Bitch (band)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bitch is an American heavy metal
band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...
, formed in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
in December 1980. They gained notoriety as a result of their theatrical live performances inspired by
Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...
, which featured
sadomasochistic Sadism () and masochism (), known collectively as sadomasochism ( ) or S&M, is the derivation of pleasure from acts of respectively inflicting or receiving pain or humiliation. The term is named after the Marquis de Sade, a French author known ...
themes. Bitch was the first artist ever signed to
Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records (often shortened to Metal Blade) is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982 based in the U.S. state of California. The label primarily focuses on heavy metal. History Metal Blade Records was ...
.


History

Bitch was formed in December 1980, and played their first show in May 1981 alongside Dante Fox (later to become
Great White Great White is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The band is named after both the shark with the same name, and guitarist Mark Kendall's former stage nickname. In August 2008, Great White estimated they had sold aroun ...
). Shortly after the band was formed, guitarist David Carruth met Brian Slagel, future CEO of
Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records (often shortened to Metal Blade) is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982 based in the U.S. state of California. The label primarily focuses on heavy metal. History Metal Blade Records was ...
, and the two became friends. Slagel was working on a compilation album to tie into a heavy metal
fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...
he had started called ''The New Heavy Metal Revue'', and offered to place Bitch on the compilation if they would submit a demo to him. This project would become the landmark compilation ''
Metal Massacre ''Metal Massacre'' is a series of compilation albums released through Metal Blade Records. It is famous for "shedding light" on heavy metal and extreme metal bands such as The Obsessed, Trouble, Overkill, Metal Church, Metallica, Slayer, Vi ...
'' (1982), which would become famous for launching the career of
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
and for being the first album ever released by Metal Blade Records. Bitch's contribution to ''Metal Massacre'' was a demo version of "Live for the Whip", which would be rerecorded for their debut EP '' Damnation Alley''. Bitch signed for the label and released a self-financed EP titled '' Damnation Alley'' (1982). The following year, the group released their first full-length album, '' Be My Slave''. During the tour of the album, Bitch developed their controversial and elaborate stage shows. These included sadomasochistic elements such as bondage clothing and paraphernalia, and the humiliation of a male "slave" on stage. The band then became a target in the
Parents Music Resource Center The Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC) was an American committee formed in 1985 with the stated goal of increasing parental control over the access of children to music deemed to have violent, drug-related, or sexual themes via labeling albums ...
controversy. The ''Be My Slave'' LP was featured on talk shows and in a televised congressional hearing that took place before the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
’s Committee On Commerce, Science, and Transportation on September 19, 1985. Throughout this time, Bitch played regularly in Sunset Strip clubs like The Whiskey-a-Go-Go, Gazzarri's, The Roxy, and many others, sharing the bill with other metal groups such as W.A.S.P.,
Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...
and Armored Saint. Due to problems with their management, the group's follow-up album, ''
The Bitch Is Back "The Bitch Is Back" is a rock song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was the second single released from John's 1974 album ''Caribou'', and reached number 1 in Canada (his sixth in th ...
'' (1987), was not released until four years after the release of ''Be My Slave''. ''The Bitch is Back'' became the band's best-selling album due in part to the publicity created by the P.M.R.C. The band even went as far as thanking Tipper Gore and the P.M.R.C. for "keeping our name in the press" in the album's liner notes. In the same year, Betsy Bitch appeared as guest vocalist on a cover of
the Tubes The Tubes are a San Francisco-based rock band. Their self-titled 1975 debut album included the single " White Punks on Dope", while their 1983 single " She's a Beauty" was a top-10 U.S. hit and its music video was frequently played in the ear ...
' song "Don't Touch Me There" with Lizzy Borden for Borden's mini-album ''Terror Rising''. The following year, for commercial reasons, the group decided to change their name to "Betsy" and released a self-titled album by that name in 1988. The sound was more melodic and closer to
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
. Subsequently, the band produced another EP, ''A Rose By Any Other Name'' (1989), a stopgap compilation featuring remixes of previously released songs, unfinished tracks from previous recording sessions, and a song recorded for a tentative new album that was to be entitled ''Bet-Z'' (the project was subsequently abandoned). This is the last album released by Bitch to date, but the band has continued to perform on occasion ever since, with their most notable recent live appearance being in 2003 for the
Bang Your Head!!! Bang Your Head!!! was a heavy metal and hard rock festival held annually in Germany. First held in 1996 as a one-day indoor event in the Stefan-Hartmann-Halle in Tübingen with a crowd of 600 people, Bang Your Head!!! has since moved to Balin ...
music festival; their performance of "Live For The Whip" from this appearance is included on the ''Best of Bang Your Head''
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
(2006). Bitch also had four songs in rotation of MTV including "You'll Never Get out (of this Love Alive)" and "Turn You Inside Out". Original Bitch drummer Robby Settles died due to complications from leukemia on May 26, 2010. In the years preceding drummer Robby Settles' death, Settles and Electric Prunes guitarist Steve Kara were collaborating on a new album with a lineup featuring original member Betsy Bitch with bassist Steve Gaines of Abattoir, Bloodlust, and Anger as Art and Electric Prunes guitarists Jay Dean and Steve Kara completing the lineup. A second lineup featuring the members of Anger As Art played Germany's Keep it True Festival in April 2011 and some Los Angeles shows. The new lineup, now featuring Scandal West on drums and Chris Cardenas on guitar alongside Betsy and Angelo Espino, debuted at the Rainbow Bar and Grille's 42nd Anniversary Party in support of Great White on April 13, 2014. Curt Remington debuted taking Angelo's spot on bass in 2018 and has toured cross country with the band. The current line up is working on new material for release in 2022.


