Kat Bjelland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kat Bjelland
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Bjelland in 2015
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| Birth name | Katherine Lynn Bjelland |
| Born | December 9, 1963 Salem, Oregon, U.S. |
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| Years active | 1982–2017 |
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Katherine Lynne Bjelland (born December 9, 1963) is an American musician. She is best known as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for the alternative rock band Babes in Toyland. She started this band in 1987.
Kat Bjelland is known for her unique singing style. She often used loud screams, soft whispers, and sometimes even a special way of speaking in her songs. Her guitar playing was also very distinct, with sharp sounds and fast, wild rhythms.
Born in Salem, Oregon, Kat grew up in a small town nearby called Woodburn. She learned to play guitar from her uncle when she was a teenager. After high school, she moved to Portland. There, she became part of the city's punk rock music scene. She became friends with another musician, Courtney Love, and they formed a band called Pagan Babies.
After Pagan Babies ended in 1985, Kat moved to Minneapolis. She then formed Babes in Toyland with drummer Lori Barbero. The band released their first album in 1990. They toured in Europe with the famous band Sonic Youth. Their second album, Fontanelle, came out in 1992. They released their third album, Nemesisters, in 1995. In the late 1990s, Kat also played bass in a band called Crunt.
Babes in Toyland officially stopped playing together in 2001. Kat then started a new music project called Katastrophy Wife. She released two albums with this project: Amusia (2001) and All Kneel (2004). After some time away from the public eye, she shared in 2007 that she had been diagnosed with a mental health condition. In 2015, she reunited with Babes in Toyland. They toured around the world for the first time in over ten years. Kat Bjelland retired from music in 2017.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Music Beginnings (1963–1981)
Katherine Lynne Bjelland was born on December 9, 1963, in Salem, Oregon. She was raised by her mother and stepfather, Lyle Bjelland. When she was three, her mother gave her stepfather full custody. He raised her as his own child. She learned about her biological father when she was 18. She did not meet him until she was 23. Kat described this discovery as "weird."
Kat grew up in Woodburn. This was a small town north of Salem. She said the town had many Orthodox Russians and Hispanic people. She felt that being white was more like being a minority there.
She became interested in music when she was very young. She listened to rock and roll records. As a teenager, she loved the band Rush. She went to four of their concerts. She also liked bands like Kiss, Cheap Trick, and The B-52's. Her uncle, David Higginbotham, taught her to play guitar. Her first performance was at a small bar in Woodburn. She played with her uncle in a band called The Neurotics.
Kat went to Woodburn High School. She played on the basketball team and was a cheerleader. After graduating in 1982, she briefly attended the University of Oregon. She left after her first year. At age nineteen, she moved to Portland. She discovered punk rock music after seeing a Wipers concert. She recalled, "I was from a small town. All of a sudden I was like, 'What is this?'"
First Bands and Friendships (1982–1986)
When she was nineteen, Kat bought her first guitar. It was a Rickenbacker 425. She bought it from a pawn shop for $200. In Woodburn, she joined The Neurotics. Then she joined an all-female band called The Venarays. Kat described them as "rock with a '60s edge." She said they started the band to have fun together.
After leaving The Venarays, Kat met Courtney Love in 1984. They met at the Satyricon, a club in Portland. They started a band called Sugar Babydoll. In 1985, they moved to San Francisco. Drummer Suzanne Ramsey and bassist Jennifer Finch joined their group. Kat remembered that they only played a few shows. The band was inspired by Frightwig, another all-female band. After Finch left, they changed their name to Pagan Babies. They released a four-song demo in December 1985 before breaking up. Courtney Love later formed the band Hole. Jennifer Finch became part of L7.
Babes in Toyland's Rise to Fame (1987–2001)
Kat Bjelland moved from Portland to Minneapolis around 1986. She wanted to form a new band. Soon after, she met Lori Barbero, who was a bartender. Kat convinced Lori to play drums in her band. Lori had no musical training at the time. Lori agreed, and they joined with bassist Michelle Leon. They formed Babes in Toyland. Kat said she wanted bandmates who were new to instruments. She believed this would help them be more creative.
The band recorded their first extended play (EP), To Mother, in London in 1990. It was named in honor of Kat's mother. She found out her mother had passed away on the first day of recording. In 1991, they signed with Reprise Records. Their first single, "Dust Cake Boy," was very popular. After touring Europe with Sonic Youth, the band recorded their first album, ... Machine. This album was also well-received.
