Dream Police - Seattle Gay News

Hello Betty: An
interview with Betty
vocalist Amy Ziff
courtesy of www.hellobetty.com
by Larry Nichols
Philadelphia Gay News
Special to the SGN
“I can’t say things like that because it
makes me sound horrifically un-humble,”
Betty vocalist Amy Ziff said, trying to back
away from a very bold statement she made
not even five seconds earlier.
She was talking about a new song the
band has introduced into its live set that she
has high hopes for. And since we here at
PGN love to grind humility under our heels
like a spent cigarette, we weren’t about to
let her off the hook in describing it.
“My favorite new song that we’re doing
live that I hope Philly really loves is called
‘My Name is Linda Blair.’ My wish is that
it turns into the biggest fag anthem of all
time,” she laughed.
We’re down with that, but who’s to know
if it’s the earth-shaking Gay anthem she
claims it is?
“I’ve been practicing,” she said. “So I’m
hoping that I can get my head to turn all the
way around during the performance of it.”
That will get our devil horns in the air.
Stealing the show is nothing new for New
York-based alternative rock group Betty,
featuring Ziff on vocals with her sister
Elizabeth on vocals and guitar and Alyson
Palmer on vocals and bass. The group is
primed to rock out at Philly Pride this year,
which is a tour stop they are always more
than happy to make.
“It’s right up there in the top 10,” Ziff
said, comparing Philly’s Pride Festival to
the numerous other pride festivals at which
Betty is a seasoned performance vet.
“Maybe in the top five. It’s an amazing
good time and it’s always blazing hot for
some reason.”
Ziff said that along with the new anthemin-waiting,
audiences should be delighted
with Betty’s other new songs, which,
outside of the band’s live shows, should
see the light of day on its new CD later this
year.
“I think when we started, we were
doing electronica stuff before we had live
instrumentation backing us up and now we
have a great combination of everything,” she
said, speaking of the additions of guitarist
Tony Salvatore and drummer Mino Gori to
the group. “We tried out some of the new
songs in Paris and the French audiences
love it. So if it’s good enough for Paris, it’s
good enough for Philly.”
Betty has a long history of pride
performances and Ziff points out that
appearing at a pride festival wasn’t always
as in-vogue as is it now.
“We played, I think, one of the very first
Gay prides in Washington, D.C., where
we formed,” she recalled. “I remember
some agencies and management companies
saying that it was a bad move in our career.
It was super-political in the beginning.
Our friends were dying of AIDS. We were
coming out. There wasn’t a question. It
wasn’t something you thought about. You
just did it because you wanted to be part of
the whole celebration and making a stand.
“Now it’s a little bit different. It’s less
political and it’s more of a party, but I think
when you step up and you realize what’s
happening and you see some of these great
communities all over the country and the
world, it’s awe-inspiring. I think that, more
than sharing the stage with different acts or
playing with different people, it’s the most
significant thing as performers to see where
we’ve come, where we have to go still and
how we’re all dancing as we’re part of the
revolution.”
Ziff went on to further extol the virtues of
performing at pride festivals.
“Economically and politically, people
realize we’re the best audiences in the
world,” she said. “Even if you’re not part
of this community, if you support this
community and you put on a show, it’s great.
We’ll always be part of this community
forever and ever and ever.”
For more information on Betty, see www.
hellobetty.com or www.myspace.com/
bettymusic.
© 2007 Philadelphia Gay News
(L-R) Elizabeth Ziff, Alyson Palmer & Amy Ziff of Betty
June 15, 2007
PRIDE ‘07 Music
Seattle Gay News
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