Betty Kracker

Old news!!

2007
September - Back to school, suckers! Years of being a 'professional student', and look where it's got me - I can spellcheck for executives! When they can't figure out how their goldurned word prawcessers work, that is…
Summer, we hardly knew ye…the weather stunk when we had time off, or the sun shone gloriously through the factory windows - I personally parked my backside on a beach once, I think.

Lotsa good nitelife though - the live scene in Vancouver seems to be thriving, in spite of the ubiquitous (see, education!!) line-ups at all the top 40 spinning clubs on the strip. We got out to play during a July weekend monsoon with uber-buddies Motorama, and serial eardrum-renders Nosebleeder at Pub 340, and steamed up the place real good, and then August 18th at truly The Crustiest club in Vancouver, The Cobalt punk/hardcore bar. We had the great pleasure of opening for Gertrude, an all-girl 4-piece all the way from London, UK, and Canadian folk punk legend, Joey Only and his Outlaw Band. A farkin' Mighty gig, it was, attended by some of Vancouver's finest rock cognoscenti (thanks for the video, Brad Mitchell, and great to see ya there, Gerry-Jenn! And kudos to Nicky for the dancing (sorry if I misspelled your name!))
Really looking forward to the Railway Club show coming up on Sunday, September 16th, with the incestuously related Rain and the Sidewalk, and Faceplant buds The Cryptos. An early show, for all us stiff working stiffs, starting at 9:00 and wrapping up before midnite. This will likely be our last show for 2007 - I'm taking off for drier, less crowded climes for a few months until the new year.

The band has been in the studio laying down tracks for several new songs, examples of which should appear soon on this and our other sites. The masterful Mike McLean returns to the control room at Faceplant for these recordings, with the appreciated assistance of Ryan Schmidt, who is actually very handy in the studio (see the Salmon Arm recording, Modern Farming Techniques).
So, hope to see you at the Railway Club, a favourite Kracker venue here in the heart of stinky, stinky Vancouver (not the best place to live in the world, I'm certain, for quite a number of folks, despite the press)! Keep that sunny glow, even when the rains come - you'll need it… Xxxooo Betty Kracker

June - New Record store! - proud to announce you can now go to get the CD in Ottawa at both locations of Compact Music!

Charting - The Easy Bay Coven CD charted in May on CHUO in Ottawa!

Facefest! - Back on stage after a few months, the Betties played to the packed Railway Club on May 26, debuting three NEW songs!!!

May - Incognito added to the MySpace site on May Day; new recording in June!

January - updated the SHOTS page with lotsa great live pix (finally!)... College radio have been great, and the CD is starting to chart in other provinces. Cool is now available for listening on the band's myspace site.

2006

October - wotta witchy month for gigging.... two weekends in a row (kinda just turned out that way) at Pub 340, officially BK's Venue of 2006. The CD release party was a hoot - warmed up by the hootinannying (sp!) of Red Fizz, who rocked jus' fine, judging by all the dancing fans. Motorama then spanked everyone firmly for the next little while, reigning in the usual obscenities nice and polite-like before our set (ya didn't hafta, guys, but thanx for not gettin' any on the stage...). We figured a little ritual was in order, and started with a cauldron up front, to which we each added a little something (see photo gallery), to simulate the creative process and symbolize each player's involvement in the final product, stir, stir, et voila (not viola), Easy Bay Coven is born (and available at a reasonable price from the merchandise table over there, etc.) Rock followed, as did dancing, some wardrobe malfunction (as per usual), screaming and yelling, more dancing, a bit o moshing, lotsa drinking, you get the picture - a great success!! The next weekend was a Halloween party with I, Braineater and The Elixxxirs. I tried to drum as many songs as I could in my yeti costume - managed three before stripping down to something more like the usual. Nevada worked up (most of) a USS Enterprise minidress uniform, but I got the most action in the fur suit! I dunno, Furries could be onto something there... All the best to everyone during the holidays, and a very happy new year, Betty Shannon

