1. Hi Go Betty Go! Please introduce yourself to those who might not know you.
Hey Gritty! We’re Go Betty Go, established by sisters Aixa and Nicolette Vilar, Betty Cisneros, and Michelle Rangel. Everyone except Michelle grew up in the suburbs of Glendale, while Michelle was raised in the LA neighborhood of West Adams. We started the band shortly after high school in the year 2000 and played locally non-stop for a few years. We eventually caught the attention of the indie punk label Side One Dummy, who signed us. Shortly after that, we began touring cross-country non-stop. We’ve managed to survive the test of time, lineup changes (both back and forth), years of touring, hiatuses, and health challenges. But we’re still ticking and even have some new music coming out soon!
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2. How did your connection with Shira and Gritty In Pink come about? Were you friends from the Warped Tour Shiragirl Stage days?
Yeah! It must have been during one of our Warped Tour days back in the early 2000s or so. It’s crazy to say out loud, but it’s been two decades since then. During that time, it was rare to see women musicians performing and hustling just like any other band. Seeing the Shira stage pop up on Warped Tour, seemingly from one day to the next, and grow from its early beginnings was awesome. I can’t remember the exact moment we met Shira, but I always remember her being so friendly and inviting—a huge advocate for women and young girls, and such a hard worker, making things happen. We kept in touch over the years, and we’re happy to support her entrepreneurial journeys and successes. I think we even played one of the first Gritty in Pink shows before the world went into Covid lockdown.    
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3. What's it like to be a part of the effort to create a supportive community for a set of diverse women in the music industry?     
‍Honestly, it’s more of a joy than an effort, because it’s an extension of who I am and why I play music. If my joy and effort bring strength to the community by putting myself out there, then I’m more than happy to step forward and show that anyone can follow their passion, regardless of the stereotypes that exist.

4.When did you first realize you wanted to pursue a career in music?
Were there specific influences or moments that made you recognize that being in a band was your dream?As a child, my sister and I always started bands together—even before we learned how to play instruments. So, I think we’ve had the bug pretty much our entire lives. Even at 5 years old, I would play my dad’s Casio keyboard, use the demo samples on it, and write songs about my interests as a child, like the board game Monopoly, saving whales, etc. I even recorded them on cassette tape! My parents have those recordings somewhere. Good lord, please keep them stored! Ha!
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As a pre-teen, I really started grasping the idea of wanting to be in a real band and getting serious about it. I think seeing Green Day on SNL in 1994 for the first time really sparked a fire underneath me, and from that day forward, I was in full band throttle mode.
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5. Betty, you’ve been so inspiring and strong with sharing your cancer battle with your audience, what’s it like to share your experience so openly? And what has surprised you the most about yourself during this journey?
I began sharing my story initially as a thank you for the overwhelming support I received soon after my diagnosis became public. The response to my first letter was equally overwhelming, and I began to receive questions from all corners. As my journey continued, many of you decided to come along with me. It’s to those people that I am writing. I will forever be grateful for you. Writing to you and hearing from you has made my journey a lot less scary than it could have been.

I’m not as afraid as I thought I would be. I’ve known people who have passed away from cancer, my dad included, and it was a scary thing to see. You never think it’s going to hit home, much less happen to you. Yes, I was scared; it’s scary to hear. But I accepted it and decided I want to win. I want to know the end of my story. And then I wasn’t scared anymore.
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6. Betty, do you have any advice for fellow musicians dealing with similar health challenges? How can fans and the music community best support you and others in similar situations?
My advice to anyone facing a challenge: hold onto your faith, hold onto your humor, and be grateful for what you don’t understand. You’ll get through it. You’re tougher than you think you are. Life is good, even when it’s threatening.
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7.  Your band just wrapped up a tour back in June. How was your experience on this tour? Did your approach to touring and performing change since Betty’s diagnosis?
One word: Blessed. We’re just lucky to still be able to dust ourselves off and get back out and do what we all do best. Betty couldn’t join us this time around as she continues to focus on healing, but we had our lovely friend Adam Bones help fill in on guitar duties.

We missed Betty tremendously, as she’s such a presence both on and off stage. But we did find a way to bring her with us. Not only would we call and text each other from the road to keep her updated on how things were going and catch up, but she also sang an intro to one of our new songs every night! How, you ask? On our upcoming record “Black & Blue,” Betty sings the intro to one of our songs. We thought it would be special to make that part of the show, so we set up a trigger with just her vocals to be heard loud and clear. It’s just beautiful. Betty has a lovely voice, and hearing her every night brought chills to both us on stage and the audience there for the show. It was magical to make her part of the show night after night, even though she wasn’t physically there.

The music community has been one of the factors in her being able to fight cancer the way she has. Hearing the support from everyone at the shows firsthand is humbling, but also so healing. 

8. Go Betty Go has a new EP called “Black and Blue” coming soon. What can your fans expect from this new project?
“Black and Blue” is an EP that has been a long time in the making. We started working on these songs as soon as the pandemic broke out but had to pause like everyone else in the world at that time. As soon as it was clear to get back together and work in the studio, we received Betty’s cancer diagnosis, which hit us all hard. But from that day forward, we decided we would stand strong and do everything in our power to help Betty fight and overcome cancer. It even sparked old ideas that were finally brought to the light of day.

Two of the songs on this upcoming EP are ones we first wrote years ago when Emily Wynne-Hughes was in the band. We have a two-decade-long history, but there was a moment when Nicolette quit the band, and Emily stepped in to take the reins. Nicolette has been back for many years now, but this EP brought the band’s history full circle, as we invited Emily to come back and re-work some of those old original songs that had never been released before.

We’re proud of the EP, and it has a strong backbone full of grit and determination, reflecting the struggles we all went through as we wrote and recorded these songs. “Black & Blue” is a reference to the bruises life gave us during these past difficult years. We heal from bruising, and even though it was challenging to make this EP, we overcame it and brought old material back to life. We’re proud of what we’ve done, and it will be out on September 13th, followed by our record release show in LA on September 19th at The Paramount.
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9. What was the first song or album that made you want to become an artist?
For me, it was probably “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” by RHCP!
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10. Do you have a particular ritual or routine that helps you get into a creative mindset when writing/creating a song?
Yes, peace and quiet, which is ironic since I tend to write loud and fast music!
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11. What’s your favorite show you've ever played?
One of our earlier shows, when we played to a sold-out home crowd in Hollywood, resonates dearly with me. It was the first time the crowd sang all our songs word for word back to us as we performed them. It was such an amazing moment to experience, and feeling the passion and energy coming back at us for the first time was unforgettable.

12. Who are your musical inspirations?
So many artists and genres have been a huge influence on us throughout our lives. Each member of the band has their own influences, and we vary widely in our tastes. But I’d say artists such as Edith Piaf and No Doubt, Chuck Berry and The Clash, Madonna and Green Day, with a spark of Manu Chao and Aterciopelados, have had a significant impact on us.
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‍13. Dream music collaboration? 
Hmm… That’s one I don’t think I’ve thought of before. Being in a punk band, there aren’t necessarily too many collaborations in our genre. If anything, a dream come true would be having the opportunity to tour with No Doubt! But can someone please get them to agree to go back on tour already??? That would be awesome!


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