I didn't want to do the usual paragraph on who S-K is & so on & so forth, so I decided to do it in a Q&A format. There's also a really nice history at their official site at Thisissleaterkinney.com.

1. So who is Sleater-Kinney, anyhow?
2. What's that name mean?
3. Who were the other drummers?
4. What other bands were S-K members in?
5. What albums do they have out?
6. Are there any more releases?
7. Are they touring?
8. What do they sound like?
9. Who writes the songs?
10. Do you have any more information about the band members?
11. What does "riot grrrl" mean?

So who is Sleater-Kinney, anyhow?

A good band. Aren't you glad you asked?

Seriously, they are Corin Tucker (vocals/guitar), Carrie Brownstein (guitar/vocals), and Janet Weiss (drums). They're from Olympia, Wa., although Corin and Janet live in Portland, Ore., now. They formed in summer, 1994.

So...nobody's named Kinney. What's the name mean?

It's from a road near where they practice in Olympia, Washington. You say it "SLAY-ter" or "SLEE-ter."

And, for what it's worth, Carrie used to call herself Carrie Kinney.

Didn't they used to have another drummer?

Yes. Three of them, actually. Misty Farrell played on their first 7" and a compilation; Lora MacFarlane was on the first two albums; and Toni Gogin toured with them. Janet has been in the band since before the Dig Me Out album was recorded. She is considered the permanent drummer.

Wasn't Corin/Carrie/Janet in another band?

Right again. Corin was half of Heavens to Betsy and Carrie was in Excuse 17. Janet is in another band as well, Quasi, and played with Junior High. All three of them turned up on the Go-Betweens CD The Friends Of Rachel Worth.Not to mention side projects like Cadallaca, Heartless Martin, Tommy...

What albums do they have out?

There are six of them; Sleater-Kinney, from 1995, which was released as a Chainsaw/Villa Villakula split, Call the Doctor, from 1996, which is on Chainsaw, Dig Me Out, from 1997, The Hot Rock from 1999, All Hands on the Bad One from 2000, and One Beat from 2002, all on Kill Rock Stars. In England, they're on the Matador label.

They also appeared on a compilation, Move into the Villa Villakula and a 7" ("You Ain't It"/"Surf Song") before their album. Finally, they were on a Candy-Ass split 7" with Cypher in the Snow - the first in the Free to Fight self-defense series, which was released in spring, 19998. "Big Big Lights" is the song on that.

Finally, a three-song CD single was released before The Hot Rock

Is that their complete discography?

Almost. "I Wanna be Your Joey Ramone," a song from Call the Doctor, is also on the All Over Me movie soundtrack. I think they're also on at least one other KRS compilation.

Help! I can't find their albums anywhere!

Well, I hate to send you to chains, so the first place to check should probably be your local independent record store. If there are none of those around you, Tower and the like often have them. If not, you have two choices; on-line shopping, or mail-order.

CDnow and Music Boulevard stock all 4 albums, or you can order them through the Sleater-Kinney Media Empire through CD Universe.

For mail-order, the addresses are:

Kill Rock Stars
120 State Ave. NE #418
Olympia, WA 98501

Chainsaw Records
PO BOX 42600
Portland, OR 97242

Villa Villakula
230A Tremont st#3
Boston MA 02116

So are they on tour now?

It depends. Kill Rock Stars keeps tour dates posted.

What do they sound like?

Like... themselves; it's hard to explain. There are sound samples on a lot of the sites on my links and articles pages.

For what it's worth, they have said they were influenced by or are often compared to bands including Bikini Kill, Team Dresch, Throwing Muses, Cold Cold Hearts, Bratmobile, the Need, Pixies, the Fastbacks, L7, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Kinks, Muddy Waters, X-Ray Specs, Boston, folk singer Yip Harburg, Gang of Four, the Delta 5, Helium,and Bo Diddley.

Who writes the songs?

According to a Rolling Stone article, Corin writes the words and Carrie writes the music, mostly.

Can you tell me anything else about the band members?

Well...it's iffy finding stuff, but from what I've read, Carrie was born in 1974, Janet in 1965), and Corin in 1972. Corin supposedly said at a show that she and Carrie are both Scorpios (born in early November). Corin and Carrie met when they were both students at Olympia's Evergreen State College; Corin graduated, and Carrie was still taking classes when Dig Me Out was released. They're also both from the Pacific Northwest.

A lot of the stuff I've read about them mentions "riot grrrl." What does that mean?

Well, in historical terms, "riot grrrl" was a feminist movement started in the early '90's in Washington, D.C. and Olympia, Washington. The band Bikini Kill is often seen as the originator, and both Heavens to Betsy (especially) and Excuse 17 are often considered riot grrrl bands, although S-K has said they don't think of this band as being specifically RG.

Exactly what it means varies from person to person; it's often used nowadays as shorthand for "feminist punk girl," but not all feminist punk girls call themselves riot grrrls. There are organized riot grrrl chapters in many cities, though they are often small or hard to find. I was, to some degree, involved with the zine culture that riot grrrl helped produce; to many mid-'90's zinesters, it meant a kind of connected activist feminist movement. There are many many good riot grrrl websites, any of which would provide a better definition than i can.

Of course, on the trash-culture level, it's often reduced to Courtney Love writing "slut" on her belly.