Betty Blowtorch
Last Call
Foodchain
On the verge of hitting it big, hard rock punks Betty Blowtorch came to an end in December 2001, when vocalist and guitarist Bianca Butthole was killed in a car crash. It was a huge loss for music, and it’s painful to think of what Bianca never had the time to achieve with her band. This collection of live and radio sessions, unreleased material and outtakes is a beautiful testament to the band she led, as much as it’s a painful reminder of what was never to be.
Formed in the wake of joke-y punks Butt Trumpet, Betty Blowtorch only had time to put out two releases before the tragic accident – the brilliant, Duff McKagan-produced Get Off EP and the full-length Are You Man Enough?, featuring a self-mocking rap by Vanilla Ice on the track “Size Queen.” The former release is represented by three tracks here, however, we get nothing from the full-length.
Complimenting the three songs from Get Off are 26 tracks of mainly unheard material, not only proving that Betty Blowtorch rocked harder than most, but that even their slightest material had more presence and attitude than most bands. Some of the previously unreleased demo tracks barely hold together, but there’s no mistaking Bianca’s forceful delivery and the enthusiastic performances her band gives. The songs are all about dicks, sex, stupid boys/clever girls and rocking very, very hard. While these songs are funny, they’re also much more than that – Betty Blowtorch was about sticking up for oneself and for each other, whatever middle-class society had to say about that.
Last Call>, for all its diversity and casualness, merely underlines this uncompromising attitude. As such, this is a beautiful and poignant tribute to a woman that will be sorely missed.
Foodchain Records: http://www.foodchainrecords.com/
