With InDnegev, the three-day magical music event down south, closing off the summer festival sandwich this October, we caught up with one of the festival's performers, Ella Daniel (aka "Black Betty"), vocal powerhouse behind Dixieland swing band "The Betty Bears."
What sort of party are you planning to bring to the dessert?
A good New Orleans, happy, stomp your feet in the dirt, African kind of party. It'll be swingin' for sure.
How do you keep Dixieland alive and swingin' today?
It's all contemporary really, nowadays we have better conditions to bring to life a 'vibe,' a feeling, an image (sound wise that is). In our album, we tried to cast a spell on the listeners, the same spell that was cast on us to transform us into blind followers of this incredible music. At the same time, we recorded the album live, just the way they did in the good old days, so we like to respect the old school methods, but bring something extra fresh from the future.
If you could reincarnate one 20's swing musician to play with at InDnegev, who would it be?
That's easy, Louis Armstrong for sure! He'd light the stage on fire and bring so much cheerful joy to us all. It would be a sin not to choose him, and I'm sure he'd be so happy to be in the Holy land.
If Louis Armstrong were alive and kickin', what's one thing you'd want to ask him?
I would probably ask him to stay and produce our next album.
What surprises can audience members expect at the festival?
Ahhhhaaam! Well if I told you, they wouldn't be surprises anymore. Ain't that right?
What's your favorite classic swing song?
That's like picking between all the flavors of ice cream in the world. It's just not fair. You've got the cheerful ones for those days you feel the earth moving and need to move your feet really quickly, or the mellow ones for when you're falling hard, or the dark heavy voodoo ones for the times you want to collapse into your deepest self.
Dixieland in the past was very male dominant. How does it feel to be a woman front and center?
It feels great! Girl power, this is how it's suppose to be. Just like all those powerful ladies like Bessie Smith, Ella Fitzgerald , Nina Simone, Big Mama Thornton. I mean maybe Dixieland music was very manly indeed, but Dixieland never stood alone; it always came with other sisters and brothers, like swing, blues, and jazz. And there are plenty of strong women there. Those women are a big inspiration to me, not only as the amazing singers they were, but as the strong Mama's they were and the way they led their lives where they wanted them to be, on top of their game.
Any strong female inspirations today?
Tarriona Tank Ball. She is a poet and artist and an amazing singer from New Orleans and she is so powerful, colorful, and strong. I also love Bjork, Erykah Badu, NoName, and Beyonce.
Speak to me about your incredibly unique fashion sense.
I always loved to dress up. When I was a teen, I wanted to be a fashion designer or a stylist and always wore crazy colors to school. It was very necessary for me to express myself through my look; I was different and realized that quite early on so I wanted to bring out the person that I am, but under my own conditions. Dressing up and wearing crazy make up was my way of saying "Hey, I'm special to the world."
What are you hoping to gain from this trip down south?
I hope to bring good spirits with me to the festival and light the desert.
What's next for the Betty Bears?
Well, we just finished our biggest project: the album. And we are excited about spreading it around the globe. We are playing the international music showcase of IL in November and are very excited about that and where it might take us next. I, myself, am working on a new project containing my own songs with a new band.