Stealing Betty

STEALING BETTY: STEALING BETTY (2011)
December 14, 2012 · by Ryan from Ryan's Reviews · in Music Reviews.

Musicians:
Tonya, Myke, Deano & Tom

I have to say, I enjoy a hard rock band that has a female lead. Sometimes. Not Evanescence – which to me seems more like a female fronted parody of nü-metal than anything else – or Kitty – which really seems to be more about the uniqueness of a chick band that sounds guttural than actual good music – but a lot of female-fronted rock can be a lot of fun. One of my favorite bands that no one has heard of is Hammerbox, which was a grunge band with a female lead singer and male secondary singer, and they made one really, really good album and was never heard from again. Stealing Betty is definitely in the “good” female rock category, no growling bullshit or silly nü-metal here, just some ass-kicking hard rock.


Tonya rocks so hard that the background doesn’t matter anymore…
From listening to STEALING BETTY, I really have to wonder why you have not heard of this band yet. No, they are not the best thing ever, evar; but Stealing Betty are a really solid, strong, hard-rocking group with a lot of radio appeal. Tonya’s vocals wouldn’t win American Idol, but I’m sure to a band like Stealing Betty that is a compliment (and it is meant to be); she has a strong voice that carries over the heavy backbone laid down by the rest of the band. The guitars are nothing special but are always solid, and really rock. The bass, which often gets almost into a KoRn like groove, is a standout on the album; there’s no Les Claypool like intricacy or weirdness, it is all pretty straight-forward, but it’s heavy as hell and adds a great weight to the low end of SB. The drums, like the rest, are nothing extremely special, but more than extremely competent. Overall as a release, SB really doesn’t do anything really “out there” or “different,” but what it does, it does really well. And what it does is that it rocks your socks off.


Stealing Betty, stealing your eardrums…
One of the bits of SB that stood out to me the most was the lyrics. There is no “check me out I’m a cute chick don’t you want me” boringness here. Sure, the songs are a lot about love, and love lost, but again they are presented in a very kick-ass way. On “Natural Born Thrillers” Tonya sings “I will do anything / if you give me everything / I can be your kerosene / you can be my match / we can set the world on fire / burn it up with our desire / natural born thrillers / killing haters in our path,” which is a lot cooler than saying “I think you’re hot, do you think I’m hot too?” On “Shut Up” she sings “The end is coming / I can feel it / it’s written on your face / I can see it / I know she’s skeezy / so typical and sleazy / you’re not the man I’d thought you’d be / so don’t you fucking lie to me!” which is a sentiment that has been expressed in many a love-lost song, but usually not presented with such balls. Especially from a female lead singer! It’s this overall ballsy, kick-ass, pedal to the metal (how many more clichés can I fit into one sentence?) feel that Stealing Betty brings that I enjoyed the most about their EP.

SB is a short EP – four tracks and then a “clean” version of “Shut Up” – but it showcases what I think is a very solid base for future releases. This band, with some polish and some time, will be a contender. They rock hard enough to keep the average hard-rock dude entertained, and the fact that they do so with a female front will keep that dude’s girlfriend entertained too.


Stealing Betty is here, and they WILL cut you if you mess with them.
Overall, I enjoyed SB a lot. Sure, it’s not Pink Floyd and it’s not TOOL, but it is catchy, and rocking, and gets stuck in your head. With a little national radio play, Stealing Betty could be a much more commonly known band. With a couple of good videos on Mtv (so they still do that?), Stealing Betty could be a really well known band. I am really looking forward to seeing what else they release in the future, but for know I am going to continue to enjoy the SB EP. I love it when you have some balls-to-the-wall, hard rocking party rock, and to top that off: it’s being delivered by a kick ass chick… loads of fun.
- Ryan's Review

“Stealing Betty rocks and is one of the best bands ever! Their performance is sexy, dirty, raw, and fills the room with gripping energy” (J. Gall,Spin/Rolling Stone). This group of four hailing from Michigan got together in 2008 to form Stealing Betty and consists of Tonya (singer), Myke (guitar), Deano (drums) and Tom (bass). Their debut, self-titled EP was produced by Mike Puwal (Zug Izland & ICP) at Nashville’s Sound Kitchen and mastered by Brad Blackwood (Saving Abel, Sick Puppies), not too bad for four people from Michigan as a break through composition.

