BITCH

CD release tour | Armed with an electric violin, a ukulele and a bass guitar, Bitch (formerly of Bitch and Animal) is back on the road.

She's also back on the rampage, with a fistful of new songs and a new solo release, Blasted! — both making clear that this is an entertainer and songwriter who is pulling audiences to their feet worldwide with her politically charged and personally wrenched lyrics, atypical instrumentation, her minimalist sound and wildly dramatic stage persona.

Her former band, Bitch and Animal, released three albums together. Their first album, What's that Smell?, was released on their own label, and quickly caught the ear of Ani DiFranco. Ani co-produced and released their second album, Eternally Hard, on her own Righteous Babe Records. Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times voted it one of the top ten albums of the year in 2001. Their third album, Sour Juice and Rhyme (also on Righteous Babe), was produced by June Millington and got them nominated for album of the year in the GLAAD Media awards, where their fellow nominees were Rufus Wainwright, Peaches, and Me'shell Ndegeocello.

Since the break-up of Bitch and Animal, she's released her first solo effort, Make This Break This on Kill Rock Stars; started her own label, Short Story Records; produced Boulder, the latest album from legendary Canadian folk singer Ferron; and played herself in John Cameron Mitchell’s notorious movie, Shortbus.

Born in Pittsburgh, Bitch started playing the violin at age 4 after seeing the instrument on an episode of Sesame Street. When her parents moved to Detroit — her dad's a scientist, and mom's a tap dancer — she started writing poems. She later attended acting school, then took fiddle lessons from Andrew Bird. At some point she shaved her head and moved to Australia, where she spent six months hitchhiking and playing fiddle on the streets.