Kat Bjelland

Infobox musical artist
Name = Kat Bjelland


Img_capt =
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Katherine Bjelland
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1963|12|8
Salem, Oregon, United States
Died =
Origin = Minneapolis, Minnesota
Instrument =
Genre = Alternative rock
Grunge
Indie rock
Occupation = Musician, songwriter
Years_active = 1985-present
Label = Treehouse
Twin Tone
Southern
Reprise
Sympathy for the Record Industry
Rish
Associated_acts = Sugar Babydoll
Pagan Babies/Italian WhoreNuns
Babes in Toyland
Crunt
Katastrophy Wife
URL = [http://www.katbjelland.com/ www.katbjelland.com]
Notable_instruments =

Katherine "Kat" Bjelland (born December 8, 1963) is an American punk rock musician. She is the former lead singer and guitarist of the band Babes in Toyland, and is currently the lead singer/guitarist of the band Katastrophy Wife.

Childhood

Bjelland was born in Salem, Oregon and grew up in nearby Woodburn. Her mother was Lynne Irene Higginbotham (married to Lyle Bjelland).

She attended Woodburn High School where she was a popular student and cheerleader. It was while a teenager that Bjelland became interested in music. Her uncle, David Higginbotham, taught her to play guitar, and her first performance was at a small bar in Woodburn called Flight 99 (now defunct), with the band called 'The Neurotics'. A Portland band called 'The Dots' opened for them.

Early career

Shortly after graduation from high school in 1982, Bjelland moved to Portland, where she formed a series of bands, first The Neurotics and then an all-female band called The Venarays, which Bjelland has described as "rock with a '60s edge":

The Neurotics were comprised of Bjelland (rhythm guitar); her uncle David Higginbotham (lead guitar); Marty Wyman (vocals); Dave Hummel (drums); and Laura Robertson (bass).

After The Neurotics I got this band together with my best friends, so it was an all-girl band. We were called The Venarays. The name came from the word "venary" which means "actively hunting out sex"! We began as a way of having fun with each other. [ [http://www.katbjelland.com/venerays/indexvenerays.html http://www.katbjelland.com/venerays/indexvenerays.html] "Katbjelland.com" Retrieved on 05-10-07 ]

After quitting The Venarays, Bjelland formed a band with a new friend, Courtney Love, and bassist Jennifer Finch. Love went on to form the band Hole, while Finch would be part of L7. The band went by several names, including: Sugar Babydoll, Sugar Babylon and Sugar Bunnyfarm.

Around 1985, in San Francisco, Bjelland and Love formed a new band called Pagan Babies with Deidre Schletter on drums and Janis Tanaka (later in Stone Fox and L7, and with the singer P!nk) on bass. [ [http://www.katbjelland.com/paganbabies/indexpaganbabies.html http://www.katbjelland.com/paganbabies/indexpaganbabies.html] "Katbjelland.com" Retrieved on 05-10-07 ] When Love left, this lineup played under the name Italian WhoreNuns. [ [http://www.katbjelland.com/italianwhorenuns/indexwhorenuns.html http://www.katbjelland.com/italianwhorenuns/indexwhorenuns.html] "Katbjelland.com" Retrieved on 05-10-07 ]

Demo versions of songs that Bjelland and Love worked on together, including "Best Sunday Dress", which was later played by Hole on numerous occasions, are available on various Hole fan sites.

Babes in Toyland

In the mid-1980s, Bjelland moved from Portland to Minneapolis, where she would eventually form Babes in Toyland, becoming their lead singer and guitarist. Babes in Toyland would achieve minor success in the early 1990's. Babes in Toyland's debut single on Treehouse Records ("Dust Cake Boy" b/w "Spit to See the Shine") was an instant success. Bjelland's lyrics about female empowerment soon earned her recognition as a feminist icon. Bands such as Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, and Sleater-Kinney have all named her as a main influence, while less political female bands like Jack Off Jill, 7 Year Bitch, and Fluffy have also cited Bjelland and Babes in Toyland as a major inspiration. The Babes' career peaked in mainstream exposure when they headlined the Lollapalooza tour in 1993. [ Karlen, Neil [http://www.nirvanafreak.net/art/art54.shtml Playboy Magazine 1/96 http://www.nirvanafreak.net/art/art54.shtml Playboy Magazine 1/96] "Nirvanafreak.net" ]

