Babes in Toyland

Babes in Toyland, one of the first all-female bands to come out of the early-'90s grunge scene, featured Kat Bjelland's distinctive and demanding vocals. Defying expectations by wearing baby-doll dresses while venting a deep rage, Bjelland and her band opened doors for such groups as Hole and Bikini Kill.

In 1987 Bjelland moved from San Francisco, where she had played with L7's Jennifer Finch and Hole's Courtney Love in a band called Sugar Baby Doll, to Minneapolis, then an indie-rock hotbed. Babes' original all-girl lineup included Barbero, who had never drummed before, bassist Chris Holetz, and singer Cindy Russell; Holetz and Russell left after one year and Leon joined.

Babes released their first single on an independent label in 1989 and already had a following by the time Spanking Machine was released a year later. They toured Europe that fall with Sonic Youth. Originally released only in Europe, To Mother, a seven-song disc, spent 12 weeks on top of the U.K. indie charts. That and frequent touring, including the Reading Festival, secured Babes in Toyland’s European following. Leon left Babes in early 1992 after her boyfriend, roadie Joe Cole, was shot and killed when he and his roommate, Henry Rollins, were attacked by robbers. She was replaced by Maureen Herman. Babes’ major-label debut, Fontanelle, was produced by Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo and featured a cover photo by noted artist Cindy Sherman. In 1993 Babes first broke through to American audiences after being the only female-led band on that summer’s Lollapalooza Tour and having their video for “Bruised Violet” plugged by MTV’s Beavis and Butt-head. Painkillers featured that track and a live CBGB performance.

Nemesisters was Babes’ most “polished” record yet, including an eclectic mix of covers: Eric Carmen’s “All by Myself,” Billie Holiday’s “Deep Song,” and Sister Sledge’s “We Are Family.” The record nevertheless failed to earn the trio the critical or commercial acceptance of their all-female counterparts L7 and Hole. Herman left the group in June 1996 to pursue a writing career (she later started her own multimedia company). Bjelland and Barbero soldiered on with different bass players, including Leon, before calling it quits in 1997. The three women reunited in 1998 to play on Songs of the Witchblade, a Bjelland-produced soundtrack to the comic book The Witchblade.

from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001)