The Chainsaw Kittens were a part of the American

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

scene, drawing from pop,

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was primarily defined by the flamboyant clothing, makeup, and hairstyles of its musicians, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists d ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

, new wave and

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

music. Their lyrics tackled such varied topics as

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

, the

Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, Stonewall revolution, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous riots and demonstrations against a police raid that took place in the early morning hours of ...

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, Erik Menendez, and

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

. Based in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, 3rd most populous city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,026 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the most populous city and the county seat of Clevel ...

, its name a reference to the band members' youth and "chainsaw guitar sound", the Chainsaw Kittens were active from 1989 to 2000. Debuting with a sound described 1991 ''

SPIN Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'' review as "The Smiths meet the New York Dolls meet the devil", the group gained attention with "thrift-store transvestism," which it abandoned when the look "started to overshadow the music." The band underwent several personnel changes, but maintained the presence of principal singer/songwriter Tyson Meade, previously of Norman alt-rock outfit Defenestration, and guitarist/producer Trent Bell. Though the Kittens saw little commercial success during their period of activity, they have since won praise as " guably the best American band who never made it" in the 1990s heyday of alternative rock. In the 1995 movie ''

Empire Records ''Empire Records'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Allan Moyle, written by Carol Heikkinen, and starring an ensemble cast including Anthony LaPaglia, Maxwell Caulfield, Debi Mazar, Rory Cochrane, Johnny ...

'', the character Mark, played by Ethan Embry, is wearing a "Chainsaw Kittens" t-shirt throughout the movie. The band reunited for a performance at the Norman Music Festival in

on April 26, 2008. The band reunited once more on September 8, 2017 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Norman music venue The Opolis. On October 4, 2017, drummer Eric Harmon died from colon cancer at the age of 48.

Discography

Albums

*'' Violent Religion'' (Mammoth, 1990) *'' Flipped Out in Singapore'' (Mammoth, 1992) *'' Pop Heiress'' (Atlantic/Mammoth, 1994) *'' Chainsaw Kittens'' (Mercury/Scratchie, 1996) * ''The All American'' (Four Alarm, 2000)

EPs

* ''High in High School'' (Mammoth, 1992) * ''Angel on the Range'' (Mammoth, 1993) * ''Candy for You'' (Scratchie, 1996)

Singles

*"Mother (of the Ancient Birth)" b/w "Death-Sex Rattletrap" (Mammoth Records, 1990, MR 0019, Blue Vinyl) *"Lazy Little Dove" b/w "Extinction Stomp" (Echostatic/Spacebaby, 1995) *"Grandaddy's Candy" b/w "Bones in My Teeth" (Scratchie, 1996)

Others

*'' Bug (2007 soundtrack)'' (

Lionsgate Lions Gate, Lion Gate or similar terms may refer to: Gates *Lion Gate at Mycenae in Greece *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the ancient Hittite city of Hattusa, now in Turkey *Lion Gate, one of the entrances to the gardens of Hampton Court Pala ...

Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...

RED Distribution RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony Music, Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard (company), The Orchard in 2017. RED previously hand ...

, 2007) - track No. 3 "She Gets" *''Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth'' (soundtrack) - track No. 11 "Waltzing With A Jaguar"

References

External links

* AMG entry, undated
Trouser Press entry, undated

"Pop Heiress Dies" video

MySpace Fan Page

Enotes page, undated

Obituary for Eric Harmon
{{Authority control Musicians from Norman, Oklahoma Musical groups from Oklahoma Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Alternative rock groups from Oklahoma Rock music groups from Oklahoma 1989 establishments in Oklahoma