Katastrophy Wife was an American rock band formed by

Kat Bjelland Katherine Lynne Bjelland (born December 9, 1963) is an American musician. She rose to prominence as the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the alternative rock band Babes in Toyland, which she formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1987. ...

and her former husband Glen Mattson in 1998. Bjelland also fronted the punk rock band Babes in Toyland between 1987 and 2001. The band currently consists of Bjelland on lead vocals and guitar and her boyfriend, Adrian Johnson, on drums.MissB, ''Katastrophy Wife's Kat Bjelland gets her Heart-On on FasterLouder.com.au'' http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/8900/Katastrophy_Wifes_Kat_Bjelland_gets_her_HeartOn Fasterlouder.com Retrieved on June 12, 2010. The band released two albums, ''Amusia'' (2001) and ''All Kneel'' (2004). A third album was due for release in 2008, but was later cancelled. In May 2014, a 10th anniversary reissue of ''All Kneel'' was released as part of

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

. In 2015 Kat Bjelland joined fellow Babes in Toyland band member Lori Barbero and new bass player, Clara Salyer in a reunion tour.

History

Formation and early years (1999–2001)

Kat Bjelland and her then-husband Glen Mattson formed Katastrophy Wife in 1998, during the time in which Bjelland was still in Babes in Toyland. Seeing as Babes in Toyland were not performing much shows - and were unofficially defunct after bassist

Maureen Herman Maureen Herman (born July 25, 1966) is an American writer and a musician known as the bassist for the Minneapolis-based band Babes in Toyland from 1992 until 1996 and from 2014 until August 2015. Biography 1966–1991: Early life and education ...

left in 1996 - Katastrophy Wife soon became Bjelland's main musical output. The band's first production was the soundtrack for the comic ''

Witchblade ''Witchblade'' is a comic book series published by Top Cow Productions, an imprint of Image Comics, which ran from November 1995 to October 2015. The series was created by Top Cow founder and owner Marc Silvestri, editor David Wohl, writers B ...

'' on

DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...

. The soundtrack featured other artists such as

Buzz Osborne Roger "Buzz" Osborne (born March 25, 1964), also known as King Buzzo, is an American guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He is a founding member of the rock band Melvins, as well as Fantômas and Venomous Concept. Biography Born in Morton, Was ...

of the

Melvins Melvins (sometimes The Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Initially, they performed as a trio but later also sometimes appeare ...

Lydia Lunch Lydia Lunch (born Lydia Anne Koch; June 2, 1959)Martin Charles Strong. ''The Great Indie Discography''. 2003, page 85 is an American singer, poet, writer, actress and self-empowerment speaker. Her career began during the 1970s New York City no ...

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and

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.Bjelland, Kat
''RiSH Publicity : Katastrophy Wife Biography'
Retrieved on June 12, 2010. In 2000, the band recorded their debut album ''

Amusia Amusia is a musical disorder that appears mainly as a defect in processing pitch but also encompasses musical memory and recognition. Two main classifications of amusia exist: acquired amusia, which occurs as a result of brain damage, and con ...

'' and released it in 2001. Featuring original bassist Keith St. Louis, the album achieved considerable indie success, even acquiring the band a slot at the infamous

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

in 2002 and a headline spot on the UK leg of the United States' Ladyfest in 2001.'LOOK OUT FOR THE LADIES!'
''NME'' Retrieved on June 12, 2010. Their first single, and opening track from the album, "Gone Away", was released in 2001. After the performance at the Reading Festival, Glen Mattson and Keith St. Louis departed from the band, with Andrew Parker and Darren Donovan replacing them, respectively. Vanessa White, former guitarist of Twist, also joined the band.

Name issues, Bastard, and ''All Kneel'' (2002–2004)

During Katastrophy Wife's short tour of Europe in 2002, Kat Bjelland used the title of her old band Babes in Toyland. However, after facing legal problems from former band members, Bjelland reconsidered and reverted the name back to Katastrophy Wife. Around this time, Bjelland's friend

Courtney Love Courtney Michelle Love (née Harrison; born July 9, 1964) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actress. A figure in the alternative and grunge scenes of the 1990s, her career has spanned four decades. She rose to prominence as t ...

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

announced her new, short-lived punk band, Bastard, which she asked Bjelland to join.Weston, Colin
'Courtney Told To Stick Bastard Up Her Hole'
. ''Drownedinsound.com''. 2001. Bjelland denied Love's offer stating that:

"It seemed too conceptualised, like she'd spent too much time thinking about how a band should be ..Courtney and I make great music together, there's a good spark there, but let's say our personalities would not have been a great mix at that time."

Katastrophy Wife's second studio album, ''

All Kneel ''All Kneel'' is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Katastrophy Wife. It had favorable reviews and had three singles and videos released from the album. A limited edition blue vinyl reissue was released on Record Store Day ...

'', was released in June 2004 to favourable reviews. Three singles were released from the album, '' Liberty Belle'', ''Money Shot'' and ''Blue Valient'' with UK singer-songwriter

Carina Round Carina Round (born 20 April 1979) is a British singer-songwriter from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands of England. Career In the summer of 1996, following a gig in a basement acoustic club in Wolverhampton, Round was given a three-night su ...

, a song originally written and recorded during the sessions for ''Witchblade''.

Reissue and current status (2005–2010)

Parker, Donovan and White left the group in 2006, leaving Bjelland and Johnson the remaining band members. After their bandmates' departures, both Bjelland and Johnson continued to record under the name Katastrophy Wife. They began recording again and in May 2007 released '' Heart-On'', their first single in three years from the later cancelled album ''

Pregnant Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring develops (gestation, gestates) inside a woman, woman's uterus (womb). A multiple birth, multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Pregnancy usually occur ...

''. ''Pregnant'' was initially planned for released in 2008 but was cancelled for undisclosed reasons. Bjelland reported that in 2007 she suffered a

schizophrenic Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by continuous or relapsing episodes of psychosis. Major symptoms include hallucinations (typically hearing voices), delusions, and disorganized thinking. Other symptoms include social withdra ...

breakdown and was receiving treatment. A further release date was announced for 2009, however, this did not follow through either. The band's Myspace page has been inactive since December 2010.Katastrophy Wife on MySpace Music
Retrieved on June 12, 2010."

Members

Final Lineup

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(1998–2010) *Adrian Johnson -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(2007–2010)

Former members

*Andrew Parker - bass (2002–2004) *Darren Donovan - drums (2002–2005) *Vanessa White - guitars (2004–2004) *Glen Mattson - drums (1999–2001) *Keith St Louis - bass (1999–2001) *Brendon Parkes - guitars (2004-2005) *Oliver James - bass (2004-2005)

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (2001) *''

'' (2004) *''Dysrhythmia'' (Compilation Album) (2016)

Album Reissues

*''All Kneel: 10th Anniversary'' (2014)

Singles/EPs

*''Gone Away'' (2001) Top UK Indie Singles #14 *'' Liberty Belle'' (2003) Top UK Singles peak position #145 *''Money Shot'' (2003) *''Blue Valiant'' (feat.

) (2004) *''Heart On'' (2007)

References

External links

www.katastrophywife.com
(official site)
www.katbjelland.com
(fansite) {{Authority control Alternative rock groups from Minnesota Musical groups established in 1998 1998 establishments in Minnesota