Links:

People With Whom I've Played/Recorded

Other People Whose Music I Like

Other Teachers

Interesting Organizations and Sites

Gear Info and Sources

Other Websites Featuring Betty

People Who Have Inspired Me Deborah Henson-Conant, wild woman of the harp (the big one with strings, not the harmonica, though she does have a "blue" harp...). Experiencing the energy of her performance first gave me a clue that sticking in the classical groove wasn't the only way I could go. Meredith Cooper made the transition from classical geek to rocking out in all styles a lot sooner in her life than I did. I owe Mer big-time for her continuing help in finding my way to new possibilities. Cheryl Hoenemeyer graduated from Wheaton College the spring before I started there, but I was always impressed by the recordings I heard and what people said about her. After college I'd see her name occasionally, but after a while - nothing. Then in 1997 her mid-life emergence as an award-winning singer/songwriter further encouraged my hope that it wasn't too late for me to find my musical voice. People With Whom I've Played/Recorded Agatha's Memory - a group of musicians assembled by New Bedford songwriter Jeff Washer to record his songs - I appear on the track Tempted of their first album The Gift To Believe. The Beau Roland Band - Alt-Country band on whose first album The Road to Wichita I appear. Big Amp Envy - Alternative Country band featuring accordionist Tom Stearns, formerly of The Gobshites. I recorded a couple tracks for their 2007 album, Penance Ad Frank - Boston pop favorite frequently compared to Bowie - I've played a couple shows of Jacques Brel covers with him. Ginger Ibex - My Classical/Rock crossover instrumental band performing the music of pianist Sharon Crumrine. The Gobshites - Irish Punk (think The Pogues rumble with the Ramones) - I played fiddle with them for four years, 2004-2008, appear on their first three albums, and still sit in sometimes. Grubstake - swamp-rock band formerly based in Boston, for whom I recorded a couple of tracks on their album Dynamite and Other Inventions. Los Hijos Unicos - Country/Blues/Folk/Pop band with whom I sometimes guest. The Milling Gowns - Original Dark Melodramatic Pop band - I played viola and 6-string violin with them . Paula Kelley put together her own 38-piece orchestra (in which I played) in order to get the sound she wanted for her latest album! Rev. Bob and the Darkness - Roots, Rhythm & Gothic Rock songs of murder, revenge, and general spookiness in Old West Victorian Gothic style - I used to play fiddle with them. Rick Berlin - a Boston music institution and a really nice guy. The Shelley Winters Project - now sadly no more, but MP3s still available, including their unreleased third album! Myke Weiskopf, leader of my first band The Rescue Party. Other People Whose Music I Like Angeline - the edgy, haunting and emotionally charged “folk-rock” project of longtime Boston rockers Emily Grogan and Linda Viens, and features my friend Meredith Cooper on fiddle. Tracy Bonham - another classically trained violinist turned to the Rock side... The Dresden Dolls - rock/cabaret duo who won the 2003 Boston Rock N' Roll Rumble. Gideon Freudmann is a cellist singer/songwriter. He was the first person I heard using a looper, which got me interested. Gogol Bordello - Eastern European Gypsy Punk! Tracy Grammer - fiddler and singer, partner of the late lamented Dave Carter. Patty Larkin is a great songwriter and guitarist. Christine Lavin - I liked her before she started appearing with a Boomerang looper, but that convinced me to get one. Joan Wasser - Yet another classical violinist now known for rocking out on 5-string electric, first with The Dambuilders, now solo as Joan As Police Woman Cheryl Wheeler writes and performs songs that range from hysterically funny to achingly beautiful. Other Teachers Nancy Cirillo: my last teacher (on viola) before my post-college classical burn-out. Janice Tucker was also a student of my first good violin teacher, Joe Leary, so when I was looking for a way back to playing and heard she was in town, I went to her studio first to ease my way back in. She also gave me Meredith's name when I was looking for a different style of teacher. Arturo Delmoni worked with me for about two years, further refining my classical "chops", until I realized that really wasn't what I wanted to play now. Barbara McCollough was a teacher of another sort, without whose collaboration I quite likely would not have come to where I am today with music and life. Marion Woodman's workshops were a major step in my coming back to what I really wanted to do with music. Interesting Organizations and Sites Berklee Summer String Fling is a great 3-day program in Boston for string players of all ages who want to learn and experience jazz-style improvisation. The Fiddle and Alternative Strings Forum is a great web board for all string players, both acoustic and amplified. Fiddlechicks.com is a cool site for female electric violinists. JamSpot is a new concept for your band rehearsals: fully-equipped (amps, drums, mics, PA), acoustically designed rooms to rent by the hour. Low Budget Superhero used to be Lexi Kahn producing super cool Boston area shows with local bands, and now is a great site for local show/CD reviews. Music for People: Art of Improvisation is a weeklong workshop for advanced and professional vocal and instrumental musicians who want to work on improvising. Gear Info and Sources ER-20 high fidelity earplugs reduce the overall sound level evenly across all frequencies without distortion, so they protect your hearing but still let you hear the band clearly. If you want MORE hearing protection, check out MusicSafe Natural Sound Earplugs. Studio Slips Can make you a custom padded cover for your amp/console/speaker at a reasonable price. Susan Bendinelli, the owner, made a nice gig bag for my Trace amp. An Incredibow is what you need if you're tired of breaking bow hairs at every rockin' fiddle gig! Southwest Strings are the only place I've found that sell the D'Addario Helicore Low C string sized specifically for violin, not viola, for my 5-string violin. Ned Steinberger's electric violins, violas, cellos, upright bass. Elderly Instruments - I bought my Trace and Pignose amps from their Used inventory - good prices and quality. PrePal - check here for trends in used electric instrument/amp/ etc. prices before you buy or sell. The GT-3 forum on Yahoo Groups is a must-visit if you own a Boss GT-3 Effects Processor, especially the Files area where you can download not only the original manual but FAQs and essential supplements written by the members. If you're bidding on eBay for gear, try using Auction Sniper to avoid being outbid at last minute. Other Websites Featuring Betty Betty's SonicBids Electronic Press Kit Betty's MySpace page Reverse Polish Notation, my solo looping project. The String Sluts, my trio/quartet side project. Betty's Berklee Music homepage. SoundCloud account of my original music. My RPM Challenge albums of original music. Bay Windows interviews Betty!

Last updated 22-Mar-2010