08.20.10
Another great session with Bret Batterman last Sunday. We’ve even received a rough mix of “Hotel Bar”! Everything is sounding great, and we’re excited to have recorded a surprise cover (we didn’t think we’d get one in). Cate is out of town for a couple weeks, but Andy, Mike & Steve will be back in the studio for more guitars and some of their vocals… stay tuned!08.09.10
Recording went better than we could’ve hoped for on Sunday, and Andy was able to track some guitars on Monday — so we’re actually ahead of where we thought we’d be! Working with Bret Batterman is going really well. He knows what he’s doing and doesn’t rely on just having fancy equipment. It’s a real pleasure working with him, and we can’t wait ’til the tracking is done and we move on to mixing! We’ll be back in the “Pajama Room” next Sunday to wrap up drums and bass, and maybe even guitar.08.05.10
Exciting news! We’re headed out this Sunday to record with Bret Batterman in the “Pajama Room.” Bret is a great guy who has done some great work, and we’re hoping to get a good-quality demo for all of you! We have a list of songs we plan to do, but if you have any requests/suggestions, let us know.07.20.10
Our Austin Grill Rockville show was fantastic! Thanks to family, friends and fans for making it a wonderful night. We got to debut EVEN MORE new songs, which we love to do and hopefully you love it, too. Let us know your opinion! Do you like the new tunes? Hate ’em? Just want more new material? Covers? Originals? What songs do you want to hear us record? You can let us know by heading over to our contact page and e-mailing us, follow us on Twitter, or become a Facebook fan!07.13.10
We are so psyched to be playing Austin Grill Rockville again! Come out and party down with us this Saturday. There’s delicious fajitas, icy-cold margaritas, and in the spirit of Bastille Day you can review your elementary French with Cate! Find all the details on the shows page.06.15.10
Guess what? No, not chicken butt. The flier for the Austin Grill Rockville show is up! Check it out on the shows page.05.27.10
Long time no update! It was worth the wait, though — We’re pleased to announce our next show at Austin Grill Rockville, July 17. We are eager to get back to the rock and we hope you’ll all join us! Details on the shows page.04.06.10
Spring has fully come upon us (a little summer seems to be sneaking in, as well), and so Bette Noir is out to roll around in the mud and chase some squirrels… Never fear — we will be back in about a month to continue the rockin’ all summer long! We might even get some more pictures up for you folks in the meantime. So just hang tight, enjoy the weather, and look forward to all the rock that is headed your way!03.30.10
Time slots have been announced for the Battle of the Bands at Rock & Roll Hotel tomorrow! Bette will be kicking off the evening at 6:40pm. We only have a 20 minute set, so get there early (doors at 6pm) so you don’t miss it! All the details are on our shows page. This may be your last chance to see us until June or later…03.25.10
Less than a week until the next Bette show at the Rock & Roll Hotel, and the flier just went up! You can view & download it on the shows page.03.18.10
We are pleased to announce yet another show! We’ll be on the stage at the Rock & Roll Hotel in support of a new independent film, “Conquering the Rose.” The evening is a Battle of the Bands, with Bette and nine other bands competing to have a song on the film’s soundtrack! Complete details are on the shows page.03.15.10
There was a little dancing and a LOT of rock — Our first show of 2010 was FANTASTIC, thanks to all of you!It was a real pleasure to play at Austin Grill Rockville again. Staff and management are helpful and friendly, and the audience is a blast! We also got to debut some new songs, and it’s not an overstatement to say they were exceptionally well-received.
But we’re not ones to rest on our laurels of shows past. We’ve got another great show coming up on Wednesday, March 31. This time it’s another Battle of the Bands… More details to come, but for now just save the date and plan on seeing us kick butt!
03.02.10
Our 2010 debut is less than two weeks away! Between wedding planning and trips to the slopes, we’ve been working up some new tunes to show off, including a few “Irish” songs. That’s in quotes because some of our choices are a little… non-traditional.Everybody knows a good Irish (or any other) drinking song needs a bar full of people singing along, though — so it’s important that everyone comes out to Austin Grill Rockville to help us celebrate! As always, the important details are on our shows page.
We’ve also been busy with another little project, photos! Sure, we have all the wonderful photos our friends & fans have taken, but we needed a professional to help pretty us up. Ben Rasmussen has been kind enough to come work with us, so you can look forward to some excellent shots of the band!
