Sleater-Kinney

Sleater-Kinney emerged from the Olympia, WA riot grrrl scene of the mid '90s to become one of the most important American alt rock bands of the era. The band came together in 1994, when singer/guitarists Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein (who were also playing at the time in Heavens To Betsy and Excuse 17, respectively) decided they wanted another outlet besides their main bands. Misty Farrell was the band's first drummer, but by the time they recorded their self-titled 1995 debut album (allegedly cut in a single day) for Chainsaw Records, Lora Macfarlane was on the drum stool. They developed a sound fueled by the punk roots and feminist politics of riot grrl, but over time the band developed a more nuanced-though still hard-hitting-style. Sleater-Kinney's third album, 1997's Dig Me Out marked the entrance of drummer Janet Weiss of Quasi, was their first for the Kill Rock Stars label and proved to be the band's breakout record, endearing them to a wider indie-rock audience outside the riot grrrl cabal. The band went from strength to strength through their seventh album, 2005's The Woods, but they split up in 2006. Brownstein joined the band Wild Flag, and Tucker eventually started a solo career, while Weiss became the drummer for Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks. In 2011, Brownstein became the co-star of the new TV comedy "Portlandia" (IFC 2011- ). The show became a long-running sensation, and Brownstein's resultant fame far eclipsed the renown she'd received for her music. Nevertheless, the band reunited in 2014; the following year, they released No Cities To Love, which went to No. 18 in the U.S. Top 200 albums chart, far and away Sleater-Kinney's highest placing ever. The band's 2015 reunion tour resulted in a 2017 live album, Live in Paris. A second reunion LP, The Center Won't Hold, was produced by Annie Clark (St. Vincent), but just prior to its release in August 2019, Janet Weiss announced that she was leaving the band amidst rumors of dissatisfaction with the album's more electronic and experimental sound.