Flyer: Gospel Gossip, Baby Guts @ 7th Street Entry

Tonight: Baby Guts @ 7th Street Entry

Show Announcement: Baby Guts @ Band Box Diner

Baby Guts Begin Tour Today

Download: Baby Guts - "Staplegun"

Oct 2 St. Paul, MN: Turf Club- Tour Kick Off! w/ Vignettes, Total Fucking Blood
Oct 3 Winona, MN: Ed’s Bar with MC/VL
Oct 4 Iowa City, IO: Public Space One with MC/VL
Oct 5 Ohio: TBA
Oct 6 Pittsburgh, PA: Rock Room
Oct 7 Brooklyn, NY: The Silent Barn
Oct 8 Boston, MA: TBA
Oct 9 Hartford, CT: Whitney House
Oct 10 New Brunswick, NJ: Courtlandt-Land
Oct 11 Baltimore, MD: Cider Haus
Oct 12 Manhattan, NY: The Annex
Oct 13 Arlington, VA: Kansas House
Oct 14 Lexington, KY: CPR Space
Oct 15 Columbus, OH: 15th House
Oct 16 Grand Rapids, MI: The PVC Hair Xtention Broadcasting Center
Oct 17 Milwaukee, WI: The Vault
Oct 18 Minneapols, MN: Pocketknife-Homecoming show!

Baby Guts, the raw, feminist punk rock trio, are set to launch a tour in support of their latest release, The Kissing Disease. The band starts out with two dates in their homestate, including tonight's show at the Turf Club, before heading out for a little more than a week's worth of dates in the East Coast. Check out the dates above. Read MFR's take on The Kissing Disease here.

Buy it here

Baby Guts MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)
jon@minneapolisfuckingrocks.com

Show Announcement: Baby Guts @ The Nomad

Baby Guts - The Kissing Disease

Baby Guts
The Kissing Disease (Guilt Ridden Pop, 2008)
Grade: B

Download: Baby Guts - "Drag"

Even though it's Laura Larson, the larynx-shredding singer of punk trio Baby Guts, who won Best Vocalist (Female) from City Pages Best-of poll last year, her bandmate, bassist Taylor Motari proves that he's no slouch when it comes to a scream either. His raspy, spazzcore-style vocals help stamp the more raucous gunshots of punk adrenaline like "Hampster Bite and "Shark Teeth" (something about this dude and animals) with a visceral snarl.

Those are but two examples of the kind of Riot-Grrl informed punk rawk that can be found on The Kissing Disease, the band's second full-length album. Most of the songs on Disease fall into two categories. There's the short, spastic bursts of energy and mayhem that characterized most classic hardcore bands; and the slightly longer, more melodic, but still brief, tracks that skew closer to punk influences both vintage ("Asbestos/Esophagus" is Milo's college sweetheart and also nicks the chord progression to "Sonic Reducer") and contemporary ("Meat & Gesture" has a sludge-slow breakdown common in most modern-day hardcore bands). There are, of course, songs that successfully split the difference ("Tiny Cuts", an early album highlight) and a feedback-laden slow-crawl of a segue track ("Medusa, Stomach Acid, and Brain Cancer").

Most of the blistering tracks at the beginning ofThe Kissing Disease have a certain visceral appeal (i.e., they rock hard), but when so many songs of a similar fast-placed, fuzz-heavy ilk ("Firetruck Vagina", "Bedsheets" "Rum & Coke"), they tend to blend into one big outburst. Baby Guts are better when they find a nice, big riff for their formidable rhythm section to sink their teeth into. "Dispelled" and "Drag", two awesome tracks, succeed greatly because the slower tempos allow the Guts to explore a greater depth of emotion and musical dynamics.

"Dispelled", a cover originally done by Hangun Man, is unexpectedly poignant, a song that goes from self-lament to anthemic burst of anger and self-triumph of the course of two-and-half-minutes; "Drag" does anything but. Baby Guts prove themselves to be quite the songwriters when they give themselves the chance to develop. Everyone loves a good thrash, and The Kissing Disease has many. But it's the more fully-formed songs that have true staying power. Based on the contents of Disease, listeners can hope that the more, varied, melodic songs take prevalence in future releases.

