Kittie

History

Kittie was formed in 1996[8] when drummer Mercedes Lander and guitarist Fallon Bowman met in gym class. Morgan Lander, sister to Mercedes, became the lead vocalist and guitarist after weeks of Fallon and Mercedes jamming. Tanya Candler completed the line-up by joining as the bassist. Kittie recorded their first demos and began playing concerts in 1998.The band performed at Call the Office and the Embassy and signed up for Canadian Music Week in 1999. Kittie approached Jason Wyner, who was second-in-command at NG Records. After Jason saw the band perform live, NG Records signed Kittie in 1999. Kittie initially released their debut album Spit on NG Records on November 13, 1999; however, shortly after, NG Records was purchased by Artemis Records, and production was halted. Around the same time, Candler left the band and was replaced on bass by Talena Atfield. Artemis subsequently reissued Spit, with different artwork and photographs, on January 11, 2000. It is the band's most successful album, being certified gold by the RIAA.[ Spit has sold at least 600,000 copies in the United States and at least 40,000 copies in Canada.[14] They supported the album by touring with Slipknot.

Their debut album and supporting tour earned Kittie coverage in Metal Edge, whose readers voted Morgan Lander for "Female Performer of the Year" and Spit for "Home Video of the Year" in the magazine's 2000 Readers' Choice Awards. The band was also voted "New Band of the Year", "Who's Going to be the Next Big Thing", and "Most Underrated Band", earning them a total of five Metal Edge Readers' Choice Awards that year. On July 11, 2000, Kittie made a home-video called Spit in Your Eye which featured interviews of the band and the band playing shows with the band Slipknot. The success of Spit led Billboard to call Kittie "the most successful female band in modern metal" in December 2001.

After returning home from touring, Kittie were tasked by their label with writing their next album in three months. During this time, the band's relationship with Fallon Bowman began to deteriorate; Bowman and Morgan Lander found themselves at creative odds, and their interactions became increasingly argumentative. Bowman ultimately quit the band following an argument at a rehearsal for a radio show on May 28, 2001, and her departure was announced in August 2001. They have since reconciled their differences.

In the Black and I've Failed You (2008–2011)

On March 4, 2008, Kittie announced the departure of Trish Doan due to the eating disorder anorexia, which she developed during the recording of Funeral for Yesterday. Doan had battled the disorder for nearly two years. Soon after, Ivy Vujic officially became the new bass player. On August 2, 2008, David Lander, father of band members Morgan and Mercedes and the band's manager, died of a heart attack.

On June 26, 2009, it was announced that Kittie signed to the E1 Music record label. The band's fifth studio album In the Black, was released on September 15, 2009. Videos were shot for two singles, "Cut Throat" and "Sorrow I Know". "Cut Throat" premiered on MTV 2's Headbangers Ball on September 5, 2009, and on the Canadian show Much Loud on September 20, 2009. "Cut Throat" also appeared on the Saw VI Soundtrack released on October 20, 2009, and also in Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, released on March 25, 2011. On September 16, 2009, an announcement was made that German label Massacre Records would distribute In the Black in Europe.

In January 2010, Kittie returned to Europe to promote In the Black. Supporting bands on the tour included It Dies Today and Malefice. This tour included dates in Scotland, England, France, Switzerland, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. In a January 27, 2010 interview, Morgan Lander revealed that the band was in talks to film a video for the track "Die My Darling".[57] In March 2010, Kittie embarked on another North American tour with God Forbid, Periphery and Gwen Stacy as support. From May through June 2010, Kittie took part in the Happy Daze tour headlined by Insane Clown Posse and featuring Coolio, Kottonmouth Kings and Necro.[58]

Kittie participated in the 2010 Thrash and Burn tour through July and August which also featured Asking Alexandria, Born of Osiris, Evergreen Terrace, Stick to Your Guns, Chelsea Grin, Through the Eyes of the Dead, Impending Doom, Periphery and Greeley Estates.[59] This was followed by a one-month stint as one of the two opening acts on Devildriver's 2010 North American tour.[60]