Current line-up

*Betsy 'Bitch' Weiss – vocals (1980–present) *Randal "Scandal" West – drums (2013–present) *Chris Cardenas – guitars (2013–present) *Curt Remington – bass (2018–present)


Previous members

*David Carruth – guitars (1980–2003) *Litty Hobbs – bass (1980–1981) *Robby Settles – drums (1980–2008; died 2010) *Kevyn Redwine – bass (1981–1982) *Mark Anthony Webb – bass (1982–1983) *Ron Cordy – bass (1984–1990) *Johnny Zell – bass (2003) *Steve Kara – guitars (2005–2008) *Jay Dean – guitars (2005–2008) *Steve Gaines – bass (2005–2008), guitars (2009–2012) *Daniel Oliverio – guitars (2009–2012) *Rob Alaniz – drums (2009–2012) *Angelo Valdespino – bass (2009–2018)


Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:18 PlotArea = left:110 bottom:120 top:0 right:30 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:12/01/1980 till:09/07/2024 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Colors = id:Vocals value:red legend:Vocals id:Guitar value:green legend:Guitars id:Bass value:blue legend:Bass id:Drums value:orange legend:Drums id:Lines value:black legend:Studio_Album id:other value:gray(0.8) legend:Other_release Legend = orientation:horizontal position:bottom ScaleMajor = increment:4 start:1981 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1981 LineData = at:02/18/1982 color:other layer:back at:12/01/1982 color:other layer:back at:07/01/1983 color:black layer:back at:02/28/1987 color:black layer:back at:04/20/1988 color:black layer:back at:06/01/1989 color:other layer:back BarData = bar:Betsy text:"Betsy Bitch" bar:David text:"David Carruth" bar:Steve text:"Steve Kara" bar:Jay text:"Jay Dean" bar:Dan text:"Dan Oliverio" bar:Chris text:"Chris Cardenas" bar:Litty text:"Litty Hobbs" bar:Kevyn text:"Kevyn Redwine" bar:Richard text:"Richard Zusman" bar:Mark text:"Mark Anthony Webb" bar:Ron text:"Ron Cordy" bar:Johnny text:"Johnny Zell" bar:SteveG text:"Steve Gaines" bar:Angelo text:"Angelo Espino" bar:Curt text:"Curt Remington" bar:Robby text:"Robby Settles" bar:Rob text:"Rob Alaniz" bar:Scandall text:"Scandall West" PlotData= width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,-4) bar:Betsy from:start till:08/01/1990 color:Vocals bar:Betsy from:01/01/2003 till:12/31/2003 color:Vocals bar:Betsy from:01/01/2005 till:end color:Vocals bar:David from:start till:08/01/1990 color:Guitar bar:David from:01/01/2003 till:12/31/2003 color:Guitar bar:SteveG from:01/01/2005 till:12/31/2008 color:Bass bar:SteveG from:01/01/2009 till:12/31/2012 color:Guitar bar:Jay from:01/01/2005 till:12/31/2008 color:Guitar bar:Steve from:01/01/2005 till:12/31/2008 color:Guitar bar:Dan from:01/01/2009 till:12/31/2012 color:Guitar bar:Chris from:01/01/2013 till:end color:Guitar bar:Litty from:start till:05/01/1981 color:Bass bar:Kevyn from:05/01/1981 till:05/01/1982 color:Bass bar:Richard from:05/01/1982 till:03/01/1983 color:Bass bar:Mark from:03/01/1983 till:11/01/1984 color:Bass bar:Ron from:11/01/1984 till:08/01/1990 color:Bass bar:Johnny from:01/01/2003 till:12/31/2003 color:Bass bar:Angelo from:01/01/2009 till:03/01/2018 color:Bass bar:Curt from:03/01/2018 till:end color:Bass bar:Robby from:start till:08/01/1990 color:Drums bar:Robby from:01/01/2003 till:12/31/2003 color:Drums bar:Robby from:01/01/2005 till:12/31/2008 color:Drums bar:Rob from:01/01/2009 till:12/31/2012 color:Drums bar:Scandall from:01/01/2013 till:end color:Drums


Discography


EPs

*'' Damnation Alley'' - 1982 *''A Rose by Any Other Name'' - 1989


Studio albums

*'' Be My Slave'' - 1983 *''
The Bitch Is Back "The Bitch Is Back" is a rock song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was the second single released from John's 1974 album ''Caribou'', and reached number 1 in Canada (his sixth in th ...
'' - 1987 *'' Betsy'' - 1989


See also

*
List of glam metal bands and artists The following list of glam metal bands and artists includes bands and artists that have been described as glam metal or its interchangeable terms, hair metal, hair band, pop metal and lite metal by professional journalists at some stage in their ...


References


External links


Betsybitch.com--unofficial information site about Bitch and Betsy BitchOfficial Bitch MySpaceInterview with Betsy Bitch at Sleaze Roxx
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bitch (Band) 1980 establishments in California Glam metal musical groups from California Hard rock musical groups from California Heavy metal musical groups from California Metal Blade Records artists Musical groups established in 1980 Musical groups from Los Angeles Musical quartets from California Noise Records artists