{{short description|American all-female punk rock band}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2020}} {{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians --> | name = The Butchies | background = group_or_band | image = | image_size = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels --> | caption = | origin = Durham, North Carolina, U.S. | genre = {{hlist|Punk rock|queercore|riot grrrl|alternative rock}} | years_active = 1998–2005 | label = Mr. Lady Records, Yep Roc | associated_acts = Team Dresch, Amy Ray, Adickdid, Born Against, Vitapup | website = | current_members = {{bulleted list|Kaia Wilson (vocals, guitar)|Alison Martlew (bass)|Melissa York (drums) }} | past_members = }} '''The Butchies''' were an all-female punk rock band from Durham, North Carolina, that existed from 1998 to 2005.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G2MEAAAAMBAJ&dq=melissa+york&pg=PA65 |title=Born to be Butchie |page=65 |publisher=The Advocate |date=May 22, 2001}}</ref> They reunited from their hiatus to tour with Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls promoting Ray's new album in 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afterellen.com/more/76835-kaia-wilson-puts-the-butchies-back-together |title=Kaia Wilson puts The Butchies back together |date=July 19, 2010 |author=Trish Bendix |publisher= After Ellen}}</ref> The frequent focus of their lyrical content concerned lesbian and queer themes.
Made up of Team Dresch guitarist and frontwoman Kaia Wilson, bassist Alison Martlew, and drummer Melissa York, The Butchies has been referred to as "queercore crusaders".<ref>[http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2003-04-24/music_feature4.php ''Sexy Butchies?'', Now, April 24, 2003] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929110948/http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2003-04-24/music_feature4.php |date=September 29, 2007 }}</ref> The band has been performing together since the recording of their first album, ''Are We Not Femme?'' in 1998.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-mQEAAAAMBAJ&dq=the+butchies&pg=PA90 |title=Meet The Butchies |publisher=The Advocate |date= November 9, 1999 |page= 90}}</ref> Since then, the trio has recorded three subsequent albums, ''Population: 1975'' in 1999, ''3'' in 2001, and ''Make Yr Life'' in 2004. They have also appeared on a number of compilations of note, including ''Being Out Rocks'', produced by the Human Rights Campaign (Centaur Productions, 2002), and ''Fields And Streams'' (Kill Rock Stars, 2002). In 2005 the band announced a hiatus.
The first three albums were released by the now-defunct Mr. Lady Records, run by Kaia Wilson and Tammy Rae Carland. It was named after Wilson's first solo LP, ''Ladyman'', created after leaving Team Dresch. The label also released the first two Le Tigre recordings. ''Make Yr Life'' was released by Yep Roc.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mcall/access/710116971.html?dids=710116971:710116971&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+09%2C+2004&author=James+Doolittle%2C+Special+to+The+Morning+Call+--+Freelance&pub=Morning+Call&desc=THE+BUTCHIES+%22MAKE+YR+LIFE%22+%28Yep+Roc%29&pqatl=google |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120725061837/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/mcall/access/710116971.html?dids=710116971:710116971&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Oct+09%2C+2004&author=James+Doolittle%2C+Special+to+The+Morning+Call+--+Freelance&pub=Morning+Call&desc=THE+BUTCHIES+%22MAKE+YR+LIFE%22+%28Yep+Roc%29&pqatl=google |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 25, 2012 |title=The Butchies: Make Yr Life (Yep Roc) |first=James |last=Doolittle |date=9 October 2004 |publisher=Morning Call}}</ref> The track "Sex (I'm a Lesbian)" appeared on Mr. Lady's 1999 sampler album, ''New Women's Music Sampler''. In 2001, a live rendition of the track "Disco" appeared on another sampler album, ''Calling All Kings & Queens''.
Kaia Wilson had previously performed in Adickdid and the queercore band Team Dresch, appearing on their first two albums, ''Personal Best'' and ''Captain My Captain''; Melissa York was also in Team Dresch, playing drums on the second LP and, prior to that, performing in two hardcore punk bands, Vitapup and Born Against, before the two women joined with Alison Martlew to form The Butchies.
The Butchies also played on the 2001 Amy Ray (of the Indigo Girls) album ''Stag'' on Daemon Records and backed her up on tour.
The band's name appears in the lyrics of the Le Tigre song "Hot Topic."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://slate.com/culture/2019/10/hot-topic-lyrics-le-tigre-who-is.html|title=57 Champions of Queer Feminism, All Name-Dropped in One Impossibly Catchy Song|first=Tammy|last=Oler|date=October 31, 2019|website=Slate Magazine}}</ref>
==Discography== ;Albums *''Are We Not Femme?'' (1998, Mr. Lady Records) *''Population: 1975'' (1999, Mr. Lady Records) *''3'' (2001, Mr. Lady Records) *''Make Yr Life'' (2004, Yep Roc Records)
;Singles
*"Freaks***Athletes"/"Where R We", (2001, Mr. Lady Records)
==See also== *List of all-women bands
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://myspace.com/thebutchies The Butchies] on Myspace *https://web.archive.org/web/20130515192503/http://www.nyrock.com/reviews/2001/amyray.asp
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Butchies, The}} Category:All-female punk bands Category:Musical groups from North Carolina Category:Queercore groups Category:Riot grrrl bands Category:Yep Roc Records artists Category:American feminist musicians Category:1998 establishments in North Carolina Category:Female musical trios