Corin Tucker

Corin Tucker (born November 9 1972) is a singer and guitarist, best known for her work with rock band Sleater-Kinney. In the early 1990s she attended Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. 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. Tucker is married to filmmaker Lance Bangs. They have two child together, Marshall Tucker Bangs and Glory Tucker Bangs.

Before forming Sleater-Kinney, Tucker played in Heartless Martin with Becca Albee of Excuse 17. Heartless Martin would release one EP, entitled Tonight. Corin was also a founding member of Heavens to Betsy, an influential Riot Grrrl band. Becca's bandmate from Excuse 17, Carrie Brownstein would later form Sleater-Kinney with Corin and Lora McFarlane. Heavens To Betsy 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. During her time with Sleater-Kinney, Corin 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.

"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. Corin sought help in a local opera singer and voice coach named Alice English. In lieu of paying a lesson fee 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 bandmates from Sleater-Kinney often referred to her throaty warble as "The Tool".

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 reads "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.
 * 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."
 * She has a tattoo around her right ankle which reads "Heavens to Betsy", the name of her band before Sleater-Kinney.
 * Studied film, political economy, and social change at Evergreen State College.

Gear List
During The Woods era, Corin used the following gear :

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