Pagan Babies (band)
Encyclopedia
The Pagan Babies were a short-lived American
rock band from San Francisco, California
, formed by Kat Bjelland
and Courtney Love
circa late 1985. Bjelland, who later became the frontwoman for the successful punk rock
band, Babes in Toyland
, and Love, who later became the controversial frontwoman of the successful alternative rock
band Hole
, had already been members in an unsuccessful project, Sugar Babydoll
, who were based in Portland, Oregon
and played a similar musical style to the Pagan Babies.
The band only lasted a few months, and only in their career played two shows at house parties, which were described as little more than "hanging out and having fun."
and sang main vocals while Bjelland focused on lead guitar and backing vocals. Soon after their formation, the duo recruited Janis Tanaka
to play bass, and through Tanaka found a drummer/pianist
, Deirdre Schletter. The band soon began rehearsing in friends' bedrooms, and played numerous covers and some originals during their jam session
s.
Love and Bjelland's shared apartment in San Francisco became the Pagan Babies' rehearsal space. It was here that they recorded a demo tape in December 1985. Aside from the band's four main songs, "I See Nothing," "Colder Than Me," "My Angels" and "All Roads Lead to" were also written, though only may have been embyronic lyrics written by Love.
The band then began performing live shows, although only lasted long enough to play two. The first show was in a friend's bedroom where they played electric versions of their songs, as opposed to the second show, where they played in a friend's living room with acoustic guitars. It was later described that both shows, and the rehearsals, were just about "getting together and screwing off". During their post-show period, Bjelland then began writing songs inspired by hardcore punk
band Frightwig
— some of which would later become Babes in Toyland songs — a band introduced to Bjelland by Tanaka's boyfriend at the time. Love, who was determined to conserve the band's new wave and dream pop
-inspired sound, was not impressed with the new material and subsequently, an internal feud developed within the band. The night Love left the band, she was noted as saying "you're never going to get anywhere playing that punk rock noise."
After Love's departure, the band disbanded and the remaining members became the short-lived Italian Whorenuns.
. The demo tape was rumoured to have been broadcast on local radio. The tape contained four songs:
"Best Sunday Dress" would later be rearranged by Love's band, Hole. Though performed frequently throughout the band's 1994-1995 tour dates, a studio version of the song was only recorded in 1997 and appeared as a b-side on the band's most notable single, "Celebrity Skin
." A clip from the master tape of the demo would also appear on the Hole track "Starbelly," which was released on the band's debut album Pretty on the Inside
in September 1991. "Quiet Room" would later be redone by Bjelland's band, Babes in Toyland
and released on the band's 1992 studio album
Fontanelle
.
In 2004, the complete demo tape circulated amongst trading circles online. The songs were transferred to MP3
format from a copy of Janis Tanaka's friend's cassette. It was also rumoured in 2006 that Sympathy for the Record Industry
, Hole's one-time label, were planning to release at least one song from the Pagan Babies demos in a compilation, but the idea was later dropped. However, "Quiet Room" saw release on Babes in Toyland's 2004 compilation, The Best of Babes In Toyland and Kat Bjelland
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rock band from San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, formed by Kat Bjelland
Kat Bjelland
Katherine "Kat" Bjelland is an American musician who is currently the lead singer-guitarist of the band Katastrophy Wife, and is the former lead singer and guitarist of the punk rock band Babes in Toyland....
and Courtney Love
Courtney Love
Courtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
circa late 1985. Bjelland, who later became the frontwoman for the successful punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band, Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland (band)
Babes in Toyland was an American alternative rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1987. The band was formed by Oregon native Kat Bjelland , with Lori Barbero and Michelle Leon , who was later replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992...
, and Love, who later became the controversial frontwoman of the successful alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band Hole
Hole (band)
Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
, had already been members in an unsuccessful project, Sugar Babydoll
Sugar Babydoll
Sugar Babydoll was a continuous, on-and-off musical project initially formed in Portland, Oregon by Courtney Love in 1981. The group, which in its latter stages included guitarist/vocalist Kat Bjelland and bassist Jennifer Finch, was a precursor to the Pagan Babies, formed by Love and Bjelland in...
, who were based in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
and played a similar musical style to the Pagan Babies.
The band only lasted a few months, and only in their career played two shows at house parties, which were described as little more than "hanging out and having fun."
History
The band formed circa late 1985 and like all Bjelland/Love incarnations was formed by both Kat Bjelland and Courtney Love. Love played acoustic guitarAcoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
and sang main vocals while Bjelland focused on lead guitar and backing vocals. Soon after their formation, the duo recruited Janis Tanaka
Janis Tanaka
Janis Tanaka is a bass player who has worked as a session musician and on tour with a number of well-known artists including Pink, Fireball Ministry, Hammers of Misfortune, Pagan Babies, Stone Fox and L7....
to play bass, and through Tanaka found a drummer/pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, Deirdre Schletter. The band soon began rehearsing in friends' bedrooms, and played numerous covers and some originals during their jam session
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
s.
Love and Bjelland's shared apartment in San Francisco became the Pagan Babies' rehearsal space. It was here that they recorded a demo tape in December 1985. Aside from the band's four main songs, "I See Nothing," "Colder Than Me," "My Angels" and "All Roads Lead to" were also written, though only may have been embyronic lyrics written by Love.