Buy The Kissing Disease here.

Baby Guts MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

This Friday: Eclipse Records All-Ages Show With Baby Guts

(Jonathan Graef)

Tonight: Baby Guts at 7th Street Entry

Download: Baby Guts - "Drag"
Download: Baby Guts - "Tiny Cuts"

If you're in the mood for a blistering, female-fronted rock show, the 7th Street Entry is the place to be tonight. The Minneapolis-based neo-riot-grrrl trio Baby Guts will be holding the release party for their new record, The Kissing Disease. Having seen the band live a few times over the past few years, I can say that they've gotten better and better with age. You can check out two hot tracks from Disease above.

Chambermaids, the Sleaze and the Vignettes open. The show is at 9 and is 18+. For 6 bucks, catching Baby Guts is probably the most worthwhile thing you can do tonight.

Baby Guts MySpace Page

(April Wright)

New Baby Guts - "Tiny Cuts"

Download: Baby Guts - "Drag"
Download: Baby Guts - "Tiny Cuts"

Minneapolis' own riot-grrl revivalists Baby Guts have posted another track from their forthcoming record The Kissing Disease up on their MySpace page. In contrast to the minor-key rage of "Drag", the first single from Disease, which you can listen to at the top of the post, "Tiny Cuts" is a little more melodic and old-school punk sounding--perhaps one could call this Dead Girls? Luckily for us, I doubt Laura Larson will have the same fate as Stiv Bators. She's too busy screaming like a hell-bent banshee bent on sweet, sweet world domination, and her band sounds like her devotedly trashing followers. Based on the quality of this, as well as "Drag", one can only assume that Baby Guts will have many more followers once Disease drops.

The Kissing Disease is out on May 29th.

Baby Guts MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

New Baby Guts - "Drag" (Plus: New Album Info)

Download: Baby Guts - "Staplegun"
Download: Baby Guts - "Drag"

MPLS punk trio Baby Guts make the kind of music that is so filled with glorious, righteous anger that it just might put the fear of God into you. Since that anger comes with a fuzzed-out guitar and banshee howl vocals, the group has earned a lot of comparisons to (riot)girl groups such as Hole, Bikini Kill, and Call The Doctor-era Sleater-Kinney. Those frames of reference still apply to "Drag", the new single from the trio's upcoming record The Kissing Disease, the release date of which, May 29th was announced through the group's website a couple weeks back. We're quite excited. Here's the tracklisting of the record:

1. Badmouth
2.Tiny Cuts
3. Shark Teeth
4. Asbestos/Esophagus
5. Firetruck Vagina
6. Tarantula
7. Rum & Coke
8. Bedsheets
9. Hamster Bite
10. Dispelled
11. Meat + Gesture
12. Medusa, Stomach Acid, Brain Cancer
13. Drag
14. Cricket Lung

I, for one, am highly curious as to what a "Firetruck Vagina" entails. We will find out soon enough, though. As stated before, The Kissing Disease comes out May 29th via Guilt Ridden Pop

Baby Guts MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Vampire Hands, Gospel Gossip, Skoal Kodiak Win Best-Of City Pages Awards

Download: Vampire Hands - "Statuette"
Download: Gospel Gossip - "Shadows Are Bent"

Some of our favorite local acts, including Gospel Gossip and Vampire Hands, have cleaned house in the City Pages's Best Of The Twin Cities' Poll. Vampire Hands won Best Rock Band, while GG took Best New Band. Additonal winners included Baby Guts's Laura Larson winning for Best Female Vocalist, Brother Ali for Best Hip-hop artist, and Skoal Kodiak for Best Live Artist.

Read more here.

