heavens to betsy – my secret
Feminist punk trailblazers heavens to betsy – Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney) and Tracy Sawyer (The Husbands, The Flying Tigers, The Lies) – will release their first project since 1994: baby’s gone on October 16 via Kill Rock Stars. The announcement was met with widespread excitement spanning Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Stereogum, FLOOD Magazine, SPIN Magazine, Consequence, The Needle Drop + The Guardian and was made alongside the thrumming lo-fi anthem “ain’t never goin’ back”. Today, they’re thrilled to share the furiously delivered second album cut “my secret”.
With its urgent, stop-start structure and Tracy Sawyer’s pounding drums, “my secret” is a push to be heard as Corin Tucker grapples with the aftermath of sexual assault. This summer reunited for their first concert in over 30 years and are gearing up for a North American fall tour.
baby’s gone is a 16-track mission statement comprising a never-before-heard demo tape originally recorded in February 1992 by Bratmobile’s Molly Neuman (who also provides liner notes for the forthcoming release), plus the 1993 These Monsters Are Real and the 1994 Direction 7” recordings. 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.
It’s a modern miracle the band’s 35-year-old baby’s gone cassette demos were ever found, let alone digitized, and can be shared with a generation fighting for their rights. 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 rebellious, trailblazing voices helped bring awareness to important issues still permeating American politics today such as 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.’”
Tour Dates
10/16: Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line
(with Tuffie, Scrunchies)
10/17: San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
(with Street Eaters, The Lilies)
10/18: San Francisco, CA @ Bottom Of The Hill
(with For Horses, Cut-Rate Druggist)
10/24: Olympia, WA @ Capitol Theater *Girl Night Part 2*
(with Calamity Jane, the Softies, Grrrizzly, DJ Allison Wolfe of Bratmobile)
10/28: Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall
(Team Dresch Album Release Show)
10/30: Washington, DC @ Black Cat
(with Calamity Jane)
10/31: New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
(with Calamity Jane)
11/1: Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church
(with Calamity Jane)
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
#heavenstobetsy1991