07/2006 pt. 2
The Fabulous Return of Nevada Santiago! At our probably least photographed show since inception on July 22nd at Pub 340, Nevada hit the stage with a mighty bang, looking sensationally saucy in a breezy black chiffon mini-dress & kicky boots. In fact, we were all in fine form and fettle last Saturday, gotta say - a super hot set, and I felt great in my new red fishnet sleeves & stockings, way to beat the heat in style. Happy to see some diehards at this sorta cobbled-together show (Pub 340 was in some distress during July, Ok now apparently, but we had some ups and downs with info for promo). The Media were down from Prince George, and melted everyone's eardrums but good with their solid hardcore opening set. Local hooligan rockers The Twitch took middle spot, and showed us how it was done back in the 80's. Next show is Thursday, August 17th, an 'all girl drummer' night with guests 12 Year Old Girl (featuring Juli, that incredibly hot drummer from Black Rice), at The Lamplighter in Vancouver's historic Gastown. Then perhaps us Krackers are gonna see about making a splash over on Vancouver Island - Betty Shannon played the Cambie Pub in Nanaimo, with her other project involvement The Rain and The Sidewalk, opening for Transylvanian Polka on July 15th and got all nostalgic (Shrimpmeat played there a couple summers in a row back in The Day). Our CD 'Easy Bay Coven' is SO ALMOST READY!!! Heh.....

07/2006
Well, it's been pretty darn interesting the last month or so, an unusual variety of shows - and we've been gigging without Nevada Santiago, who has been pouting and sulking about in her boudoir, deciding whether the world deserves her graces or not. A behaviour not normally put up with, but huge talents will have their peccadillos, and she's indicated a Return to the Stage is forthcoming by our next show.

In the meantime, Nick Venditti has been filling in admirably since Facefest on May 27, although both were stricken ill and neither could make it out for the Malone's show June 2nd with the Cryptos. Regina, Lisa and I decided to stick it out anyway, with a shorter set, and let the very rockin' Cryptos stretch out a bit over two opening sets. Apparently we managed to rock pretty fine ourselves with just the one guitar, but we do miss Nevada when she's away (although life in general is a lot quieter...), and don't intend to strip down to a 3-piece in the near future (or let any boys play permanently).

Facefest 2006 was awesome - thirty bands this year - no shit - in 2 rooms at the Railway Club. The staff keep shaking their heads first in disbelief at the endeavour, then at the bar sales. If you haven't been to one of these yet, don't miss next year, same place, probably in June.

We got to play a World Urban Forum event: the Women's Reception at the Fairmont Waterfront Ballroom here in downtown Vancouver, June 20th during the Forum. Shwank-A-Roo! Nice gig when we can get it...got to play in our finery (slinky black-gold for me - and I MC'd the Reception, too), and Nick spiffed up in a bright scarlet buttoned shirt and black suit (snazzy). We were on last on a bill with First Nations drummers, Koyali (classical Indian dancer), a Marlene Deitrich torch singer, No Shit Shirleys, Rapture Risin' (2 shit-hot aboriginal girl emcees) and Ndidi Cascade & friends (Vancouver Folk Festival artist/emcee). A rare evening, indeed, sponsored by the Huairou Commission and Girl Wide World, two of the groups represented at the Forum.

The week before, the Railway club show, Pacific Meltdown featured a selection of diverse local women musical performers, and we were pleased to be the crunchiest act on the bill. It was great to play with 'old friends' Red Fizz again (solid, solid fun), and make new musical buddies with women from various genres. Yvette was inspirational, as always, and all the performances were of high calibre and well received. Highlight of the evening, tho, had to be Little Woo, resplendantly emerging from behind a curtain (patiently held by Krackers Lisa and Regina) in a beautiful, sexy mermaid outfit, just as billed on the poster (total co-incidence)! A really great vibe that night, too, with women from around the globe from the Grassroots Women's pre-Urban Forum congress at UBC as our special guests, enjoying a Vancouver night out with the local community (see www.faceplant.org/grrrabbit for more info on these June events).

And back to 'regular' rock shows over the summer, with an upcoming show at Pub 340 July 22nd and a show planned later in August with 12 Year Old Girl and The People Verses (fuckin' 3 chic drummers alRIGHT!!!).
Thanks for reading!
Peace, Love and Headbanging,

Betty Shannon
PS - CD almost out, honest!! Will announce on release date.