(Jonathan Graef)

Free Baby Guts Show at the Triple Rock

Download: Baby Guts - "Staplegun"
Download: The Chambermaids - "Park"

The flier explains it all. Spring is just around the corner, so hopefully this free show at the Triple Rock Social Club will be the beginning of more free shows when the weather is nicer. Show is 21+ and the doors are at nine.

Check out an interview with 2/3rds of Baby Guts over at Flak Radio.

Baby Guts MySpace Page
The Chambermaids MySpace Page
Strut and Shock MySpace Page
The Vignettes MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)

Stasiu's Issues Apology For Homophobic Altercation At Jan 25th Baby Guts Show

Baby Guts

Download: Baby Guts - "Staplegun"
Download: A Paper Cup Band - "Better When You're Blue"
Download: Coyotes - "Airplanes"

As a performer, playing in an comfortable and receptive environment is an ideal desire seldom achieved, especially for those groups who are just beginning their musical careers. Audiences can be be unreceptive at times. But at the very least, an unstirred atmosphere can still be a respectful one, where indifference can be expressed by polite applause, shoulder shrugs or simply using the bathroom or ordering a drink at the bar. But what happens when that environment is turned hostile due to the actions of one person?

According to a bulletin sent around by Guilt Ridden Pop head Keith Moran, a Baby Guts/A Paper Cup Band/Coyotes show at Stasiu's on January 25th was cut short due to a series of altercations--one of which described as homophobic in nature.

On Friday the 25th, one of the opening acts, Coyotes, was allegedly heckled with a homophobic slur by a very large gentlemen. When the offender was confronted by the show's soundman, the heckler apparently responded with spitting and shoving. According to Moran, when Baby Guts, the headliner, requested that the heckler be removed, the venue employees refused to do so, claiming that the offender was a friend of the owner, Brad Schutte.

Here now is the message which was posted by Keith Moran, proprietor of Guilt Ridden Pop:

This message should not be viewed as an attempt to fuck over Christy or Charles.

Both are stand up people that I have known for years.

They both deserve a venue better than Stasiu's.

That said I feel it very necessary to inform bands that are booked at the venue, bands considering playing the venue and any person that might consider visiting the venue of what happened Friday night at the Baby Guts show.

Tonight was the first time I have ever advised a band not play a show and leave the venue over an issue that has happened in the venue.

Coyotes (a solo act) was performing on stage when a very large individual came up to the stage and screamed to play some rock and roll music. The performer was then called a faggot. The individual then struck the performer's guitar.

The individual then went behind the bar and hi-fived several employees and friends.

The soundman approached the individual and was promptly shoved and spit on.

Baby Guts and myself requested the individual to removed immediately. This request was denied. The person who identified himself as the owner indicated this person was a friend of his and he was not going to be removed. The person that identified himself as the owner explained as an excuse that this was “northeast” and things are different.

With my encouragement I advised both Baby Guts and A Paper Cut Band to not perform and leave Stasiu's as quickly as possible. Both bands were in agreement.

When contacted about the incident by MFR, all three groups who were at Stasiu's on the 25th confirmed Moran's versions of events. Baby Guts in particular felt the band "had a certain moral responsibility to not play the show" after the heckling had occurred. Singer Laura Larson said that the band "thought it was a completely unprofessional for the owner to excuse this behavior...(Stasiu's owner Brad Schutte) showed us no respect and refused to kick out his 'buddy.' If the situation would have been dealt with instead of ignored, we would have stayed."

As word spread about the alleged altercation, the night's events were passionately discussed on How Was The Show forums, as well as on the Modern Radio Message Board. Castle Greyskull, a house/venue which hosts underground shows in Minneapolis, sent out a MySpace Bulletin urging a boycott of Stasiu's while reprinting Moran's original statement. With pressure mounting and curiosity piqued, it was on the Modern Radio board that Christy Hunt, who plays in the band Ouija Radio and books shows at Stasiu's, issued a brief statement about the incident:

There is a lot more to this story than has been told. It is more complex than any one could think. Yes, it is indeed true that the owner gave this acquaintance a free pass. He was trying to deal with it in a way that he actually thought would be safer than fueling the fire. It wasn't a decision he enjoyed. The owner didn't know that the end result would end in such turmoil over something he thought he could fix personally. Not that any action was right but I can speak on the behalf of the owner and let everyone know this is an isolated incident and in know way would it be handled the same way twice or allowed to happen again. The owner is not homophobic and doesn't condone these kinds of incidents. He has been one of the nicest people I have worked for.

