Go Betty Go's 25 years of DIY work ethic helped the group turn up for guitarist's cancer battle

In Los Angeles, fewer bands enactment progressive agelong capable to observe a 25th anniversary. For the women successful Go Betty Go, this milestone came arsenic hard, accelerated and furious arsenic 1 of their songs.

Imagine a Latina mentation of the Ramones, with hints of Descendents and Blink-182 thrown in. Though the set hasn’t gained large notoriety, its dependable has earned the radical a cult following. With a recently infused burst of vigor and optimism, the set is connected unreality 9 present that guitarist Betty Cisneros is officially successful remission from cancer, which was diagnosed implicit 2 years ago.

“When I was archetypal diagnosed with Stage 4 colorectal cancer, it was excessively idiosyncratic to share,” Cisneros said during a caller workplace league with her set astatine Blue Beach Studios successful Redondo Beach. “I didn’t adjacent archer my household close away. I conscionable told radical it was Stage 4 crab and near it astatine that.”

Eventually, Cisneros began sharing her story, not with her adjacent household oregon her band, but with the world, done posts connected societal media. “That vulnerability sparked thing powerful. Now I’ve got to conscionable truthful galore radical who’ve reached retired to me, different crab survivors, radical going done the aforesaid thing. We’ve shared our stories. It’s therapeutic for each of us.”

Last week, Cisneros received the quality from her doctors that her scans were clear, meaning that she’s successful remission. “I americium truthful thankful for this large news, but I inactive person a batch of betterment up of me,” Cisneros said. “I inactive can’t consciousness my hands oregon feet. “Playing guitar again meant relearning everything, since I had a batch of issues with my hands and feet. But, thankfully, we made it happen.”

As it turns out, Go Betty Go had begun penning caller euphony successful 2018, but erstwhile COVID-19 hit, obviously, things were delayed. The set went backmost to the workplace aft the pandemic began to upwind down, but each noticed thing was incorrect with Cisneros. “We knew thing was going connected with Betty,” bassist Michelle Rangel recalled. “But we each kept pushing forward. The euphony gave america thing to clasp onto, arsenic she went done this.”

For a set similar Go Betty Go, the euphony is vital, but truthful is the consciousness of sisterhood. “We see this set [a] family. So, of course, we each were down Betty, supporting her during that hard time,” Rangel said. “And erstwhile Betty had to measurement distant to instrumentality attraction of her health, we held the torch for her portion she recovered,” vocalist Nicolette Vilar said. “But we knew she’d beryllium back. She ne'er gave up.”

The powerfulness of the euphony helped Cisneros during her recovery, she says. “The euphony helped maine absorption connected thing else,” Cisneros said. “If I stayed astatine location reasoning astir what I was going through, that’s however you tin get into a hole, you know?”

As a set with 25 years of past and touring, including tours with bands similar Flogging Molly, respective appearances connected Warped Tour successful the aboriginal 2000s, and countless Southern California shows and nationwide tours implicit the years, it’s noticeable however humble the musicians inactive are, sticking to their DIY enactment ethic.

“We publication our shows. We plan our merchandise. We don’t person a immense squad astatine all,” said drummer/band manager Aixa Vilar (who is besides Nicolette’s sister). “Nicolette does our graphics, and Betty’s our circuit manager. We’re moving this vessel ourselves, and we emotion it; we wouldn’t person it immoderate different way.”

Cisneros agreed and laughed erstwhile asked however she juggled it all. “I’m benignant of the ma of the group. I similar being successful charge. Even though beingness has a mode of pulling the rug retired from nether you, readying makes maine consciousness grounded.”

In a quarter-century playing music, the bandmates emotion the memories they person made and the euphony they person gotten to stock with their fans. They’ve had the acquisition of watching fans turn up with them too. “We person seen parents with their kids coming to our shows, and we emotion that,” Rangel said. “It’s astonishing that fans tin stock our euphony with their kids and younger fans. We emotion that our euphony tin animate and power radical of each ages.”

Cisneros recalled a caller amusement successful Las Vegas and an brushwood with a instrumentality that moved her. “After the show, I had a instrumentality attack maine and say, ‘I person an ileostomy too.’ This created an instant enslaved betwixt us, and it was moving,” she said. “We talked similar we knew each other; it was precise special.”

With summertime successful afloat swing, and Cisneros’ caller bully quality of remission, Go Betty Go does person plans for tours, but things are inactive being finalized, truthful thing tin beryllium announced yet, the set said. But, for now, the set is opening a weeklong circuit of the West Coast, with its friends successful the Dollyrots, which volition marque a halt successful L.A. astatine the Echo connected July 3.

“We bash this due to the fact that it’s inactive fun,” Cisneros said. “We’re grateful radical care. This each started from passion, and that’s inactive what drives us.”