04/2006
Gigs, Recordings, MySpace, and Buttons!
Ripping into the spring with so much going on it's hard to stomp on the brakes long enuff to say hi to any faithful/curious out there and give an update!

As you can see, we're back on stage after applying final spit and polish to the EP "Easy Bay Coven" for a whack o gigs.

Finally booked to show off our punk rock chops at the fabulous Asbalt, reknowned Vancouver punk palace (ie. serious heck-hole, serious fun), and returning again to wreak havoc at Facefest (pleez kidz play nyce!). Then we're doing a full set with fellow FacePlanters The Cryptos at Malone's on June 2nd - should be well warmed up by then, might even be our EP's Release Party (fingers crossed...).

The third World Urban Forum is coming to Vancouver this June, and Betty Kracker is lending our voices to the cause of women's participation, by playing two shows related to the conference. Pacific Meltdown at the Railway Club on June 15th will be a 'No Holds Barred' celebration of Vancouver Women in Music (this should be a total blast), and we've been asked to appear at the WUF3 Women's Reception at the VCEC (do they know what they're in for ?!?)

In the wonderful world of myspace.com, we're making friends and influencing people left and right (mostly left) - it's a strange l'il world, but most friendly. Do drop us a line.

So we got a belly full of do-goodery going on, and a hot new CD just about out of the gate...much gratitude to Mike McLean (mofo) and Marcus Lander (Motorama) for the engineering and gear.

We also now have MERCH! We have three styles of happenin' 1" buttons for sale, so when yer at our shows or when you run into us in person, be sure to grab 'em before they run out! (T-shirts are coming soon)

Exciting times - stay tuned (not like we r...)!!

Betty Shannon

2005

11/2005
Still recovering from a long slog on the beaches of Cozumel, and it occured to us that an update is in order...yes, kids, the BK rock and roll juggernaut is in the process of recording a six song EP with a little help from our friends, and though there is work yet to be done we have some hits on our hands (hopefully that doesn't stink too much of ego) and I personally am lobbying for the title to be "Easy Bake Coven" but we will see...gigged with our buddies Motorama at Malone's, a venue with some impressive potential in October, although I had to go home early and be a pumpkin, grrr....a fabulously scary time was had by all when we did the Girls With Guns show at the Pub 340, and thanks to all who participated and attended the show. For the Georgia Straight review by Deena Cox go here. Seems we will be playing pretty darned soon with Van vets Facepuller and Faceplant compadres Victorian Pork, who did a spooktacular job of kicking our butts at the G with G shindig, where, if anyone noticed, LX was wearing the coolest frock there, a faithful reproduction of the meat dress worn by the gal on "All Wrapped Up" by the Undertones. Cool....well, i gotta go and by some brand new 'don't f**k with me boots, cuz these ones are killing me. luv, Nevada S.

07/2005
We seem to have started July with a bang, after an equally busy June, with a boozy and volume-punkdrunk Canada Day wingding at everyone's favorite pissup, Pub 340 with our buddys Red Fizz and Faceplant homeboys Uber Sissy, facing stiff competition from our friends Motorama over at the Pic as well as Salmon Arm with the Flairs nearby. Aside from a busted string and some wardrobe malfunctions, the show was a success. Take that, Subhumans! Last month we worked diligently on new material (which we are very excited about), played not just CiTR's Radio T-Bird Hell in a most majestic fashion but also to a very exuberant crowd at the Railway in support of our neighbourhood institution, Faceplant. Although it was not possible to catch all of the acts, one could surf leisurely back and forth between the rooms, and witness some fine live music that this soggy burg should be celebrated for.... now, this is not to say we approve of violence at Facefest or anywhere else, but let's just say there was a Betty Kracker Ballroom Blitz going on at the freakin' Rail ! July often starts as a wet month, but the winds blow in here, and this godforsaken place tumesces with the sun on it in an impossibly sultry manner till you want to scream, so beware.... we will be back......
REMEMBER. BETTY KRACKER. FOR THAT ITCH YOU CAN'T SCRATCH.

05/2005
Thank you, Gordon Campbell, for giving us Four More Years to SCREW YOU!!! I mean, imagine if you hadn't won. We'd have so little to bitch about locally (remember, our Mayor is reputed to be Perfect), and the Citizen's Rule compilation would have been at risk of being passè. We thankfully remain relevant - o, joy.