02.19.10
The snows have passed (for now), and the roads are mostly clear… time to start thinking about green beer!We’re busy brewing up our own blend of malt rock and hoppy pop for next month. Be sure to join us at Austin Grill Rockville for our weekend-before-St.-Patrick’s-Day celebration. The new flier and all important details are posted on our shows page. There will be some wearin’ of the green, and if you’re lucky, we’ll break out some Irish-related tunes. What tunes, you ask? You’ll just have to come and see!
02.08.10
What a way to start the year! We hope everyone is staying safe and warm in the snow. Our guitarist/vocalist Andy and his lovely fiancée have been without power for days, but the rest of Bette has pulled through relatively harm-free… but we’ve got another storm brewing!We also have some bad news for ya’ll — our show in February at Light Horse has been canceled due to booking errors on the venue’s end. We’re looking into a possible future date there, but we’re being very cautious with that venue as we don’t like to cancel shows. We hope to return to Old Town soon for all our Alexandria friends!
Our show at Austin Grill Rockville in March goes on as planned, and remember — it’s a Saturday night!
02.04.10
Hello, Bette Friends! We are back for 2010 with lots of exciting news.First, you may notice something is different around here… That’s right, we’ve undergone a website makeover! In the past year we’ve grown and refined our sound so much we decided we needed a new look to go with it. You can get the latest here, on our NEWS page; head over to MEDIA for downloadable MP3s, fun videos, and oh-so-adorable pictures; get the details on where we’re popping up next at SHOWS; read Bette Noir: The Condensed Version on our ABOUT page; and drop us a line, network with our friends and venues, and find out where we hang out in the digital world on CONNECT.
Along with the web redesign, we also have a new “Bette Babe” mascot. Our new, refined, blue-collar Bette will be replacing our old beach bikini Bette, but if you want to say “I knew them when” and have proof, our old Bette stickers and cards are still available.
But the newness doesn’t stop there! We also have TWO shows to announce! First, we’ll be at the lovely Light Horse Restaurant in Old Town Alexandria on February 17. Then next month you can catch up with us back in Maryland at Austin Grill Rockville on March 13. You can celebrate a late Valentine’s Day and an early St. Patrick’s Day with us! As always, full details are available on the SHOWS page.
12.07.09
Thank you everyone who braved the area’s first brush with winter weather to see us at Austin Grill Rockville! We had a wonderful time and are pleased to announce the Austin Grill folks have asked us back in February! In the meantime, we’re each off to enjoy our family and friends over the holidays. Keep checking in for news on where Bette will be in 2010!Happy Holidays, everyone! Stay safe, warm, and happy!
11.23.09
Another fabulous show, thanks to our friends, fans, and fantastic bands Blue Pinto and The Shields Brothers! We broke out some of our ”B-sides“ and tried out the accordion rock for the first time. The band is looking forward to a well-fed Thanksgiving holiday, and then we’ll see you all again on December 5 at Austin Grill Rockville! As usual, you can check out the shows page for details.10.30.09
The new fliers are up for our shows at Solly’s and Austin Grill - go check ’em out on the shows page!10.21.09
There’s no rest for the sexxy — we’re pleased to announce the full line up for our next show, November 22 as Solly’s! Our first time at Solly’s went so well they’ve asked us back, and this time we’re bringing even more friends, Blue Pinto and The Shields Brothers!Bette Noir and Blue Pinto go way back, to a time when there was still a Grog & Tankard and Bette Noir had different members. It’s exciting to join them on stage once more! Some of you may remember The Shields Brothers from the FoxRocks contest. They wowed us, not only with their fun straight-up rock, but with their down-to-earth & sweet attitudes. Three great bands at an early show — check out all the details on the shows page.
And while you’re there, you might notice that we’re debuting at Austin Grill Rockville in December! That’s an all-Bette, all night show!
10.01.09
“We have a clear winner.”With those words, it was official: You — our fans — had sent Bette Noir to the FoxRocks finals. It was a long night (we went on first, and voting was after the last band), but so many of you stuck it out to scream your heads off for us that it paid off.
Our set went off without a hitch. We got to play all the songs we planned on, and the judges were kind. The other two semi-finalists that night were formidible, but in the end we came out on top, and we were, quite frankly, touched. So each and everyone of you deserves a big thank you, whether you could make it out or were just there with us in spirit, for showing us the love.
