“Second time’s the charm,” said drummer Lori Barbero.
Kat
Bjelland, Maureen Herman and Lori Barbero discussed the band’s history
and decision to reunite in an interview with Rolling Stone, which will
be available tomorrow. In the candid piece, the trio speaks with writer Mark Yarm (author of Everybody Loves our Town: An Oral History of Grunge)
about the intervening years, what led to the band’s initial dissolution
and their decision to reunite nearly two decades later.
"It
was brought to my attention that not only do we have a lot of diehard
fans from back in the day, but also a whole new generation of kids--my
son Henry included-- that were eager to see us live,” explained
singer/guitar player Kat Bjelland. “I felt some kind of obligation for
them to see us, too. But mainly, I just missed my girls and the feeling
that comes from playing with them--visceral live therapy."
"The
first time we played together again," added bass player Maureen Herman,
"we weren't sure what it would be like. After knocking the hell out of
‘He's My Thing’ on the first try, we knew this was going to be fun--and
it was going to rock like a motherf***er."
The
Minneapolis-born band came to prominence in the late ‘80s with a raw
live show that captured a musical and cultural moment; angry, talented
and unfettered by societal norms, there were no costumes, no matching
outfits and no harmonies. Babes in Toyland were as punk as their
contemporaries, male or female, and made history along the way.
Releasing three full-length albums and a number of singles and EPs, the
trio influenced a legion of musicians including Sleater-Kinney, Bikini
Kill and Jack-off Jill.
Dangerous
Minds said, “Kat’s delivery was intense and atonal, with her lyrics
referencing fairytales (“Handsome and Gretel”), pain, rage, beauty,
betrayal, and abusive parents, not sung with sweet, breathy, unsure
vocals, but with a gut-wrenching maenad’s growl.” They were the first
of their female contemporaries to sign to a major label (Fontanelle,
the band’s sophomore release, arrived in 1992 via Reprise Records) and
as a byproduct of their individualism, Kat kick-started the return of
baby doll dresses and plastic barrettes. Babes in Toyland graced the
covers of Alternative Press, NME and the aforementioned Entertainment
Weekly. They played the Reading Festival three times (1991,1993 and
1995), Lollapalooza once (1993) and have been featured in numerous
documentaries including 1991: The Year Punk Broke and Not Bad for a Girl. Herman left the band in 1997; Barbero and Bjelland played the final Babes in Toyland show in 2001.
Tickets for the special evening are on-sale this Friday, Nov. 21 at 10 am pacific.
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