FFWD MAGAZINE

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Betty Moon Rising
Goth girl sells her old soul for power

About a year ago I was in the middle of a difficult (to say the least) interview with the original dark lord of modern rock music, Glenn Danzig, when the word "occult" accidentally passed through my unfortunate lips (Jesus H., what the heck was I thinking? Obviously all those lyrics about demons, the skulls-with-horns merchandising and the CD sleeve that folds out into an upside down cross have nothing to do with the occult).

Anyway, the evil one wasn't amused. Since then, whenever talking to other artists with, shall we say, spooky dispositions, broaching the subject of their esthetic has become a combination of fumbling and trepidation.

Thankfully, Toronto's Betty Moon, an affable, raven-haired goth beauty who sonically kicks Danzig's new, sample- heavy ass, eases all fears straight away. "You just want to know all about my witchcraft and stuff, don't you?" she laughs.

"The difference between (Danzig) and me is really quite simple; I don't take myself that seriously and he does," she continues. "I love connecting with my audience and playing the whole idea. I mean, I'm very up on paganism and the whole pagan lifestyle. I'm very enthusiastic about stuff and I really believe in people's powers.

"The other powers I'm, shall we say, still developing. I believe in the afterlife and (in) having an old soul, because I do have one. I had an amazing experience in Europe; my grandmother dies on the same day that I was born and I saw pictures of her when she was young and I was like, "Wow, that's me." That started me thinking about how in your family your spirit is transferred from your mom to you, or from your dad - the energy of the family, so you know what I mean?"

Um, sure.

Whether or not you believe on transmigration, Moon does have a point on familial energy. Born into a musical family (her dad played at weddings, her brother's in I Mother Earth) and immersing herself at an early age with her siblings' Sabbath, Zeppelin and KISS collections, Moon has emerged, as if by some unholy union between Diamanda Galas and Jimmy Page, as one of the heaviest rocking women in music today (evidenced on her self- produced CD, Stir).

Yet, despite her interest in Theatre Macabre, revealed in songs like "Revenge" and "Vampire's Choice," Moon acknowledges that it's really all just about rock and roll.

"I'm not superstitious at all, really," she says. "My only real power is making music and entertaining people."

Zoltan Varadi

photography by Chris Nichols