The Goddess of Groove
By Mad Royal
The music business, in this area, at least, is about ninety percent men. Why that is, I don’t know; musical talent certainly isn’t gender-specific. I do know that it takes a lot of perseverance, patience, and a bit of a thick skin to make it in this business, especially if you’re female.
Linda Martin of Back Bay Betty laughingly defines herself as a “good girl gone bad”. To some narrow-minded people, that might be true, but the fact is that you’d be hard pressed to find a kinder, more generous person than Linda. When she walks in a room, people light 
up. When she starts to sing, well, that’s something really special.
Linda grew up in the Southern Baptist tradition in Los Osos. Her family went to church three days a week. She sang in the choir and played the piano and organ. When she was eight, she sang alto in a gospel group with her siblings called Sisters Four. Impressed with her musical talent, the folks at her church gave her a scholarship to Azusa Pacific University, where she majored in Nursing and minored in Music and played piano (her “day job” is still nursing). After her first year, she came home and “lived in sin” with her boyfriend. Eventually she married and had children. When they were old enough to attend church, she took them to the Nazarene church, and was the pianist there. She was involved with the children’s drama and music programs.
Around 2004, Linda stepped out of church and into the bar scene musically, joining the Bluz Dogz, playing keyboards and singing with the group. Other members were Dr. Hal Seagal, Buddy McCabe, and Mike Brown. Eventually, Linda brought in her boyfriend, Johnny Johnson, to play blues harp and sing.
Johnny Johnson grew up in Ventura in a musical family, listening to big band, and jazz. His mother sang in the church choir. Johnny played trombone in fourth grade through junior high, when his interest moved to surfing. Like many young people of that time, he listened to the Beatles, Rolling Stones, and the Beach Boys. When he was 14, he heard Chicago blues for the first time in the music of Paul Butterfield and Muddy Waters, and it struck a chord in him. He mostly lived vicariously through his musical friends, and didn’t pursue his own musicality until he was in his forties, when he started picking at the guitar, mostly jazz. When he turned 50, he picked up the harmonica.
Eight years ago, Johnny moved to Morro Bay after his marriage ended. As long as he was making big changes in his life, he decided to move to the place he’d always considered ideal. He spent about six months freelancing as a graphic artist before he landed a job at Arabian Horse World in Templeton, one of the most prestigious horse publications on the planet. In 2009, he met Linda outside of music. One day, he took her out back to the garage, and opened the door to show her his “cute vintage amp” and harmonicas. Linda was very happy after she heard him play, and she convinced him to join the Bluz Dogz, which was his first ensemble experience.
Two and a half years ago, Linda decided she wanted more of a central role, and she and Johnny left the Bluz Dogz to form Back Bay Betty. The group became popular very quickly, due to in part to lots of dedication to promoting and visiting prospective venues. Linda has a tremendous voice and personality which lights up the stage. Johnny has a warm singing voice and plays the blues harp with skill. He also has a warm presence which can be felt by audience members. Other members are Casey Rodgers on lead guitar and vocals. Casey is the chief song writer in the group, and is responsible for much of its rock influence. Carl Dybowski, who hails from Chicago, is their drummer, and also sings. He loves jazz and is very intuitive, and Linda and Johnny say he is easy-going and pleasant to be around. Linda also says he gets the award for “most improved” drummer. The newest member of Back Bay Betty is bassist Mark Notzka, who also plays in Rasdanny. In fact, he’s brand new to the band, and only officially joined in January. Bud McCabe occasionally fills in on bass if needed.
Back Bay Betty’s music is designed for dancing. Their motto is “Funky Blues for Your Dancing Shoes.” If you’re not dancing, they’re not happy, and they’re always happy! The music is a blend of blues, jazz, and rock’n’roll. Although they do perform in bars and cafes, their main focus is to perform at the local wineries and summer concert series. They are very much a hometown band, and have no aspirations for the “bigtime”. The band practices at Linda’s home after she cooks them dinner, largely with produce from her organic garden. They are very much a family.
Back Bay Betty’s playlist has moved more and more to original tunes, in attempt to keep things creative, new and fresh, so that each Back Bay Betty show is a little different. When you hear them, they like to hear from audience members that the music was “funky and tight”, that their feet are sore from dancing, and that their faces are sore from smiling. Check them out. I think you’ll find that Back Bay Betty delivers on all counts.
Your next opportunity to hear and see Back Bay Betty perform is on Saturday, February 21 at the Shell Café in Pismo Beach, from 7 p.m.-10 p.m. Check out their very fun website at www.backbaybetty.com for more information. Remember to wear your dancing shoes!
