|
|
|
|
Babes in Toyland (band)
|
| |
|
| |
Babes in Toyland was a grunge band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1987. Between 1989 and 1995 the band recorded three studio albums, and were associated with punk rock. Though never a part of the riot grrrl scene, media quickly mislabeled their music (and that of other aggressive female-fronted bands) as such. Members included Kat Bjelland, Lori Barbero and Michelle Leon, who was replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992.
BiographyThe band achieved notoriety through Bjelland's "baby doll" image--sometimes referred to as the kinderwhore look--which contrasted dramatically with the raw power of her singing voice and her aggressive lyrics.
The band's first major label album, Fontanelle, sold around 200,000 copies. The lead song on the album, "Bruise Violet," is said to be an attack on Courtney Love of Hole: "You see the stars through eyes lit up with lies/You got your stories all twisted up in mine." (Love is a former bandmate of Bjelland's.) However, in a recent interview Bjelland has denied this, saying instead that "Violet" was the name of a muse to both her and Courtney. The song's video was shown on Beavis and Butt-Head, where the band was described as "chicks" who are "cool."
The band was picked to take part in the 1993 Lollapalooza tour.
While the band was inspirational to many performers in the riot grrrl movement, they never participated directly.
The band was the subject of the 1994 book Babes in Toyland: The Making and Selling of a Rock and Roll Band by Neal Karlen, which dealt with the band's signing to Warner and the recording of Fontanelle. (Bjelland described the book as being "like cartoon caricatures of us," while Herman said that Karlen "would make a great fiction writer"--Minneapolis Star Tribune, August 18, 1994.) The band also appears in the 1992 documentary .
On April 8, 1994, Babes in Toyland played a benefit show for Rock Against Domestic Violence with 7 Year Bitch, and Jack Off Jill in Miami at the Cameo Theater, the same day lead-singer of American grunge rock band Nirvana, Kurt Cobain, had been found dead in his Seattle home.
Babes were featured on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, and were referenced in an episode of the sitcom Roseanne as well as an episode of Absolutely Fabulous.
The band split and reformed throughout the 1990s, losing their record label when Herman left the band in 1996. Dana Cochrane, formerly of the band Mickey Finn, played bass with the band on live gigs in 1996. Leon briefly rejoined for a short period in 1997. In 1998, the band was credited with the song Overtura: Astroantiquity/Attacatastrophy on the CD Songs of the Witchblade: A Soundtrack to the Comic Book, which Bjelland co-produced. Bjelland and Barbero played with a new bassist, Jesse Farmer, in 2000 (St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 24, 2000). But a year earlier, Bjelland had formed a new band, Katastrophy Wife, which seemed to replace Babes as her main vehicle. Babes in Toyland (with Farmer on bass) played a reunion show billed as "The Last Tour" on November 21, 2001--released as a live album called Minneapolism--and this seems to be the last official Babes activity; Bjelland played some shows in Europe in 2002 as Babes in Toyland with a new drummer and bassist, but stopped using the name after Barbero and Herman raised legal issues.
Members
Previous Members
DiscographyStudio albums and EPs
Compilation albums| Year | Title | Type |
|---|
| 1992 | The Peel Sessions | Strange Fruit Records |
|---|
| 1994 | Dystopia | Insipid Records |
|---|
| 2000 | Lived | Almafame |
|---|
| Devil | Almafame | | Viled | Almafame | | Natural Babe Killers | Recall Records | | 2001 | Collectors Item | Digimode Entertainment |
|---|
| The Further Adventures of Babes In Toyland | Fuel 2000 Records | | 2004 | The Best of Babes In Toyland and Kat Bjelland | Warner Music Records |
|---|
Singles
Music videos| Year | Title | Album |
|---|
| 1990 | "He's My Thing" | Spanking Machine |
|---|
| 1991 | "Ripe" | To Mother |
|---|
| 1992 | "Bruise Violet" | Fontanelle |
|---|
| "Won't Tell" | Fontanelle | | 1995 | "Sweet '69" | Nemesisters |
|---|
| "We Are Family" | Nemesisters |
Chart positions
Other contributions| Year | Title | Album | Label |
|---|
| 1989 | "Watching Girl" | Every Band Has A Shonen Knife Who Loves Them | Giant Records |
|---|
| 1991 | "Handsome & Gretel" | Indie Top 20 Volume 13 | Beechwood Music |
|---|
| "Ripe" | New Season - The Peel Sessions | Strange Fruit | | "Flesh Crawl" | Teriyaki Asthma Vols. I-V | C/Z Records | | House | The Grunge Years | Sub Pop Records | | 1992 | Handsome & Gretel | Best Of Independent | Beechwood Music |
|---|
| Sometimes | Volume 4 | Volmume | | 1993 | Dirty | Milk for Pussy | Mad Queen Records |
|---|
| Dust Cake Boy | Sonic Youth In 1991: The Year Punk Broke (VHS) | Geffen Home Video | | 1994 | Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft | If I Were A Carpenter | A&M Records |
|---|
| Say What You Want | S.F.W. | A&M Records | | 1995 | Sweet '69 | Alternative Final Mix 11 | Warner Music |
|---|
| More, More, More | Spirit Of '73: Rock For Choice | 550 Music | | Sweet '69 | Triple J: This Is Twelve - Too Louder Compilation | Australian Broadcasting Corporation | | 1996 | Handsome & Gretel (Live) | Volume Fourteen - Reading '95 Special | Volume |
|---|
| 1998 | Overtura: Astroantiquity | Songs Of The Witchblade | Dreamworks |
|---|
|
Bibliography| Year | Title | Author | Label | | 1991 | Babes in Toyland Lyric Book | Babes in Toyland | Twin Tone Records | | 1994 | The Making & Selling of a Rock & Roll Band | Neal Karlen | Avon Books | |
External links
|
| |
|
|
.gif)
