar riffs; Catchy lyrics and even guitar solos! Here we sit by this fresh sounding band from Los Angeles. Mark your calendars for Jan 27th 2015 and go get Reboot on gobettygo.com!

Welcome to Art Rockin’ Magazine! Could you please introduce Go Betty Go band and its members for our readers? 
Hi Guys! We’re Go Betty Go. Aixa, Michelle, Nicolette and Betty.

What is the story of your band splitting and reuniting? I read that a friend suggested you to reunite… 
Betty: Yes, my friend was booking shows at a local venue at the time and asked for us to play. I initially said no because we hadn’t played together in a long time. Honestly, at that point half of us weren’t even speaking to each other, so yeah, that wasn’t going work out. Well, my friend didn’t want to hear it. She booked us anyway. Instead of getting upset or silly about it, I talked to Aixa. Aixa talked to Nicolette. Nicolette talked to Michelle and now we’re here.

Unfortunately the old good days of bands actually living together has gone – at least for most of bands. What is your practice routine together? 
Betty: While we were writing the record, we’d try to get together once or twice a week. If we could get together more often, we would. But it was enough. We made it work. When we have shows, we have a caseul practice at one of our homes and one solid practice at a rehearsal studio. That seems to work best for us.

What are your influences – especially for your classic guitar riffs! 
Betty: I was listening to some of our old music the other day, comparing songs from Worst Enemy to Reboot and I played so much faster before. On Reboot, I’m way more relaxed. But I still love to play fast, loud and have fun… so I may bring some of that back down the line. I don’t ever drastically change the genre of music I listen to. I still love Green Day, I still love Eminem, I still love Sam Cooke and some new people have jumped in the mix. I guess I’m influenced by a little bit of everything.

Could you explain your experience on stage together? 
Betty: I love playing with these girls on stage. I love that once we are on stage, we are all on the same page. We’re able to communicate during a song without interrupting the song. We just know what we’re saying without saying it and that helps a lot. We trust each other, so that makes being on stage lots of fun!

Where is your favorite part of the world? What has been its possible influence on your music? 
Betty: I, still ’til this day, say that Switzerland is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to. I felt like I was in a postcard the entire time. Beautiful people, too. But are you ready for my lame answer? Haha. My favorite place in the world is right here. California. I love, love, love it here. When I go outside, I’m reminded everyday on how perfect it is, for me at least. The mountains, the ocean, the weather, the deserts, the redwoods. We have it all.

What is your recording process and what equipment you use? 
Betty: We usually lay the Drums down first. Bass, Guitars then Vocals.

Aixa: We use a combination of gear and recording equipment, it’s never the same.  Almost depends what we have available to us in the studio and what our producer can borrow for us to try out. As far as drums, we ended up going with a vintage Ludwig set that was in the studio and sounded great! We tried about 10 different snares and finally ended up using a one that Joe, who plays in The Mighty Mighty Bosstones was nice enough to loan us. It was a custom Yamaha snare that had just been delivered to him and I don’t even think he had a chance to record or play with it! So I broke it in first! Thanks Joe!

What are your thoughts on mainstream music? How do you see the road of a high quality sounding band like you toward “top charts”? 
Betty: 🙂 Thank you for the compliment. To be completely honest with you, I have no idea where or if there is any room for us on mainstream radio. We don’t sound as poppy as what I’ve been hearing on the radio. But who knows.

Aixa – Social media and a virtual music world has been amazing for artists like us, especially since we were out of the loop for a while and on hiatus. It gave us a chance to reach out and let our existing fans and new fans alike know that we were back and wanted to re-connect with them.  The virtual world tears down walls and allows us to get to know our fans on a level that was never available a few years ago. It gives us a chance to keep the band thriving and produce content that fans enjoy to engage with us on.  Our new EP “Reboot” was possible because of this virtual world we live in and completed through the crowd funding site; Pledge Music. We were able to connect with our fans and let them know we needed them as much as they wanted us to make new music. It is such an awesome experience to get to know our fans, extend our hand and receive the support from them.

How is your writing process? What ideas inspire you for writing lyrics and composing music? 
Nicolette – In order to get the creative juices going it’s important to be in a good mood. So I like to just hang out and have a drink with the girls before we get into the actual writing. Then Betty or Aixa will play out an idea and we all join in with whatever feels right. I make vocal  melodies over what is being played which later turn into lyrics. If we like what’s happening, we get a basic recording of it and move on.

What do you see as your band’s social role in the society you live in? 
Nicolette – I try to set a good example by showing strength and confidence. Rock and Roll is all about releasing energy through sound and expressing one’s thoughts through body language and words. I love the idea that we might be inspiring other girls and women to pick up a mic or instrument and do the same.

Where do you see “Betty is Going to Go” in 2015?!
Aixa – First off, it’s very exciting to have a new release out in 2015, especially so many years after our last one.  You’ll definitely be hearing a lot more from us, as we’re much more active as a band. A lot of local Los Angeles and regional South West shows coming up. We’re really looking forward to playing everything off of “Reboot” live. From there we’ll see what ends up happening. We’ve always been a very organic band and just going with the flow of our success.

Where we can see you live? 
Aixa – Definitely in the LA area, as this is our home and we play at least once a month. We’re especially excited for our record release show Jan 25th at the Roxy in Los Angeles. So if you’re in town that date, make sure to come out for one kick ass rock show! If not on tour later this year, you can always catch us on one of our livestream shows through stageit.com which we frequent.   You can always follow us on Twitter, facebook, Instagram to see where we’ll be next!

(*) Salim Ghazi Saeedi is an Iranian composer and guitarist mostly known in avant-prog and rock in opposition genres. www.salimworld.com