Heavens To Betsy to Release BABY'S GONE, First Project Since 1994
The collection also includes the 7-inch recordings THESE MONSTERS ARE REAL and DIRECTION via Kill Rock Stars.
Feminist punk band Heavens to Betsy — Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney) and Tracy Sawyer (The Husbands, The Flying Tigers, The Lies) — reunited this summer for their first concert in over 30 years and announced a fall tour. The band has now announced its first project since 1994: baby's gone, a 16-track release comprising a never-before-heard demo tape originally recorded in February 1992 by Bratmobile's Molly Neuman, who also provides liner notes for the release, plus the 1993 These Monsters Are Real and the 1994 Direction 7” recordings. The release is due out October 16 via Kill Rock Stars.
The release will be available in two special vinyl variants, CD and cassette. The band is also planning a limited edition release of the original demo tape with recreated artwork. Alongside the announcement comes the never-before-heard single 'ain't never goin' back.' The thrumming lo-fi anthem captures Corin and Tracy's sense of freedom as they embrace the artistic community of Olympia, Washington.
Just as Heavens to Betsy was an outlet for Corin and Tracy to express the issues on their mind as young women in the '90s, it was also a place for them to process trauma while giving other women a safe space to unpack theirs. Their voices helped bring awareness to issues including the pervasiveness of rape culture, discussions of intersectional politics and body shaming as well as celebrating female friendships, queerness and the strength of community.
'I wasn't sure if I would ever revisit heavens to betsy, and then when we started talking more about it, and feeling how relevant the subjects are today, almost even more so than they were back then… it just seemed like just the perfect opportunity to be doing this,' Tracy shares. 'Just to know each other again as adults and as mothers, it's really cool. Once we started playing again, it was like muscle memory.'
Looking back at their college-age relationship with Molly Neuman, who recorded their first demo tape, Corin says, 'Molly's such a leader, and she's… such an intellectual. She grasped right away that it was important for young women to have these tools to express themselves… She was so confident and so unafraid to just be like, 'Yeah, why don't I just record that for you? I'll just check out the Tascam from the AV library at Evergreen and do it.''
Heavens to Betsy released three 7' recordings (in 1992, a split with Batmobile, followed by These Monsters Are Real, and Direction) and one, now-classic full-length album; Calculated, which came out in 1994 via Kill Rock Stars.
Tour Dates
10/16: Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
10/17: San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
10/18: San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
10/28: Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall *with Team Dresch*
10/30: Washington, DC @ Black Cat
10/31: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
11/1: Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
11/5: Seattle, WA @ Nuemos
11/8: Pasadena, CA @ Sid the Cat Auditorium
11/14: Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle - SOLD OUT
11/15: Chicago, IL @ The Empty Bottle
11/21: Athens, GA @ 40 Watt
11/22: Durham, NC @ Motorco Music Hall
Tracklist
1. good food
2. factory
3. seek and hide
4. stay dead
5. my red shelf
6. ain't never goin' back
7. baby's gone
8. my secret
9. me & her
10. monsters
11. playground
12. firefly
13. direction
14. get out of my head
15. the ones
16. driving song
Photo Credit: Chloe Aftel
Photo Credit: Chloe Aftel
