Well, a big thank you goes out to those who emailed me (
bette@bettedillinger.com) to ask about purchasing the album. Apparently in my excitement Amie Street got in on the deal, so I think the whole album is going for something like 2 cents on that site. Get "Assassin's Hand" while it lasts, baby!
Anyway, you can also go to my main website
http://www.bettedillinger.com/ and for a donation you will get five
MP3s. Thus, you can work around the Amie Street situation and support a truly independent maker of sound and fury. Bless your heart.
I also have received some inquiries that involve who/what is Bette Dillinger, etc. I think it is only fitting
to elaborate on it. In no way am I saying I am being inundated with questions, but they are coming in at a
steady rate, and I feel people actually are
feeling the music. That truly is the best feeling in the world, to
have someone express sincere appreciation and I look at the little American Idol kids with a new sadness.
I will never be part of the company store, but if they were Beethoven they would still be called a corporate whore. Such is the state of music in 2010 (almost).
But said company store has peeps who do interviews with musicians. Like that hologram Barbara Walters. Damn, I do remember when she actually tried to do interviews with pretty important peeps, like Fidel Castro. Anyhoo, that has left me with a wacky predicament that I am now going to break out of.......I just looked on a search engine for "questions to ask music groups" and will answer these questions.
http://www.ehow.com/how_2141091_band-what-questions-ask-musicians.html
Here are the questions......ready?
Step 1*What’s the name of your band? What’s the origin of that name? Have you changed the band’s name before?
I am a band of one, I am Bette Dillinger. The name has alot of meanings for me, but the most basic one is Bette Davis and John Dillinger were both rebels in their respective roles in the 1930s. Bette Davis fought Warner Brothers tooth and nail to get her first break, which was playing Mildred in
Of Human Bondage, and John Dillinger of course is known as being the most recognized of the "Public Enemy" era. However, I have much more of a proclivity to look beyond that aspect, and think of the boy who was given a horrendously long sentence in a federal prison and who came out a changed, angry man. That is a theme
that is very typical of my lyrics.
I was evaluating different names, but Dillinger and Bette always kept coming back. I remember reading on the same day headlines that the US recession was as horrible as the Great Depression, there was a movie being made about John Dillinger, and I read that some cable station was playing a Bette Davis film festival. It made me very comfortable in my feelings about the name. I also can relate to both individuals as well, and for me
that is essential. It is me performing with the cloak of history.
Step 2*Please list the name, age, school, and respective instrument of each band member.
It is just me, Bette Dillinger. I am over 28, so I am an old bitch, eh? I certainly am not a kid in school, and I make music I think you need some intelligence to appreciate. It is not just lower chakra bs.
When I was a kid, I wanted to see adult performers. Even then, however, you had to look around for them, but they were there. Now, not so much. But we want to reduce everyone to the lowest common denominator in the US, and the experiment is in full effect. Some record company producing a tamer Peaches (whom I love, btw, I am her Janus face) for kids? Makes me ill.
Step 3*What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
I am the Mother of Hipno, my theatre is the web, and let me tell you, that and a few dollars will get you some coffee. My major influences just span the last century, aside from Classical composers. My grandfather introduced me to Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, traditional German music. My grandmother loved Dinah Washington. I also loved Bessie Smith, Hank Williams, just a very eclectic blend of music. Then I found on my own Billie Holiday, Tim Buckley, Bauhaus, and so many others. I mean, I have Gregorian chants and Alien Sex Fiend side by side.
Step 4*How is "Peaches Your Janus Face"?
Well, she is Dionysian and I am Apollonian? LOL. I am just saying that I find her hilarious and fiesty. But it is the complete opposite of everything I would ever do, we both use camp for very different effects in our music. She started out a much better producer than me, of course, and tours all over...my home is the Web.
When I have listened to her I think she is a great force.....she truly is confrontational, and she wasn't created by some music label. She raps about sex yet is totally indifferent to the fact of the listener finding her sexy. There is a Youtube video of the Muppets doing one of her songs that I love.
But like I said, she is still animus, and I am motivated by the dark feminine, Kali, or the anima. I want to take back the rage of women that has been buried for so long, and invite people into this environment of delicious fear. Peaches assaults the male dominated world of hip hop by being as vulgar as she wants to be. I have to respect her dedication. She doesn't give a fuck about the reception. I don't either.
