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Corin Tucker

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Corin Tucker

Corin Lisa Tucker[1] (born November 9 1972) is a singer and guitarist, best known for her work with rock band Sleater-Kinney.

Background

In the early 1990s, Tucker attended Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where she studied film, political economy, and social change. Although Sleater-Kinney was formed in Olympia, Washington, and later relocated to Portland, Oregon, Tucker still describes herself as "a small-town girl" from Eugene, Oregon. Before forming Sleater-Kinney, Tucker played in Heartless Martin with Becca Albee of Excuse 17. Heartless Martin would release one EP, entitled Tonight.

Heavens to Betsy

Tucker was also a founding member of Heavens to Betsy, an influential Riot Grrrl band, which recorded a split single with Bratmobile, and a number of singles for independent record labels. They frequently played shows with Excuse 17, and the two bands both appeared on the compilation LP Free to Fight. Heavens to Betsy would release one album, Calculated, in 1993.

Sleater-Kinney

After Heavens to Betsy split, Tucker formed Sleater-Kinney with Excuse 17 member Carrie Brownstein and friend Lora McFarlane. She sang lead vocals and played second guitar to Brownstein's lead. Tucker released seven albums with Sleater-Kinney over the span of 11 years before going on hiatus in 2006.

"The Tool"

Corin Tucker's voice is arguably one of the most distinct in contemporary punk rock music. In operatic terms, her voice can be described as Spinto Soprano or, perhaps more appropriately, Dramatic Soprano, given her startling attack and highly pronounced vibrato. Tucker developed her singing style while feeling out her voice in her first band, Heavens to Betsy, and on early recordings with Sleater-Kinney. After the Call The Doctor tour in 1996, she began having trouble keeping her voice healthy on the road. Tucker sought help in a local opera singer and voice coach named Alice English. In lieu of paying fees to English, Tucker did odd jobs for the opera teacher, who helped Tucker learn to breathe more efficiently and tamed her wild vibrato. When asked about her voice, Tucker has always been quite modest. Her band mates from Sleater-Kinney often referred to her throaty warble as "The Tool."

Cadallaca

During her time with Sleater-Kinney, Tucker worked on a side project, Cadallaca, with Sarah Dougher and sts of The Lookers. In 1998, Cadallaca released their first album, introducing Cadallaca. They released an additional EP on Kill Rock Stars, Out West, in 2000.

Personal

Tucker identifies as a bisexual.[2][3] She came out to her family at 19. She briefly dated bandmate Carrie Brownstein in the beginning of Sleater-Kinney, a fact that was revealed to the world in a now-infamous Spin magazine article. Tucker called the article a "pain in the ass," saying "We weren’t asked about our personal lives in the interview. We talked about things we thought were really important, and what they printed was that we dated. It just came out as being gossip."[4] Tucker wrote the Sleater-Kinney song "One More Hour" about her breakup with Brownstein.[5]

Tucker married filmmaker Lance Bangs in June 2000 in Iceland.

Tucker and Bangs have a son, Marshall Tucker Bangs, born March 8, 2001 and a daughter, Glory, born in 2008.

In October 2007, it was confirmed by The Willamette Week that Tucker was pregnant with her second child.[6] Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss confirmed in a March 2008 interview that Tucker had given birth to a second child. [7]

Trivia

  • In response to the chant "Show Me Your Tits," popularized by male audience members to female bands and, in the case of Woodstock '99, by male bands to female audience members, Corin Tucker began wearing a shirt which read "Show Me Your Riffs". Tucker is photographed wearing this shirt inside the CD booklet of the band's 2000 release All Hands on the Bad One.[8]
  • After an incident backstage in which Sleater-Kinney were mistaken for groupies while opening for Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Tucker made the remark, now famous among Sleater-Kinney fans: "We just want to say that we're not here to fuck the band. We are the band."[9]
  • Tucker has a tattoo around her right ankle which reads "Heavens to Betsy".

Gear List

During The Woods era, Tucker used the following gear[10]:

Amplifier

  • '65 blackface Fender Showman

Guitars

  • Worn Cherry Les Paul Special
  • Danelectro Baritone (studio only)
  • Danelectro DC-3 (previous albums/tours)

Effects

  • DigiTech Whammy
  • DOD EQ
  • Electro-Harmonix Bass Synthesizer
  • Schumann Electronics Lion X
  • Vox Overdrive

References

  1. ^ ASCAP: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers
  2. ^ 1995 - Pullout - The Queer Issue - The Stranger, Seattle's Only Newspaper
  3. ^ outsideleft: The Top 12 Hottest Female Guitarists Ever
  4. ^ Curve: Vol. 7 #2
  5. ^ Under the Radar - Sleater-Kinney Last Show
  6. ^ Willamette Week | Tuesday, February 5th, 2008
  7. ^ Indy.com | Indianapolis Entertainment
  8. ^ http://owsk.ms11.net/images/gal23a.jpg
  9. ^ Corin Tucker
  10. ^ Raw Power
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