The band then began performing live shows, although only lasted long enough to play two. The first show was in a friend's bedroom where they played electric versions of their songs, as opposed to the second show, where they played in a friend's living room with acoustic guitars. It was later described that both shows, and the rehearsals, were just about "getting together and screwing off". During their post-show period, Bjelland then began writing songs inspired by hardcore punk
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band Frightwig
Frightwig
Frightwig was an American 1980s all-women band from San Francisco, California. They pioneered the riot grrrl movement and were influential to its development. They often played at The Farm. They were known for inviting a male audience member on stage to "dance" during the song "A Man's Gotta Do...
— some of which would later become Babes in Toyland songs — a band introduced to Bjelland by Tanaka's boyfriend at the time. Love, who was determined to conserve the band's new wave and dream pop
Dream pop
Dream pop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the mid-1980s, when bands like The Passions, Dif Juz, Lowlife and A.R. Kane began fusing post-punk and ethereal experiments with bittersweet pop melodies into dreamy, sensual soundscapes. The term was almost...
-inspired sound, was not impressed with the new material and subsequently, an internal feud developed within the band. The night Love left the band, she was noted as saying "you're never going to get anywhere playing that punk rock noise."
After Love's departure, the band disbanded and the remaining members became the short-lived Italian Whorenuns.
4-track demo
At some point prior to the band's debut performance or in the time between the second performance, the Pagan Babies recorded a demo tape on one of the member's 4-track cassette deckMultitrack recording
Multitrack recording is a method of sound recording that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources to create a cohesive whole...
. The demo tape was rumoured to have been broadcast on local radio. The tape contained four songs:
- "Cold Shoulders" (written by Love and Bjelland)
- "Bernadine" (written by Love)
- "Best Sunday Dress" (written by Love and Bjelland)
- "Quiet Room" (written by Bjelland)
"Best Sunday Dress" would later be rearranged by Love's band, Hole. Though performed frequently throughout the band's 1994-1995 tour dates, a studio version of the song was only recorded in 1997 and appeared as a b-side on the band's most notable single, "Celebrity Skin
Celebrity Skin (song)
"Celebrity Skin" is the tenth single by the American alternative rock band Hole, released on September 1, 1998 by Geffen Records. It is the debut single from their third studio album Celebrity Skin and is Hole's most commercially successful single, being the only one to reach #1 on the Modern Rock...
." A clip from the master tape of the demo would also appear on the Hole track "Starbelly," which was released on the band's debut album Pretty on the Inside
Pretty on the Inside
Pretty on the Inside is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Hole. Released August 23, 1991 on Caroline Records, it was Hole's first major label release after their formation in 1989 by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Courtney Love and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
in September 1991. "Quiet Room" would later be redone by Bjelland's band, Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland (band)
Babes in Toyland was an American alternative rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1987. The band was formed by Oregon native Kat Bjelland , with Lori Barbero and Michelle Leon , who was later replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992...
and released on the band's 1992 studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
Fontanelle
Fontanelle (album)
Fontanelle is the second studio album by the American punk rock band Babes in Toyland, released on August 11, 1992. It was the band's first release on a major label , and their first recording to feature Maureen Herman on bass.-Background and production:After extensive touring throughout 1991, the...
.
In 2004, the complete demo tape circulated amongst trading circles online. The songs were transferred to MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
format from a copy of Janis Tanaka's friend's cassette. It was also rumoured in 2006 that Sympathy for the Record Industry
Sympathy for the Record Industry
Sympathy for the Record Industry is a mainly independent garage rock and punk label formed in 1988 by record industry anti-mogul Long Gone John...
, Hole's one-time label, were planning to release at least one song from the Pagan Babies demos in a compilation, but the idea was later dropped. However, "Quiet Room" saw release on Babes in Toyland's 2004 compilation, The Best of Babes In Toyland and Kat Bjelland
The Best of Babes In Toyland and Kat Bjelland
The Best of Babes In Toyland and Kat Bjelland is a CD/DVD compilation featuring songs by Babes in Toyland and Kat Bjelland's other projects.-CD Track Listing:# Introduction: Dr...
.
Members
- Courtney LoveCourtney LoveCourtney Michelle Love is an American rock musician. Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who has moved from bit parts in Alex Cox films to significant and acclaimed roles in The People vs...
- lead vocals, rhythm guitar - Kat BjellandKat BjellandKatherine "Kat" Bjelland is an American musician who is currently the lead singer-guitarist of the band Katastrophy Wife, and is the former lead singer and guitarist of the punk rock band Babes in Toyland....
- lead guitar, backing vocals - Janis TanakaJanis TanakaJanis Tanaka is a bass player who has worked as a session musician and on tour with a number of well-known artists including Pink, Fireball Ministry, Hammers of Misfortune, Pagan Babies, Stone Fox and L7....
- bass - Deirdre Schletter - drums, piano
See also
- HoleHole (band)Hole is an American alternative rock band that originally formed in Los Angeles in 1989. The band is fronted by vocalist/songwriter and rhythm guitarist Courtney Love, who co-founded Hole with former songwriter/lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
- Babes In ToylandBabes in Toyland (band)Babes in Toyland was an American alternative rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1987. The band was formed by Oregon native Kat Bjelland , with Lori Barbero and Michelle Leon , who was later replaced by Maureen Herman in 1992...
- Pretty on the InsidePretty on the InsidePretty on the Inside is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band Hole. Released August 23, 1991 on Caroline Records, it was Hole's first major label release after their formation in 1989 by vocalist/rhythm guitarist Courtney Love and lead guitarist Eric Erlandson...
(1991) - FontanelleFontanelle (album)Fontanelle is the second studio album by the American punk rock band Babes in Toyland, released on August 11, 1992. It was the band's first release on a major label , and their first recording to feature Maureen Herman on bass.-Background and production:After extensive touring throughout 1991, the...
(1992)