Petty Betty Band interview

by Nicole Brice

Nicole Brice from Modern Grace Magazine here to bring you another talent you should check out.  I’m with Erica from the Baton Rouge based band, Petty Betty. They have a great sound blending Blues and Rock with an even more unique vintage look.  I’ve been checking out their music lately and it is incredible!  The lead singer, Erica Calle, has some serious pipes on her.  Her cover of “House of the Rising Sun” is astounding! 

NB:  Erica, tell everyone a little about yourself so we can get a better background on your rockin’ band, you, and what inspires you. When did you start singing?

EC:  Hello! My name is Erica Calle and I front the band, Petty Betty, and oh my goodness, I have been singing my whole life.  I used to not be very good…but I was extremely stubborn, so when I was young, I sounded like a drowning cat…

NB: ::laughs::

EC:  …and I genuinely just felt this drive to sing, so I would listen to my favorite singers and artists.  I love music from all different genres and I had some amazing vocal coaches that really trained my voice to do what it was meant to do, but wasn’t doing.  I’ve been in a lot of choirs growing up, so I did have formal training.  Ended up kinda getting out of it for a little while and I never pursued it as much as much as I should have after high school.  So, here I am at 22 years old and I had some friends of mine encourage me to do the show, “The Voice”.  I ended up auditioning for The Voice in Atlanta.  Made it through the first round of the pre-auditions and ended up getting a really bad cold and trying to push through it, which I ended up damaging my vocal chords after that…which was very discouraging and so I couldn’t sing for a while and then I started doing karaoke again…just messing around with it…

NB:  It’s amazing that you were able to do The Voice and you should be so proud!

EC:  Thank you!  ::smiles::

NB:  …and as for karaoke, I am the karaoke queen! ::laughs:: I haven’t been able to go do it in a while, though, because of COVID-19. 

EC:  Anyway, well, eventually, my friends said, “Why not try out being in a band?” I was very green and new to that. There was a lot of learning and that was a great first introduction to being in a band.  When Petty Betty formed, I was up to the challenge to it and ready for live performing in a band.

NB:  So…what year did Petty Betty officially form?

EC:  Um…two…I believe late 2018?

NB:  Okay, so for about two years, cool.

EC:  Yeah, we actually practiced for up to a full year to make sure we were actually ready. We wanted to make sure we were on our “A” game.

NB:  Obviously you’re into music like I am, a music snob, ::laughs::, so what type of music influenced your singing style, band type, what you decide to play at a show and all of that? What band or artists are your main influences? Also, the guys in your band, who do they draw inspiration from to form your sound?

EC:  It really is such a collective effort. Personally, I’ve always had a thing in my heart for Blues and Swing Music, so one of my really obscure favorites…absolutely love him…is Cab Calloway.

NB: Wow! It’s amazing to hear you say that because you’re my age and rarely do you hear people in our age group say they were influenced by the music of Cab Calloway.

EC:  So, this is kind of the whole evolution of it…I used to love the Betty Boop cartoons and used to love that style of music with the cartoon. I love that they had an orchestrated band playing this music and watching this cartoon and thinking about the band performing behind the scenes made me just really have a thing for old Betty Boop cartoons and that whole era of style and music…and Cab Calloway just did it for me.  My soul was born at the wrong time.

NB:  I say that all the time! ::laughing:: I say that I should have been born so I could be a teen-ager in the 70’s.  That was my time.  Late 70’s / early 80’s…but anyway…

EC:  My mom is always talking to me about the time and the clothes and what a great time it was and it makes me love it even more.  They do not make clothes like they used to.

NB:  Let me say, you look great from these pictures with the band!  You have an amazing look to you!

EC:   Yeah, we love anything from that era…like my drummer keeps trying to get me to do “Zoot Suit Riot”. 

NB:  Dude! That would be amazing!!!

EC:  Anything with that style to it…but as far as other influences for me, I would have to say Buddy Guy is a HUGE influence for me.

NB:  That’s amazing to hear you say that, oh wow!

EC: …and Nora Jones…Nora Jones is definitely a huge influence on my vocal style…I named my daughter Nora, actually. ::laughs::

NB: Did you really?  ::laughs::

EC: Yes, I absolutely love her soulful voice and the guys kind of temper me down on that. They have a background in a more rock style and we kind of take that blues rock and mesh it together. We’re just like, we’re going to make it our own and do our own style thing.

NB: That is amazing!

EC:  They have…gosh…their library of knowledge with music far surpasses mine and I’m constantly learning everyday from them, which is wonderful being surrounded by such a diverse group.  Constantly, every single day, it’s, “Hey, have you heard this?” or “Hey, check this out!”.  See, I had to broaden what I really enjoyed and I’m listening to bands I never thought I’d listen to and I absolutely love them.  What is really important is surrounding yourself around people that can teach you. You can constantly learn something and it doesn’t get stagnant.

NB:  So, let me ask you about your amazing drummer…or excuse me…percussionist. How great is it to have such a talent in the band?

EC: ::laughing::  It’s something…I have grown…I know it sounds so silly, but I’ve always paid attention to the guitars, but the drums are the heartbeat and when you don’t know about something, you tend to overlook it a bit more. I have found this love for watching him play on his kit and just seeing everything that goes into being a drummer.  They’re phenomenal! They don’t get the recognition they deserve!

NB:  So, what does the future hold for Petty Betty? 

EC:  Well, I work with such a great group of guys who are willing to wear a neck tie on stage for me, so it has encouraged me to be fearless including wearing my outfits…even the Petty Betty hair…we all pull the whole look together.  It’s all very unique. I mean, we’ve been at Waffle House at 3am after a show and people were going, “Hey! It’s Petty Betty!.” It’s just an awesome feeling.  As far as the future, we hope to be able to play shows all over and get our music and image out there to as many people as possible.

Facebook: facebook.com/pettybettylive

Instagram: pettybettylive.