Alternative rock and grunge of the 90s was notoriously a sausage fest. It’s not as bad now, but a lot of rock bands are still predominantly men. These female-fronted or queer bands of the 90s helped open doors for women in rock today, and they deserve way more recognition.
Daisy Chainsaw
Daisy Chainsaw was a U.K. alt-rock/grunge band that, at one point, turned down an offer to sign to Madonna’s label. They stayed independent, which may have hurt them overall if you only measure things by mainstream success. Until her departure in 1993, vocalist KatieJane Garside was a force to be reckoned with on stage. Her artistic range allowed Daisy Chainsaw some freedom from genre pigeonholing, but in the early 90s, they toured with several American grunge bands.
After the 1992 release of their debut album Eleventeen, Daisy Chainsaw toured the U.K. with Mudhoney and Hole. Both American bands were supporting their 1991 albums, and with Daisy Chainsaw in the mix, there was an eclectic blend of Seattle grunge with angry woman punk rock. Daisy Chainsaw may have been far from the epicenter of grunge, but they still had a particular influence.
Belly
Tanya Donelly, known primarily as co-founder of Throwing Muses and The Breeders, formed alt-rock band Belly around 1991. They had a decent run during the growth years of alternative rock, even earning Grammy Award nominations for their 1993 album Star. Belly’s influence on grunge and alt-rock of the time runs parallel to The Breeders, Throwing Muses, and the Pixies, as they all ran in the same circles.
Additionally, those influences stretched farther in later years. With young musicians discovering bands like Belly, they fueled the indie-alt-rock scenes of the 2000s and on. They may have been short-lived in the 90s, but Belly has been surprisingly resilient.
Calamity Jane
Calamity Jane is perhaps most known for their performance in Buenos Aires while supporting Nirvana in 1992. They’re usually overshadowed by Kurt Cobain purposely sabotaging the show after fans berated and booed Calamity Jane off the stage. They had Nirvana’s support, but they deserve so much more recognition, even with such a small discography.
As a female-fronted queer band in the early 90s, Calamity Jane helped pave the way for so many others. After the incident in Argentina, the band didn’t play together for more than 20 years. Vocalist and guitarist Gilly Ann Hanner wrote about the infamous concert on her website, sharing what she remembered. Ultimately, she wrote, “it confirmed that we as musicians are subject to the audience, and the bigger they get, the worse it can feel when the hurricane of negative public opinion storms you.”
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