Betty Blowtorch caught the attention of fans with their decadent shows and rocking tunes from 1998 to 2001. It became quite famous in the late 90s. The hard rock band is an all-female American which was based in Southern California. The band was formed by some members of Butt Trumpet. Since its inception, it has been described as a tongue-in-cheek band with catchy hooks, muscular riffs, and an unrepentant party girl attitude.
The band was at a point considered as a group of women who outplayed and outdid men at their own game. They also earned some men’s respect in the industry gradually. Most of their fans were other rockers and men who were impressed with their on-stage acts and unapologetic attitude. Their female fans also admired and liked the fact that the group did not cater to men in any way.
In a society where women are still wedged in a confined space, this group of women rocked their tunes and their lyrics were full of vulgar language which was considered as a male rocker thing. They were seen as role models to many especially women who fantasied and wished they could do the same.
Members of Betty Blowtorch
Bianca Butthole – Bianca Halstead (bass and vocals)
She was born in the Bronx, New York on May 5, 1965, and a native of Los Angeles. She grew up watching punk bands in the 80s which made her she developed an interest and soon joined the act and other series of musical groups.
She was the frontwoman at Thom Bone’s Butt Trumpet before she left with two others to form Betty Blowtorch. She was described as a firecracker on stage who brought so much energy and vibe infusing it in their songs and performances.
An unfortunate accident happened on December 15, 2001. Butthole was killed in a fatal car crash in New Orleans. It was reported that she accepted a ride from a drunk driver just after the band had a performance at The Howlin’ Wolf which marked the end of the band. She was laid to rest at Hollywood Forever cemetery Hollywood, California. In November 2008, a substance abuse center was opened in her honor. It was named The Bianca Center for Substance Abuse.
Sharon Needles (Rhythm guitar, vocals)
She was in charge of the steady rhythms with her signature backing vocals. She started playing guitar as a teenager. Her first guitar was a Yamaha BB300 bass guitar and the first band she played with was called Flesh Weapon. After she left the Betty Blowtorch, she was involved with other bands. She later developed a heart condition, but luckily for her, the surgery saved her life.
Needles later joined Blare’s Psychostar and Suckerstar band which was based in Los Angeles from 2008-2009. She also played in an all-female AC/DC tribute band Hell’s Belles. Needles is a proud mother of a teenager (Zeke) whom she described as extremely handsome.
Blare N. Bitch (lead guitar)
She is also known as Blair Chodor was also a former member of Butt Trumpet. She formed The Blare Bitch project after Bianca died with Punky Romig as the lead guitarist. The two shared guitar and lead vocals duties. Her tracks like ‘Soul’ and ‘Outta Here’ were firmly rooted in hard rock.
Blare later formed Psychostar with Sharon Needles on bass and Lanie Fire on drums. They released a self-titled three-song EP in 2009 before they disbanded in 2011. She was also with the UVS, a Los Angeles band. The UVs were raw, loud, and tuneful. Blare N. Bitch has been focused on her about her musical endeavors and while still being sober over the passing of Bianca, she runs a yoga studio.
Judy Molish (Drums)
Judy Molish’s performance was described as having thunderous beats with a no-nonsense attitude. After she left Betty Blowtorch, she played in Cheap Chick which was an all-girl cover band of Cheap Trick. Despite leaving the band, Molish described the passing of Bianca as disheartening.
Other members of the band
Mia X (vocals and bass)
was in charge of vocals and bass in the band. She later created a band called the UVs an American punk/rock band in Los Angeles. The band had a passion for rock n roll, punk, and everything loud.
Jennifer Finch (guitar)
Also known as Jennifer Precious Finchm, she was born on 5 August 1966 and was raised in West Los Angeles. She was adopted in 1967 by Robert Edward Finch, an aeronautics engineer and his wife Sandra Jackobson. Asides being a musician, she is also a designer and a photographer. She began her musical career in the mid-1980s. She played bass in the San Francisco-based band Sugar Babydoll(1984-1986). She also played in the Hollywood band The Pandoras. Finch joined L7 in 1986 as the bass guitar player and additional vocalist. She was the sole songwriter of L7’s several songs and contributed immensely in the success of the band at that time. She was known as the primary bass player of the punk rock band L7 from 1986 to 1996.
After she left L7, she wrote and sang with other bands like OtherStarPeople before she joined Betty Blowtorch replacing Sharon Needles when she left the band. Finch later founded The Shocker punk rock group in Los Angeles.
Finch became interested in photography at an early age, so she enrolled for a summer art session at Otis parsons in 1980. She credits the support of her foster father who was also an amateur photographer. Her photograph (1979-1995) was on display at an LA Weekly art show at Aiden Riley Taylor Gallery in Hollywood. Her pictures depicted musicians in intimate moments as well as dark perspective of the youth in South California.
Finch has also featured in some television series and films like ‘The Census Taker’ and ‘Serial Mom.’
Dave Gara (drums)
She replaced Judy Molish when she left the band. He played on the final Betty Blowtorch tour in 2001. After the demise of the band’s leader, he played with the Bulletboys on the North American tour in January 2013. He moved on to writing, recording, and playing with Floozie, a New York-based band.
Successes and Tragedies the band had seen
The leader of the band, Butthole had a troubled past, she was an incest survivor and had also recovered from drug addiction and began playing after she cleaned up. It was said that she channeled her anger at the world and had a nonchalant attitude in most of her songs even exorcising ghosts and trying to rise above her past experiences. Butthole and a few others formed the band when Butt Trumpet which was founded by Thom Bone was disbanded and they still wanted to continue to play but as a different band with a different name.
The band has only one album which they released in 2001, titled “Are you man enough?” which marked the band’s debut with Foodchain records. The lead singer and bassist was Bianca Halstead. Their genres were hard rock and punk rock. They toured together with Nashville Pussy. During the tour, two members left the group in the middle of the night, the guitarist Sharon needles and drummer, Judy Molish. Bianca managed to keep the tour going by replacing the two that left with a guitarist, Jennifer Finch and a drummer Dave Gara.
In an interview with Anthony Scarpa, the band members said they never knew why the band’s name was picked or how the others all came and joined the group.
The group members disbanded after the death of their leader. In 2003, Foodchain issued a collection of rarities and live performances, demos, interviews, and outtakes were released to pay tribute to Butthole, it was titled “Last Call”.
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Life without Betty Blowtorch
Betty Blowtorch became the focus of Anthony Scarpa’s award-winning documentary film, “Betty Blowtorch and Her Amazing True Life Adventures.” The documentary captured the chronicles of the rise of hard-rocking females from the beginning to the tragic end when the leader passed away. Scarpa described the band as intensively fierce with so much energy, he went on to ask how the band members were dealing with the loss of their leader. Sharon and Judy felt bad after leaving the band on the road. They talked about the other bands they eventually joined and explained how they were holding up also.
During the 10-year anniversary of Bianca’s death, the girls did a memorial concert in 2012. They played their songs with guest vocalists like Tamie Down of Faster Pussycat and Newlydead Fame. Mia X sang most of the songs. The rockers meet from time to time, sharing their songs and playing together.