Ask us for copies of the CD at upcoming shows (eg. Pub 340 in July...)

We actually had a lot of fun at both shows (CD release, May 12, Prisoner Benefit, May 13), and wish to extend many grateful cheers to Dan Laroque, Amy Honey and Red Cat Records for the Anza show, and to Joey Only for the Friday at the Pic (great sound, fun crowd). Hope we helped to make up a decent contribution.

We're not just about ranting along to political rallies, however - we have important things to consider, like what colour the hair next show, dress hot or angry (or my favourite - a combo of both...), and particularly new material. We've been honing a coupla new honeys - should be ready for T-Bird Radio Hell and FaceFest X in June. And ya, we gotta get recording more....

04/2005
It's Official - Betty Kracker's recording of "Social Class Warfare" (aka "S.C.W.", originally recorded by Shrimpmeat) will be on National Release, on the Citizen's Rule compilation CD out April 18th, 2005 on Red Cat Records, to be distributed by Scratch nationwide.

From the "bcfiberals.com" website:

"Citizen's Rule Update - The CD is in its final mastering stages and will include 20 original songs and original artists from all over BC including Todd Butler, Joe Keithley, Parksville Rancher, Amy Honey, Pete Campbell and more. It'll be very diverse, enjoyable and hopefully well-received.

It's a completely non-partisan, not-for-profit project put together by all-volunteer musicians and artists. Our only goal is to call attention to the damage our Premier has done to the less fortunate in our province, tell stories of how we despise him, and have a little fun in the process. We'll be offering these CD's to BC social agencies who've been affected by the Liberal Government's cuts over the past four years. CD's will be sold at cost for $5. each postage paid and can be sold by your agency for $10 or $15. Any profits made by us through other sales avenues will be diverted to BC social agencies too, primarily womens groups, childrens groups and food banks. The release date is set for April 18th, 2005."

Four live shows are being planned between April 18th and the provincial election May 17, in each of Vancouver, Victoria, Courtenay and Nelson.

Betty Kracker is very excited to be a part of this project, we are!

XOXO Betty

03/2005
UPDATE- Just in! Vancouver Citizen's Rule CD release show will be at the Anza Club on May 12th...stay tuned for details....

We're playing an All Ages show on Saturday, March 26th with Anita Hoare and Radiokill at the Endoplasmic in Langley, for anyone with a yen to do some drivin'. Bring the kids! Starts early (Door 7:30pm)

02/11/2005
The Waldorf show on the 29th of January - what a blast! Really well-attended, lotsa scenesters and rockers rockin and makin th' scene....

Red Fizz opened with a solid, fun set o' pop rock - great bunch of ladies - wouldn't kick any of 'em outta bed fer eating crackers (!?!)

We got on a little late - Nevada was creating some kinda scene in the ladies room, and the drummer's always gotta screw around just a little bit more, but I do believe we kicked a certain amount of ass, once up. Popular wisdom has it - We Rocked!! We'll tighten up between songs more next show, promise - dang yacky players, possessed tuners, drinking of beer etc...

Omigod, did Thee Outs ever put out! Sexy Tanya was at her sauciest, Tracy's chops just sizzled, and the finale for their 'Psychotic Reaction' was about the most rocking thing I've witnessed since Lemmy was last in town (ok I maybe should get out even more, but seriously, wow!). Very enjoyable, lotsa fun. The Waldorf is, like, totally happening, eh?

A VALENTINE HANGOVER CURE with The Hunter Cometh, a truly entertaining bunch o' guys we last had the pleasure of rocking with at FaceFest 04. Variously described as 'punk funk', 'stoner rock', and 'ya, they're great!', we are all a-quiver with anticipation - what will they bring to the buffet on Tuesday February 15th at the Railway Club? They do want us to know 'They Are the Product'. Food for thought.

In March, Betty Kracker & Anita Hoare have a couple of hot dates (we couldn't resist). A night of sheer rock at the Waldorf in Vancouver on the 19th with Hooligan (who are completely Out of Order), followed by an All-Ages show way out in Langley (road trip!) on easter weekend (yes chocolate no bunnies or other shit - as a general rule). Rock On!