u came into my life with this incredible energy and i knew that i wanted what u had. They say the teacher will come when the student is ready. Bianca was my mentor, my teacher. There will never be anyone like her. i love and miss you so much. xoxo cyndi

Betty Blowtorch frontwoman Bianca Halstead was killed on December 15th in a car accident near New Orleans. She was thirty-six. Halstead, who performed as Bianca Butthole for the up-and-coming female punk quartet, was the passenger in a 1986 Corvette that spun into oncoming traffic at about 5 a.m. on Saturday at a speed believed to be in excess of 100 miles-per-hour. Earlier that evening, Halstead and Betty Blowtorch performed at the Howlin' Wolf in New Orleans, where they shared a bill with tourmates Nashville Pussy. According to police, [Brian] McAllister was behind the wheel and had been drinking prior to the accident. He survived the wreck, but underwent surgery over the weekend and will likely face criminal charges. In the early Nineties, Halstead performed as a singer and bassist in Los Angeles punk ensemble Butt Trumpet before departing with two other members -- guitarists Blare N. Bitch and Sharon Needles -- to form Betty Blowtorch three years ago. The group released its debut, Are You Man Enough?, in June 2001. While on tour with Nashville Pussy, Betty Blowtorch imploded. After their November 16th gig in Atlantic Beach, N.C., Needles and drummer Judy Molish effectively quit and disappeared with the group's gear. Halstead and Bitch quickly rallied by recruiting L7 guitarist Jennifer Finch and a temporary replacement on drums. "Bianca was wonderful. She had a great sense of humor, which is rare today in rock," Poison drummer and friend Rikki Rocket said. "In spite of her image, she was a loving, humble, kind soul who would totally go out of her way for people . . . She wanted to make people rock, smile and forget." Article is reprinted from Rolling Stone.

As Bianca was growing up she was such a ray of light. Sweet, cute as hell, fun to be with and sharp as a tack (some things don't change). She was not always self-assured, and quite often said she considered herself a dork, but she always had the coolest friends and managed to do the coolest shit. She demanded it. She was not satisfied with the ordinary. She made things special. And part of her gift was making others feel special. Bianca made friends easily. Of course she had the regular girlfriends down the street, but I'll never forget when the transvestite dancer who worked at the Queen Mary moved into the neighborhood, she made friends with him too. The most significant thing to me about Bianca is that she was born to love, and shine that love on all whom she met. She even had love and compassion for those who betrayed that love, when they showed any kind of remorse and desire to change. I believe that the profound hurt inflicted on her in her life, especially by those she trusted the most, proved to make her stronger, more humble and a more compassionate human being. It made her reach out to those she recognized as feeling the kind of anguish she was so familiar with. Ironically, she often had trouble seeing the love and admiration people had for her. My prayer is that she is seeing it and believing it now. I have rarely seen the kind of love and appreciation expressed about anyone, than I have seen expressed for her, by those who knew and loved her. She had the rare ability to transform and elevate people's lives and self-concepts... and she entertained us too! I feel blessed to have her as my sister.