But Andrew Jansen from A Paper Cup Band wasn't necessarily happy with that explanation because, at the time the statement was issued, "There (was)...no apology in writing to Coyotes." Jansen reasons that "There will still be music. I just don't need to play there…the owner wasn't 'man' enough to tell his drunk friend or as they say 'acquaintance' to leave the bar. His 'friend' acted like he owned the place. And that night he did. It was a bad decision by the owner."

Similarly, Miller from Coyotes was skeptical of the original statement, though he maintained some perspective by saying that "I took the incident as it pertained to me to be the actions of a roving idiot and was not really fazed by them as I have had much worse experiences while busking." But, as with all concessional statements, there was a qualifier attached. "Having said that...I believe his actions on the night of the incident to be more of a honest scope regarding his principles. Actions speak louder than words."

By contrast, when asked to elaborate upon her initial statement on the behalf of Stasiu's, Hunt remarked that "Brad is a nice man and I personally don't feel that he was encouraging any harm done that night."

Then, on Jan 31st, Hunt released a more formal, full-length apology and explanation regarding the events of the 25th on the Modern Radio Message board in which she emphatically denies any homophobia on the part of the Stasiu's staff.

"First, I must make it clear that no one in my side of the organization is homophobic. The incident that occurred on Friday has been labeled as a matter of homophobia. Although I wasn't there to witness the matter, I have been informed of what occurred and I will do everything in my ability to stop anything like this from happening again. I will continue to support all cultures and interests in every way possible. This and all prejudice (homophobia, racism, sexism, etc) are ugly and stifle human progression. I do not approve in any of this in any way and I am saddened that it would happen where I am trying to create just the opposite."

Hunt then explained that the actions of Brad Schutte and Stasiu's by saying that the individual was allowed to stay in the bar because "(Brad) felt that he could calm the individual down in a jovial way and cause fewer problems than if the individual was personally escorted from the bar...I do not agree with this decision and have taken the matter to the appropriate people for correction. I submitted a letter of intent to the owner of Stasiu's explaining that I need to have full support from the bar and management to keep incidents like this from occurring or I will have to relocate all shows. They agreed to support."

Furthermore, Hunt quoted the soundman, Mike Selle, who was spat on by the heckler, as as saying "I was pushed but I never felt that I was in any danger...At the most it was 15 minutes of crap compared to how many hours of good shows and good times we've had there. I have no problems with Brad or anyone who works at Stasiu's. They've always treated me well."

Hunt concludes her statement by remarking that "I am amazed by how many people really want to see good things happen out of this..I do not know how long I will be booking shows here but for now I will honor all the great shows I have scheduled and may they be as exciting, if not more, than the ones I have had in the past."

When asked about the statement, Miller said that "It seems appropriate. Christy wrote me an e-mail...in which she apologized (and) I felt it was genuine." On the other hand, Jansen simultaneously put the incident into perspective while maintaining his skepticism about Stasiu's intentions: "I figure I am not going to play there again" Jansen stated. "But I think that the whole ordeal has gone on too long...this wouldn't have gotten to the point it's at if the owner would have apologized and explained his actions personally..."

Moran, however, is more forgiving. On the Modern Radio message board, Moran wrote that "I fully trust that Christy has resolved this with the owner so that nothing like this happens again."

It would seem that all involved is eager to move on as well. Schutte was unavailable for comment when contacted by MFR and all of the shows which were scheduled at Stasiu's are still going forward. So for now, only time will tell whether or not Hunt and Stasiu's promise will hold up.

Baby Guts MySpace Page
Coyotes MySpace Page
A Paper Cup Band MySpace Page

(Jonathan Graef)