The Butchies | |
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Origin | Durham, North Carolina, United States |
Genres | Punk, alternative rock |
Years active | 1998–2005 |
Labels | Mr. Lady Records, Yep Roc |
Associated acts | Team Dresch, Amy Ray, Planet Claire, Adickdid, Born Against, Vitapup, Ex-Members, Humble Tripe |
Members |
Kaia Wilson (vocals, guitar) Alison Martlew (bass) Melissa York (drums) |
The Butchies were a punk rock band from Durham, North Carolina, that existed from 1998 to 2005. They reuinted from their hiatus to tour with Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls promoting Ray's new album in 2010. The frequent focus of their lyrical content concerned lesbian and queer themes.
Made up of Team Dresch guitarist and frontwoman Kaia Wilson, bassist Alison Martlew, and drummer Melissa York, The Butchies has been referred to as "queercore crusaders." The band has been performing together since the recording of their first album, 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 in 2004. They have also appeared on a number of compilations of note, including Being Out Rocks, produced by the Human Rights Campaign (Centaur Productions, 2002), and Fields And Streams (Kill Rock Stars, 2002). In 2005 the band announced a hiatus.
The first three albums were released by the now-defunct Mr. Lady Records, run by Kaia Wilson and Tammy Rae Carland. It was named after Wilson's first solo LP, Ladyman, created after leaving Team Dresch. The label also released the first two Le Tigre recordings. Make Yr Life was released by Yep Roc. The track, "Sex (I'm a Lesbian)" appeared on Mr. Lady's 1999 sampler album, New Women's Music Sampler. In 2001, a live rendition of the track, "Disco", appeared on another sampler album, Calling All Kings & Queens.