Allison Mitchell, Michael DiStasio, Ethan Childs
Years Active 2014 – present
Latest Release “Strawberry Moon” and “Throw Your Stone” – 2020
Current Album on Repeat I listen to the music of the bands I am playing shows with all the time or music that people send me because I don’t know how to listen to music like how people do when they are running with headphones on or in their cars. So please send me your music, I will most likely listen to it.
Biggest Inspiration My high school band teachers, Mr Cool and Mrs Conte
All Time Favorite Album “Deportation” by Brown Sugar and “Ivory Wave” by Utah Jazz
What do you think is the biggest lesson we can all take away from this experience?
If we had a system with a cap on our production and only produced what we needed, there would be much less waste, greed, pollution, and exploitation of human rights. We really aren’t entitled to avocados or bananas or anything else that comes from the global economy, where the trade of such products creates a space for scarcity, greed, and violence in those communities. Countries should be given the space to be self sustainable instead of under the invisible pressure of consumer demands in far away lands. That’s why it’s important to start at local levels in order to become self sustainable within local communities. We can also see that if many people stopped working in the industry sector, (for one week) as in protest, this type of action can halt parts of the world that are damaging to people and the environment. This action proves that workers are in control of production and is an example of our individual ability to make change happen. Changing the system is going to happen incrementally and I think some people who have a lot fear that its going to shift instantly think they are going to lose their way of life so they hoard resources. Also, it’s important to take control of our health, knowledge, and resources as a community so that the medical system cannot cripple people financially, take advantage of what we choose to do with our bodies and how we approach our health. I don’t think western medicine is right for all circumstances at this time and we need to be open to other systems of preventative medicine and ways to treat chronic illness and autoimmune disease in order to heal people at their roots. This event is eye opening in terms of portraying the world’s immunity. We need to be taking control of our health by eradicating environmental pollutions, creating more access to healthcare, developing treatments that address the source of physical and mental illness, and address the amount of work stress the world is under due to the demand to produce more goods, more profits, more efficiently.
How do you balance music with jobs, partners, children, etc.?
Music is just a natural part of my relationship with Mike. He is always singing. Sometimes it turns into a song. I have worked in a restaurant for a long time because it’s extremely flexible. Now I don’t have a job sooooo not sure what happens next.
Any artists you admire that you’ve never met?
I always wanted to meet Jack White. I also hope to meet Dolly Parton.
Anyone you’d like to collaborate with?
I think I would collaborate with Jack White. I’m not sure if he’s nice. I hope so.
Craziest memory from touring?
We went camping in Georgia at the bottom of a campsite. It started to thunderstorm in the middle of the night and we were surrounded by water. It was like a sea of fire ants.
What’s the biggest thing that your band could use help with?
Promotion. I don’t think a lot of people hear Velvet Bethany and I think they’d be happy if they discovered it.
Strangest thing you’ve heard from someone at a concert?
Teenager with a mullet two weeks ago walked in and looked at me and said “Nice mullet”.
What are the ingredients to a thriving music/art scene?
You should care more about the potential community you’re inviting in than your own music. You should be willing to really understand where people are coming from before passing judgment or discrediting their genre or their scene or whatever. That is inclusion. You should be booking shows being mindful of who is going to be interested and who is going to show up.
*Interview with Allison Mitchell
Into Fruition collaborative 