And now we need you even more! The finals will be held at Clarendon Grill, on Wednesday, October 14. We’ll be facing off against the winner of next week’s semi-final round, and it’s guaranteed that the competition will be fierce. Please check the shows page for details, and come out and support your favorite local rock band… and bring some loud friends!
By the way, if you happened to be watching Fox5 Morning News this morning you might have caught a clip of us playing “Blonde” last night… and the anchors commenting on cate’s hair! We’re also shown on the Fox website, playing “Hotel Bar” (embedded video below).
09.25.09
Bette Noir semifinal timeslot announced!Wednesday, Sept. 30, 7 p.m.
Clarendon Grill, 1101 N. Highland St., Arlington, VA
Clarendon Grill is conveniently located near the Clarendon metro stop.
The winner is based on audience response, so please come out and holler yer head off!
09.21.09
YOU DID IT!Thanks to everyone who voted for us in the FoxRocks contest, we are moving on to the semi-finals!
The next step will be for us to perform at The Clarendon Grill on N. Highland St. in Arlington, VA with two other semifinalist bands on either Wed. Sept. 30, or Wed. Oct. 7. We'll send out all the date/time details as soon as we get 'em. The only way we'll have a shot for moving on to the finalist round (and another show at The Clarendon Grill on Wed. Oct. 14) will be by the noise level our friends generate at the show. So mark your calendars and get those lungs in shape!
And check out the song that we were voted in for, Sunburn.
09.09.09
Voting is now open for the FoxRocks competition! Please go to their site and vote for us!You can vote once a day, per email address, through September 20.
Please note the sound quality on the Fox site is not that great, so if you’d like to hear Sunburn in all its glory you can download it here.
09.01.09
It’s a beautiful day in BetteLand! We want to say ‘thanks’ to all who came out to see us this past weekend at Solly’s U St. Tavern. We had a great time playing with the other bands - and we want to give some extra-special props to our friends in Tieweb who asked us to join them. Be sure to check them (and their brand, spankin’-new CD) out! It was a real pleasure to play to a room full of bright faces, and your response to our special cover made the evening. Miss the show? Want to know what cover song made the magic happen? Guess you’ll have to see us at the next show!!!We also want to let everyone know that Bette Noir has entered the FoxRocks band competition, sponsored by local TV news station, Fox5 (WTTG). Contestants (like us) will have their original songs posted online through the Fox5 website, and then our progression through the different stages of the contest will depend on people voting for us online, beginning on September 7. Eventually, six bands will be selected to play at Arlington's Clarendon Grill in late September and early October in a kind of rock-off, in order to determine the ultimate winner. The grand prize winner will perform on Fox5 Morning News and will have a music video made. Cool, eh?
We don't have the exact link to give to you just yet for the initial online voting stage, but when we do, please show your love for Bette Noir!
08.27.09
UPDATE to our Sunday, August 30 show: We will be starting our set at 7:00pm SHARP, so please come a little early to make sure you have your beverage of choice and can enjoy the ENTIRE set.
08.19.09
The flier for August 30th at Solly’s is now up on the shows page. Download it and bask in the awesome.
08.04.09
Long time no see… Bette’s been on summer vacation, but we’re back with our sunburn on to close out the dog days of August! Hit the shows page for details on our next show at Solly’s in DC!
05.14.09
New show annoucement! We’ll be returning to Stacy’s Coffee Parlor — check out the shows page for all the details!
We’ve also got our first studio demo up! Go download it and rock out to our ‘hit single’ whenever you want!
01.26.09
The pictures from Bangkok Blues are up — check them out on the picture page. We’ve also got some new videos from that show up, including the ever-popular “Fist City,” so check ’em out!
01.26.09
Thanks to everyone who came out to Bangkok Blues! We had a great time and we hope ya’ll did, too. We’ve got some new pictures to post from the show, so come back later this week to check ’em out!
12.25.08
UPDATE!
The Bangkok Blues show has been moved up to January 21, 2009. Continue your inaugural celebrations with us in Falls Church!
11.17.08
Where’s Bette?
Yes, it has been too long since we’ve updated our lovely friends and fans on our whereabouts. But do not fear, brave Betteans! We have only been hibernating to work on new songs for your listening pleasure. Bette will be back in the new year, January 21, 2009, with a show at *drumroll please* Bangkok Blues! Now, it’s a couple months away, and the holidays are a busy time and all, so don’t worry — we’ll remind you again as the date approaches. And who knows, we may find a few more videos and recordings between now and then, so try to stop in every once in a while so you don’t miss out!