Step 5*When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?
I formed Bette Dillinger many years ago, since I am stating it is simply me, and I have always been fascinated by sound. I used to record the washing machine and try to splice in my voice when I was a kid. But I have been posting the music on the Web for about two years. I mean, I have been playing with sound all my life. That is reflected in the early stuff on the Web that will be there for a while longer.
Step 6*Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?
I have my own label, Diluvian Productions. I named it that because I think there is going to be a backlash against major labels, and we will see a return to a more organic type of style. No one can stand autotuned vocals except inept producers and frightened bean counters. Great peeps that I have met are Healeysisland and Pixieguts. These people are outrageously talented, yet no one knows about them. Pixieguts truly is on the level of Elizabeth Frazer of the Cocteau Twins, and she is a networking guru! Healeysisland, wow, so prolific and profound. Just a beautiful sense of sardonic humour and a love for making music, not flashing an image. He also is very active. I admire the fortitude both of them have.....and that is what music should have......a communal spirit......that's how it originated, that is the only way it will survive.
Step 8*Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?
I have performed locally, but not at any major venues. There is no way I can evaluate playing a huge venue. Friends are helping me look into streaming a concert, I want people to see that I sing and do not have backing tracks. I am just a strange witch casting a spell that hopefully works. A few people have expressed interest in using my music for a video. This all would be posted here and on youtube. This is the site to watch if you are interested in any developments, or want to contact me.
Step 9*Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers? Do you have a set play list?
"Spectator" is a song that people really like. I cannot tell you how many people across the web have said very nice things about it, and said it really summed up how they felt. Sometimes I laugh and sometimes I almost cry about that......the song was done in one take and I had just heard some news that pissed me off
so much I didn't give a shit how it turned out. It is just a furious song. I have covered "Mack the Knife" and written my own lyrics and done my own arrangement. Really, it is great to have people respond to that and hear my desire to return it back to Brecht's style. A lot of people listen to different songs regularly....."Your Public Enemy"....."Clockwork"......just depends on what others see in the work. I am happy to see I have made any small nic at all in someone's world. It is an honor that I think the really young and green don't see.
Step 10*Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?
I write all the songs, and all the lyrics. The main theme is "The Public Enemy"....who is that? Why did we say this person is one over that one? Does it have to do with certain sociological factors? We have become much more suspicious and paranoid since 2001......I have to address that. I really feel trends in society and try to relate them as best I can.
Step 11*Could you briefly describe the music-making process?
Anything thing could inspire me.....an old lady on a park bench. Or I will read some line from a story or play, like the title "Assassin's Hand" is from
Oedipus Rex. Or I just get full of rage, and have to vent, which is the emotion behind "Spectator".
Step 12*How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together? I have learned alot from other electronica musicians! Jaysus, when I first started......I was soooo pathetic. I am not saying I am a master producer now by any means, but some very sweet electronica geeks got me up to speed when I posted on this now defunct site....and I will always appreciate that. Man, it was just horrible in the beginning..really the start of my evolution is this latest album, though my first baby step was "Spectator". Rough sometimes is necessary to convey the meaning of a song.
Step13*What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?
I suppose I would like to work with people, but I am also very shy and hesitant. With some people I have been able to overcome those feelings. But also Bette Dillinger is about me exorcising my demons, and that is the main purpose, so it is a precarious balance. That sounds really pretentious. I just try to go with the flow.
Step 14*What’s your ultimate direction for your band? Are you seeking fame and fortune?
I would like to be a more prominent 2.0 entity. People buying my album would making me very happy, but fame has always looked very problematic. I am not a psychic vampire, and I never will be one. I want to be Van Helsing and put a stake through a fame gargoyle's heart.
Step 15*What advice do you have for people who want to form their own bands?
Just do it.
Step 16*How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD? My website,
http://www.bettedillinger.com/ there they can find access to the latest deals on my music. last.fm has the biggest selection of my music. Amazon and itunes of course sell my stuff.
Step 17*Is there anyone you’d like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?
They know who they are, and I love them too much to profane my life and relationship by naming them.
Step 18*Any last words?
Can it be........we are the public enemy?