Strap in for a thrilling ride with the first track of the album, “Natural Born Thrillers.” The distorted guitar in the beginning of the song, Myke sets the tone for the album that this female fronted metal band has a different sound than what you’re used to… it’s crisp and clean, while still raw and dirty. “I wanna be your dirty woman” is the first line from Tonya and it’s “the beginning of something neither of us planned.” This track is a of dirty love song that grabs the listener by the lapel and throws them into the middle of a head banging, sweaty, adrenaline filled rock show, a great choice for the single.

Myke’s guitar solo seems to play alone to Tonya’s lyrical rhythm, except it’s a few octaves up. With a strong, solid voice in the lower register, Tonya seems to be a blend of Shirley Manson with a side of Joan Jett and it’s a welcomed blend for sure. “Natural Born Thrillers” not only showcases Tonya and Myke’s abilities, but there is a chorus for each member of the band to strut their stuff. The second to last chorus of the song features Tom jamming out on bass solo while the final chorus features Deano wailing on the toms and bass pedal of his kit. The end to this song is much like that heard for the finale of a live performance, with all the members going crazy on their instruments and Tonya holding out a long note, then the whole group coming together for the big finish.





“Shut Up” and listen to the next song on the album which starts with Myke ringing in your left ear and Tom crawling in your right. Effects on Tonya’s voice reverberate through your eardrums and Deano keeps the rhythm. “You’re not the man I thought you’d be, so don’t you fu@#^% lie to me!” is the mantra of this song. Sprinkles of guitar riffs are spread throughout this track that tells some unnamed “murderer of love” to stop wasting his breathe and just “Shut up!” There is definitely plenty of attitude in this song and it fuels this metal band to create a really angry, empowering rock anthem.

The instruments in this next track start off with Myke, then “Multiply” to bring you Deano, then Tom, and Tonya bringing in the rear to complete the full sound of this equation to rock your face off. Tom’s tuned down bass makes it easy to hear the plucking of strings throughout the entire track, something that is not a common sound in rock and, as a bass player, I can appreciate the layer of complexity it adds to this song about a compulsive liar who is trying not to spiral out of control. This is the most audibly impressive track on the EP, by far. The differing tempos and additions of electronic elements with varying riffs help to add to this complex theme that is topped off with all the boys lending their vocals and multiplying with Tonya to a crashing end of the track.

The EP is set to “Fade Away” with the final track, but all it really ends up doing is leaving the listener wanting more. The intro bass riff is very reminiscent of the old style of Fieldy from KoRn and the vibration of the strings can be heard throughout the entirety of the song. The previously mentioned electronic elements are again present in this song, but they don’t take away from the metal in the least, if anything, it’s more of a cohesive blend that helps to further improve both individual aspects. Tonya seems to be begging her love interest to open up to her so she can help him with his problems. The chorus sings, “You can do what you want to, but I’ll be there to stop you, cause I won’t stand by and watch you fade away.” Without being able to know the subject though, Tonya can’t do anything to help them and the song finally fades to an end, along with the rest of the EP while listeners beg Tonya and the boys to get to know them more with additional tracks.

These four unique tracks definitely stick in your head. The only problem is that they leave you wanting more that isn’t there. While there is much diversity throughout the EP, these four songs are not sufficient enough to give listeners an idea of the full range of Stealing Betty. The band should have sacrificed a bit more time to make a full length album release to feed the hunger for more of their music.

See http://stealingbetty.com for more info!

Rating: 8.9/10 - Sound Kitchen

“Shut Up is the standout track, mainly because it allows the band the opportunity to really spit out some attitude. It’s great to hear a band that is genuinely pissed about something, rather than another set of dudes posturing.”
Brett Callwood – Metro TImes Detroit – City Slang - Metrotimes

“The Stealing Betty EP will be released on July 1st. I highly suggest you pick it up. If this EP is a sign of things to come, the rock world better make room. Stealing Betty just put in its candidacy for the big stage.”
Mark Kilmer – Beneath the Grid Music - Beneath the Grid