The Chainsaw Kittens were a part of the American

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

scene, drawing from pop,

glam rock Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s and was performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diver ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

, new wave and

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of British culture became popular in the United States and significant to the rising "counterculture" on b ...

music. Their lyrics tackled such varied topics as

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

, the

Stonewall riots The Stonewall riots (also known as the Stonewall uprising, Stonewall rebellion, or simply Stonewall) were a series of spontaneous protests by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early morning hours of Ju ...

Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

Erik Menendez Joseph Lyle Menendez (born January 10, 1968) and Erik Galen Menendez (born November 27, 1970) are American brothers who were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their parents, José and Mary Louise ("Kitty") Menéndez. During the trial, the Me ...

, and

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

. Based in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...

, its name a reference to the band members' youth and "chainsaw guitar sound", the Chainsaw Kittens were active from 1989 to 2000. Debuting with a sound described 1991 ''

SPIN Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' review as "The Smiths meet the New York Dolls meet the devil", the group gained attention with "thrift-store transvestism," which it abandoned when the look "started to overshadow the music." The band underwent several personnel changes, but maintained the presence of principal singer/songwriter

Tyson Meade Tyson Todd Meade (born September 15, 1962) is an American musician, painter, writer, teacher, and disc jockey best known as the principal singer and songwriter for pioneering alternative rock bands Defenestration and Chainsaw Kittens. Defenestr ...

, previously of Norman alt-rock outfit Defenestration, and guitarist/producer Trent Bell. Though the Kittens saw little commercial success during their period of activity, they have since won praise as " guably the best American band who never made it" in the '90s heyday of alternative rock. In the 1995 movie ''

Empire Records ''Empire Records'' is a 1995 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by Allan Moyle, starring Anthony LaPaglia, Maxwell Caulfield, Debi Mazar, Rory Cochrane, Johnny Whitworth, Robin Tunney, Renée Zellweger, and Liv Tyler. The fil ...

'', the character Mark, played by Ethan Embry, is wearing a "Chainsaw Kittens" t-shirt throughout the movie. The band reunited for a performance at the Norman Music Festival in

on April 26, 2008. The band reunited once more on September 8, 2017 to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

music venue The Opolis. On October 4, 2017, drummer Eric Harmon died from colon cancer at the age of 48.

Discography

Albums

*''

Violent Religion ''Violent Religion'' is the first album by the band Chainsaw Kittens, released in 1990. "She's Gone Mad" was covered by The Flaming Lips. Track listing ''All tracks written by Tyson Meade, except where noted.'' #"Bloodstorm" (Tyson Meade, Kevin ...

'' (Mammoth, 1990) *''

Flipped Out in Singapore ''Flipped Out in Singapore'' is the second album by the band Chainsaw Kittens, released in 1992. Recording Flipped Out in Singapore was produced by Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wis. in 1992. Tyson Meade said: Track listing All tr ...

'' (Mammoth, 1992) *'' Pop Heiress'' (Atlantic/Mammoth, 1994) *''

Chainsaw Kittens The Chainsaw Kittens were a part of the American alternative rock scene, drawing from pop, glam rock, punk, new wave and British Invasion music. Their lyrics tackled such varied topics as religion, the Stonewall riots, Federico Fellini, Okl ...

'' (Mercury/Scratchie, 1996) *''The All American'' (Four Alarm, 2000)

EPs

* ''High in High School'' (Mammoth, 1992) * ''Angel on the Range'' (Mammoth, 1993) * ''Candy for You'' (Scratchie, 1996)

Singles

*"Mother (of the Ancient Birth)" b/w "Death-Sex Rattletrap" (Mammoth Records, 1990, MR 0019, Blue Vinyl) *"Lazy Little Dove" b/w "Extinction Stomp" (Echostatic/Spacebaby, 1995) *"Grandaddy's Candy" b/w "Bones in My Teeth" (Scratchie, 1996)

Others

*''

Bug (2007 soundtrack) ''Bug'' is the original soundtrack album, on the Lionsgate label, of the 2006 film '' Bug'', and contains such artists as Sean & Sara Watkins (of Nickel Creek), Chainsaw Kittens, Susan Tedeschi, Jerry Leiber, Leon Russell and more. The them ...

'' (

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

RED Distribution RED Music, stylized RED MUSIC, formerly RED Distribution, LLC (Relativity Entertainment Distribution) was a Sony-owned sales and marketing division that merged under The Orchard in 2017. RED previously handled releases for more than sixty i ...

, 2007) - track No. 3 "She Gets" *''Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth'' (soundtrack) - track No. 11 "Waltzing With A Jaguar"

References

External links

* AMG entry, undated
Trouser Press entry, undated

"Pop Heiress Dies" video

MySpace Fan Page

Enotes page, undated

Obituary for Eric Harmon
{{Authority control Musicians from Norman, Oklahoma Musical groups from Oklahoma Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 2000 Alternative rock groups from Oklahoma Rock music groups from Oklahoma 1989 establishments in Oklahoma