09.24.08
What a great show at Fat Tuesday’s! It was a very fine late summer evening to bring the rock, and believe us, it got brought. Lots of friends came out (go suburbanites!) and we met a lot of new friends, too — we were pleased with our set and it was nice that so many in the audience let us know that they were pleased! But we just opened up the night; Gaslight Society took over once we were thoroughly soaked with sweat and kept the rock happening. For those of you who just couldn’t make it, or if you want to relive the awesomeness, we’ve got more video posted and more photos on the picture page. We don’t have anything new scheduled at the moment (it’s hard work rocking the metropolitan DC area, and sometimes we need a break), but keep checking back here and on the shows page for any updates... or you can sign up for the mailing list!
09.17.08
The Saturday, September 20 show is fast approaching! Grab your buddies and see us at Fat Tuesday’s opening for Gaslight Society, starts at 9pm, $5. The whole scoop and the flier are on the shows page. If you just can’t wait (and we know, you can’t), we’ve got a short video clip from the Red & Black show up! And as if that weren’t enough, we also have photos from Red & Black posted on the picture page, so you can check our purty selves out before you see us in person this weekend.
09.04.08
Whew! It’s been a crazy summer for us, but it ain’t quite over yet! The Red & Black show was great — thank you to all who turned out, and thanks to Andrew Grimm, The Emeralds, and Moldig for sharing the stage with us! We’ve got another show to announce, and this one is for all you suburbanites! Saturday, September 20, at Fat Tuesday’s, we will be opening for the fabulous Gaslight Society for their CD release party! Gaslight Society is a hard rockin' bluesy kind of female-fronted outfit, full of smooth melodies with rough edges. Music starts at 9pm and the cover is a measly $5. Full details and the flyer on the shows page.
08.12.08
Update to the update on the August 21 show at the Red & Black — Andrew Grimm will come alone to rock you (and us) in an acoustic solo fashion. Still delischuschs... be there when doors open at 8:30pm to be sure you catch his whole set.
08.05.08
Update on the August 21 show at the Red & Black! We’ve added Andrew Grimm’s Baltimore/DC alt.country/roots rock/folk outfit June Star to the line up! June Star will kick off the evening, followed by Bette Noir, and we’ll finish out the night with The Emeralds. Check out the shows page for all the updates and the revised flier.
07.29.08
Stacy’s was AWESOME, again! We rocked the joint past closing time (as is our wont) and managed to only utter a couple curse words in front of our littlest fans. We’ve also got a few more details on the August 21 show at the Red & Black, so check out the shows page for those and the flier. We’ll be joined by Cincinnati rockers The Emeralds! There will be one more band with us that night, too, we’re just deciding who, so keep checking back here for the latest...
07.07.08
OMG OMG OMG! We’ve got videos on YouTube! W00t!
Also, we’re hammering out the details on an August 21st show at the Red & Black — This show will be a big deal for us so mark your calenders now! Stay tuned for all the nitty gritty...
06.06.08
Well, we’re gonna do it again — we’re playing Stacy’s Coffee Parlor! Don’t worry, though, you’ve got time to plan for this one. We’ll be rockin’ out July 25. Check out the shows page for the scoop.
05.07.08
What a show, what a show! Thanks to everyone who came out to support us at our Cinco de Mayo rock spectacle, and thanks to Tieweb and Galaxy Hut for having us. We had a grand time, and hope to see you all again very soon — sign up for our mailing list to be the first on your block to hear when we schedule a new show!
04.29.08
Another fantastic and fun show at Stacy’s Coffee Parlor last Saturday! We couldn’t ask for a better crowd. Thanks to Holly & Rachel for the superb service. We’re sad to hear it will be our last show at Stacy’s before Holly leaves for tropical shores. Fortunately, Rachel makes an excellent mochamochamocha for cate :)
03.26.08
We had such an enthusiastic reception at Stacy’s Coffee Parlor, we’ve been invited back to do it again, April 26!
03.24.08
Thank you to everyone who came out to the show at Stacy’s Coffee Parlor!
We had a fantastic time and way too much caffeine. Many thanks to Gibson and Holly, our coffee bartenders for the evening. We hope to be back at Stacy’s very soon!
No shows scheduled right now, but we’ll be adding some soon — check the shows page for more details. -->