The Butchies were an all-female punk rock band from

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County and Wake County. With a population of 283,506 in the 2020 Census, Durham is the 4th- ...

, that existed from 1998 to 2005. They reunited from their

hiatus Hiatus may refer to: * Hiatus (anatomy), a natural fissure in a structure * Hiatus (stratigraphy), a discontinuity in the age of strata in stratigraphy *''Hiatus'', a genus of picture-winged flies with sole member species '' Hiatus fulvipes'' * G ...

to tour with

Amy Ray Amy Elizabeth Ray (born April 12, 1964) is an American alto singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released six albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daemo ...

of the

Indigo Girls Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo from Atlanta, Georgia, United States, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. The two met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part o ...

promoting Ray's new album in 2010. The frequent focus of their lyrical content concerned

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

and

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are not heterosexual or cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against those with same-sex desires or relationships in the late 19th century. Beginning in the l ...

themes. Made up of

Team Dresch Team Dresch is an American punk rock band originally formed in 1993 in Olympia, Washington. The band made a significant impression on the DIY punk movement queercore, which gave voice through zines and music to the passions and concerns of LGBT p ...

guitarist and frontwoman Kaia Wilson, bassist

Alison Martlew The Butchies were an all-female punk rock band from Durham, North Carolina, that existed from 1998 to 2005. They reunited from their hiatus to tour with Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls promoting Ray's new album in 2010. The frequent focus of their ...

, and drummer

Melissa York Melissa York is a rock drummer noted for her work with iconic lesbian bands such as Team Dresch, The Butchies, and Amy Ray. She lives in Durham, North Carolina. Biography York first began drumming with the New York-based hardcore punk band ...

, The Butchies has been referred to as "queercore crusaders". The band has been performing together since the recording of their first

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

, ''Are We Not Femme?'' in 1998. Since then, the trio has recorded three subsequent albums, '' Population: 1975'' in 1999, '' 3'' in 2001, and ''

Make Yr Life ''Make Yr Life'' is the fourth album by the American lesbian queercore band the Butchies, released in 2004. It was the band's final album. Production The album was produced by Greg Griffith; the band worked for two and half years on the songs, and ...

'' in 2004. They have also appeared on a number of compilations of note, including ''

Being Out Rocks ''Being Out Rocks'' is a compilation album released October 11, 2002 by the Human Rights Campaign, in collaboration with Centaur Entertainment. Its release coincided with National Coming Out Day; "Being Out Rocks" was also that year's theme. The ...

'', produced by the

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for ...

(Centaur Productions, 2002), and '' Fields And Streams'' (

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally kn ...

, 2002). In 2005 the band announced a hiatus. The first three albums were released by the now-defunct

Mr. Lady Records Mr. Lady Records (or Mr. Lady Records and Video) was a San Francisco-based lesbian-feminist independent record label and video art distributor. (Press release of a 2001 art show at the Weisman Art Museum) Artists on the label included Le Tigre an ...

, run by Kaia Wilson and

Tammy Rae Carland Tammy Rae Carland (born January 27, 1965), is a photographer, video artist, zine editor, current provost at California College of the Arts (CCA), and former co-owner of the independent lesbian music label Mr. Lady Records and Videos. Her work has ...

. It was named after Wilson's first solo LP, ''Ladyman'', created after leaving

. The label also released the first two

Le Tigre Le Tigre (, ; French for "The Tiger") is an American electronic rock band formed by Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill), Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning in 1998 in New York City. Benning left in 2000 and was replaced by JD Samson for the rest ...

recordings. ''Make Yr Life'' was released by

Yep Roc Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Nick Lowe, Pau ...

. The track "Sex (I'm a Lesbian)" appeared on Mr. Lady's 1999 sampler album, ''

New Women's Music Sampler ''New Women's Music Sampler'' is a sampler album of alternative rock songs by artists on the San Francisco, California based lesbian-feminist independent record label, Mr. Lady Records. It was released in October 1999. A second sampler was relea ...

''. In 2001, a live rendition of the track "Disco" appeared on another sampler album, ''

Calling All Kings & Queens ''Calling All Kings & Queens'' is a sampler album of alternative rock songs by artists on the San Francisco, California based lesbian-feminist independent record label, Mr. Lady Records. It was released in March, 2001, following on from the labe ...

''. Kaia Wilson had previously performed in Adickdid and the

queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifical ...

band

, appearing on their first two albums, '' Personal Best'' and ''

Captain My Captain ''Captain My Captain'' is the second and final studio album by the pioneering American queercore band Team Dresch. The album was released on June 4, 1996, by Chainsaw Records and Candy Ass Records. It was reissued in 2019 by Jealous Butcher Recor ...

''; Melissa York was also in Team Dresch, playing drums on the second LP and, prior to that, performing in two

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...

bands, Vitapup and

Born Against Born Against was an American hardcore punk band from New York active between 1989 and 1993. In addition to their radical leftist politics, the group espoused a DIY punk message and challenged what they perceived as being a problem within the p ...

, before the two women joined with

to form The Butchies. The Butchies also played on the 2001

(of the

) album '' Stag'' on

Daemon Records Amy Elizabeth Ray (born April 12, 1964) is an American alto singer-songwriter and member of the contemporary folk duo Indigo Girls. She also pursues a solo career and has released six albums under her own name, and founded a record company, Daemo ...

and backed her up on tour. The band's name appears in the lyrics of the

song "

Hot Topic Hot Topic, Inc. (stylized as HOT TOPIC) is an American retail chain specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music. The stores are aimed towards an audience interested in rock music and video gaming ...

Discography

;Albums *''Are We Not Femme?'' (1998,

) *'' Population: 1975'' (1999, Mr. Lady Records) *'' 3'' (2001, Mr. Lady Records) *''

'' (2004,

Yep Roc Records Yep Roc Records is an American independent record label based in Hillsborough, North Carolina, and owned by Redeye Distribution. Since 1997, the label has released albums from North Carolina and international artists, including Nick Lowe, Paul W ...

) ;Singles *"Freaks***Athletes"/"Where R We", (2001, Mr. Lady Records)

References

External links

The Butchies
on Myspace *https://web.archive.org/web/20130515192503/http://www.nyrock.com/reviews/2001/amyray.asp {{DEFAULTSORT:Butchies, The All-female punk bands Musical groups from North Carolina Queercore groups Riot grrrl bands Yep Roc Records artists Feminist musicians 1998 establishments in North Carolina

Discography

See also

References

External links