Some Los Angeles bands are coming together for one of their own.
Members of area acts Go Betty Go, The Dollyrots, Johnny Madcap and The Distractions, Bad Cop/Bad Cop and more rallying to the aid of Go Betty Go guitarist Betty Cisneros, who was recently diagnosed with stage four cancer and is currently on her third round of chemotherapy.
The groups are hosting an all-ages benefit concert with proceeds going directly to Cisneros on July 3 at The Paramount in Los Angeles.
“We just had band practice the other day and it’s going to be a lineup of all of us friends and it feels very healing,” Go Betty Go vocalist Nicolette Vilar said during a recent phone interview. Go Betty Go will perform with The Two Tens guitarist Adam Bones filling in for Cisneros.
“It feels like a beautiful thing coming out of a situation where we just need to show Betty the love and show her that we are all here for her and give everyone else the chance to do the same,” she continued. “It’s nice to see and feel all of that love and support and to show her that people really do have her back.”
Go Betty Go is an all-female Latina pop punk band that was formed in Glendale in 2000 by high school friends Vilar and Cisneros along with drummer Aixa Vilar and bassist Michelle Rangel. The band signed to SideOneDummy Records, played two summerlong Warped Tours and continued to headline shows across the country. They’ve been through several ups and downs as a band and as friends, but Vilar said that a moment like this further proves that their relationship is unique and unbreakable.
“They’re all like my sisters,” she said. “We have this beautiful bond and we’ve gone through so much that I almost feel like it’s like having a team of superheroes. We’re just regular people on our own, but when we come together, it’s something really special and we get each other in a way that nobody else can.”
Vilar reports that Cisneros is in high spirits, though she can’t have too many visitors due to her weakened immune system. She’ll be unable to attend the show, but they are offering a livestreaming option for fans to tune in and donate.
“I think it’s wonderful that we’ll be able to have the fans from all over there, but it’s also a way for Betty to watch the show, too,” she added.
Through a GoFundMe page, fans and other bands have raised over $40,000 for Cisneros. Vilar said that following the initial diagnosis it was difficult to navigate any sort of health insurance or assistance to offset the cost of numerous doctors appointments, scans, tests and treatments. However, Vilar said they’ve finally gotten to a place where Cisneros will properly be covered and begin to receive financial help for her care.
“It’s been a long time coming, but that’s finally going to start to kick in,” she said. “That’s why it was so important for us to come up with some cash right away because Betty put herself in quite a hole to begin with and by no fault of her own, just by having to deal with it. From here on out it shouldn’t be such a financial burden.”
“I’m so thankful that the crowdfunding has been successful and that it isn’t the dire situation we felt at the beginning,” she continued. “I know Betty is so super grateful for it, too. With all of this love coming from everywhere, it’s truly a wonderful extended family, filled with all kinds of people and it makes me feel like we have a chance and that Betty’s going to be all right.”
Fight Betty Fight: A Betty Benefit Show
When: 3 p.m. July 3
Where: The Paramount, 2708 E. Cesar E. Chavez Ave., Los Angeles
Tickets: $20 at eventbrite.com
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