Crunt

Earlier in 1993, Bjelland had begun a side project called Crunt with new husband Stuart Gray (aka Stu Spasm), formerly of Lubricated Goat. Bjelland played bass and Gray guitar, while Russell Simins of Jon Spencer Blues Explosion was the drummer. In February 1994, the band released a self-titled debut, along with its first single, "Swine". For a time there was talk that Crunt would replace Babes in Toyland as Bjelland's main project. The band had ended by the time Bjelland and Gray divorced in January 1995. [ [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:aw7zeflk7gf2~T0 http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:aw7zeflk7gf2~T0] "Allmusic.com" Retrieved on 05-10-07 ]

Courtney Love and the Kinderwhore controversy

Love and Bjelland have had a long and complex relationship. They are sometimes referred to as "friends/enemies." In 1992, Bjelland accused Love of stealing the Kinderwhore look, which involved babydoll dresses and girlish vintage pieces paired with red lipstick and other sexualizing signifiers, while Love accused Bjelland of the same thing.

Bjelland and Love eventually made amends. Bjelland collaborated with Love on the track "I Think That I Would Die" on Hole's second album, "Live Through This". In a recent interview, Bjelland was asked if the song "Bruise Violet" was written about Courtney Love, since one of Hole's hits was entitled "Violet". Her response was no, and that "Violet" was a muse that both she and Love wrote about.

In 1996, Bjelland and Love appeared in Lisa Rose Apramian's feminist punk documentary, "Not Bad For a Girl".

Katastrophy Wife and current projects

With Babes in Toyland playing only sporadically in the late 1990s, Bjelland started the band Katastrophy Wife in 2000. The band toured at venues, such as Ladyfest, worldwide. Katastrophy Wife have so far released two albums, "Amusia" and "All Kneel"; as well as a new single "Heart On" on the Australian record label Rish in April 2007. [ [http://www.rishrecords.com http://www.rishrecords.com] ] Bjelland has also done some soundtrack work. In an update to the Katastrophy Wife website, Bjelland reported that "Katastrophy Wife have had a few incarnations but from here on I will only re-incarnate my self." [ [http://katastrophywife.com/kat.html http://katastrophywife.com/kat.html] "Katastrophywife.com" Retrieved on 05-10-07]

She produced the album "The Seven Year Itch" for the band Angelica, released in 2002.

Discography

Albums

*1990-"Spanking Machine" (Babes in Toyland)
*1991-"To Mother" ("Babes in Toyland")
*1992"The Peel Sessions" ("Babes in Toyland")
*1992-"Fontanelle" ("Babes in Toyland")
*1993-"Painkillers" ("Babes in Toyland")
*1994-"Crunt" (Crunt)
*1994-"Dystopia"("Babes in Toyland")
*1995-"Nemesisters" ("Babes in Toyland")
*2000-"Lived"("Babes in Toyland")
*2000-"Devil"("Babes in Toyland")
*2000-"Viled"("Babes in Toyland")
*2001-"Minneapolism"("Babes in Toyland")
*2001-"Amusia" (Katastrophy Wife)
*2004-"All Kneel" ("Katastrophy Wife")
*2004-"The Best of Babes In Toyland and Kat Bjelland
*2007-"Pregnant" ("Katastrophy Wife")

ingles

*1989-"Dust Cake Boy" (Babes in Toyland)
*1990-"House" ("Babes in Toyland")
*1991-"Handsome and Gretel" ("Babes in Toyland")
*1991-"Bruise Violet" ("Babes in Toyland")
*1993-"Catatonic" ("Babes in Toyland")
*1994-"Swine" (Crunt)
*1995-"Sweet '69" ("Babes in Toyland")
*1995-"We Are Family" ("Babes in Toyland")
*2001-"Gone Away" ("Katastrophy Wife")
*2003-"Liberty Belle" ("Katastrophy Wife")
*2003-"Money Shot" ("Katastrophy Wife")
*2004-"Blue Valiant" ("Katastrophy Wife")
*2007-"Heart-On" ("Katastrophy Wife")

References

External links

*imdb|0084781
* [http://www.katbjelland.com www.katbjelland.com]
* [http://www.katastrophywife.com www.katastrophywife.com]
* [http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1669480 Everything2: Kat Bjelland]
* [http://www.rishrecords.com Rish Records]