Babes in Toyland became very successful. They performed at the Lollapalooza tour in 1993. Their second album, Fontanelle (1992), sold over 250,000 copies. In 1994, the band was featured on the covers of Entertainment Weekly and USA Today.
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During the band's peak, Kat Bjelland and Courtney Love were often seen as rivals by the media. There were many comparisons between their looks. Kat said they had a disagreement after she told a reporter that "only about a quarter of what Courtney says is true." However, Kat later said the media made their rivalry seem much bigger than it was. She called Courtney her "soul sister." She said there would always be a bond between them.
In 1993, Kat moved to Seattle. She started a side project called Crunt with her husband, Stuart Gray. Kat played bass, Stuart played guitar, and Russell Simins was the drummer. In February 1994, Crunt released their first album. During this time, Kat also helped write a song called "I Think That I Would Die" for Hole's album Live Through This. Kat had a very difficult time after Kurt Cobain passed away in 1994. She said she saw him at the funeral home, which was very upsetting.
In January 1995, Kat and Stuart divorced. Crunt then broke up. Kat focused back on Babes in Toyland. The group released their third and final album, Nemesisters, in 1995. After this, she moved to Brooklyn, New York. She worked on a soundtrack album for a comic book series called Witchblade. She wrote and produced most of the songs. Around 1999, Kat had a son named Henry. Babes in Toyland played their farewell show in Minneapolis in November 2001.
New Projects and Health Journey (2002–2014)
As Babes in Toyland played less often in the late 1990s, Kat Bjelland started a new band called Katastrophy Wife in 1998. She formed it with her then-husband, drummer Glen Mattson. The band toured around the world. They released two albums: Amusia (2001) and All Kneel (2004).
In 2007, Kat shared that she had been diagnosed with a mental health condition. She had also spent some time in a hospital. She said that dealing with her mental health challenges greatly influenced her songwriting. She was grateful for her partner, Adrian Johnson, who supported her through it.
Babes in Toyland Reunion and Retirement (2015–2020)
In 2014, Kat Bjelland reunited with her former bandmates, Maureen Herman and Lori Barbero. They began practicing for live shows. Kat said she felt a duty to play because many young fans wanted to see them. She was surprised by how many people still loved their music.
In February 2015, the band played their first live show in fourteen years. It was in Joshua Tree, California. They then went on an international tour throughout 2015. Kat said she planned to write new songs. She wanted them to be about world events, not just personal anger. Babes in Toyland played their last show in 2017. The band officially broke up in 2020.
Musical Style
Influences
As a child, Kat Bjelland's favorite band was Rush. She especially liked their album 2112. She said she liked them because they had "weird, spacey" lyrics. She also liked their cool music. As a teenager, she listened to popular rock bands like Kiss and Cheap Trick. She later said that Cocteau Twins, The Miracle Workers, and the Wipers were early influences. She also listened to Billie Holiday. As an adult, Kat named Captain Beefheart, Charles Mingus, Leonard Cohen, Frightwig, Girlschool, and Motörhead as important to her.
Voice and Instruments
Music critics have often noted Kat Bjelland's unique screaming vocals. Her voice has been compared to singers like Ozzy Osbourne. One journalist described how she would "retch her enraged lyrics." Her screams would slide across the beat. Her voice could also burst into laughs or gurgles. Then it would become a low, calm croon. She also used a special way of speaking in some songs.
Kat said her goal for her music was for it to sound like nothing heard before. She tried to push her voice to reach new notes. She said sometimes it sounded silly, but she kept working on it. A concert review in 2015 said her voice was so powerful it could "strip the chrome off a bumper."
In Babes in Toyland, Kat's guitar playing was described as "ugly, crunching post-punk." It used simple guitar chords. She learned to play guitar from her uncle, David Higginbotham. She played with him in his band, The Neurotics. Kat said that quality is more important than quantity in playing. She believed that the soul of the music matters more than how fast you play. She also shared that she did not use any effects pedals until 1993. She learned to make her guitar "speak" without electronics.
Discography
Babes in Toyland
- ... Machine (1990)
- Fontanelle (1992)
- Nemesisters (1995)
Crunt
- Crunt (1994)
Katastrophy Wife
- Amusia (2001)
- All Kneel (2004)
See also
In Spanish: Kat Bjelland para niños
