Lollapalooza was founded in 1991 by Jane’s Addiction frontman, Perry Farrell and it would become one of the most memorable music festivals of the 90’s. It ran until 1997, after which it took a 6 year hiatus.
The 1994 incarnation of the festival was supposed to be featuring “Indie” bands and Nirvana was planned to headline. By the summer of 1994, Kurt Cobain was now dead so plans had to change.
Sonic Youth to Headline 1995 Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza’s “Indie Year” was moved to 1995 with Sonic Youth headlining, along with Hole, Pavement, Beck, Cypress Hill, Bikini Kill and Sinead O’Connor on the bill.
Promoters of the festival in 1994, were receiving a lot of backlash from fans and critics. Stuart Ross, the festival’s tour director during the 90’s, recalled to the Washington Post, “In ’94, the press was starting to take shots at us. They said, “Smashing Pumpkins and Beastie Boys are platinum-selling artists, and Lollapalooza was never a show for platinum artists. In ’95, the same press came back and said, Lollapalooza is a rip-off, there’s no headliners.”
When the 1995 incarnation of the festival came around, it had been about a year since Courtney Love’s husband passed away. Of all the artists on the bill that year, Courtney Love and her band, Hole seemed to attract the most media attention.
From the beginning of the tour in George, Washington, there was drama between the bands on the bill. It was further exacerbated by the internet, which was still in its infancy, at least to the general public.
“Everyone is disgusted and grossed out.” – Thurston Moore, Sonic Youth
Spin Magazine teamed up with some of the artists on the bill who wrote tour diaries to be published online. Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth published an entry that called out Courtney Love, “Everyone is disgusted and grossed out. Perry Ferrell is bummed. Everyone’s bummed.” He would go on to reveal that Courtney Love, during a stopover in Vancouver, Canada, “Yelled at the audience something about how she was wearing a cast on her arm cuz she punched some expletive in the face.’’
Moore would go on to reveal that Courtney Love “suckerpunched” Bikini Kill frontwoman, Kathleen Hanna, and she in turn filed criminal charges against Love.
Four days later Love read Thurston Moore’s online posts. Suddenly, Moore had a change of heart and according to his follow-up online posts, it appeared he and Courtney Love were friends again.
“Kathleen Hanna was my husband’s worst enemy in the world, someone who would stop at nothing to aggravate us.” – Courtney Love
Courtney Love also published some online posts about her experience on that tour. In one rant she called out Kathleen Hanna saying, “Kathleen Hanna was my husband’s worst enemy in the world, someone who would stop at nothing to aggravate us.” She would go on to refer to Hanna as, “Ratface”.
It’s important to note that Hanna was responsible for coming up with the name, “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, which eventually became Nirvana’s most popular song.
If you’re wondering what went down between Courtney Love and Kathleen Hanna, you’ll get a different story depending on who you ask and what you read in the press.
Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson recalled to the Washington Post, “We had bulk candy backstage. I go, ‘Courtney, there’s Bikini Kill frontwoman Kathleen Hanna. You should offer her some candy.’ She grabbed the candy and just threw it at her. Everybody was like, ‘Oh my God, she punched her in the face,’ but from what I saw, she threw the candy, and kind of slapped her in the direction of her face. I don’t know if she actually hit her, or what. It doesn’t matter, it was not cool. The whole tour started on that note.”
“I challenge you to a feminist debate in any university in America!” – Kathleen Hanna
Hole bassist, Melissa Auf der Maur would say, “Courtney did a fake cat hiss, like a joke. Like, ‘We’re at war’ kind of a thing, making a weird joke in passing. Next thing you know, there’s an explosion of arguing. Maybe a shove, I can’t remember. Kathleen Hanna screamed at the top of her lungs, ‘I challenge you to a feminist debate in any university in America!’ I was like, ‘What is this?’ It was hilarious.”
Entertainment Weekly covered the incident, publishing a report on July 28, 1995 that read, “Just hours into the alterna-fest’s July 4th debut in George, Washington, Love started a fight backstage with Bikini Kill singer Kathleen Hanna, a guest performer of Sonic Youth. While the brawl was brief, a source says it ended after a punch or two, it was just the beginning of Love’s feuding.”
Kathleen Hanna Claims Courtney Love Punched Her in the Face
Meanwhile, the Orlando Sentinel reported something completely different, claiming the scuffle happened onstage, publishing a report that read, “Kathleen Hanna of the band Bikini Kill told investigators that Love punched her in the face when she was onstage July 4th in George, Washington. Love was given a criminal citation, similar to a traffic ticket.”
Courtney Love would look back at the incident telling the LA weekly in 2013, “You know, I actually punched Kathleen Hanna and paid $30,000 for that, too. But that punch was so well-deserved, I wouldn’t take it back for anything.”
It wasn’t just the punch that rubbed people the wrong way on that tour, but Love’s overall behavior.
Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus told the Washington Post, “Courtney was terrifying to me. I remember scolding her one time. She threw a temper tantrum in the dressing room. She took two jars of salsa and threw them against a concrete wall, and I had just had enough, and I went in there and yelled at her. I was like, ‘Some poor person’s gonna have to clean that up.’ Everybody was concerned about her, that kind of brought everybody together. It was kind of a really nice group.”
“Everybody I clock gets famous.” – Courtney Love
Entertainment Weekly published a report in 1995 that read, “For Mighty Mighty Bosstones lead singer Dicky Barrett, the Love bite came backstage at the Polaris Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio, on July 14.
He was midway through a live phone interview on Chicago’s WLUP-FM when Love took the receiver to offer, among other thoughts, that she has ‘clocked’ four people since achieving star status. ‘Everybody I clock gets famous,’ she said. When LUP DJ Liz Wilde jokingly offered herself up for punching, Love demurred. ‘I wouldn’t, because you haven’t been bugging me and Kurt for the past five years.”
In 2019, it was revealed that Bikini Kill would be reuniting for some concerts with Bust Magazine raving about the news on instagram.
Courtney Love responded to Bust Magazine’s post, “Speak for yourself. Biggest Hoax in the history of rock and roll. Yeah, it’s worse when I speak truth to the rock male industrial complex. But at least I have the best view. Two of that band are total amateurs. Hanna is a good hype man. But her persona is such a DIY nonsense dilettante. A big idea they cannot convey, because they suck. That’s all! Back to Paris couture, because frocks don’t trigger me.”
What may have triggered this life long feud? There are a couple theories. Courtney Love used to be close friends with Sonic Youth vocalist and bassist, Kim Gordan but apparently the pair had a falling out and Kathleen Hanna supposedly became Gordan’s new best friend. Bikini Kill drummer Tobi Vail also used to date Kurt Cobain before he met Courtney Love.
“I still don’t like her. She still bugs me.” – Courtney Love on Kathleen Hanna
In 2005, Love was interviewed by Spin Magazine where she was asked about her relationship with Hanna, “I still don’t like her. She still bugs me. Kathleen Hanna runs that ship in a way that’s far more Yoko than I’d ever be. I really liked Tobi Vail and Kathleen in the beginning, but then I just thought they were hypocrites.”
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It’s 2022 and this nonsense continues? Bury the hatchet already! Love resolved her differences with Grohl and she could do the same with Hanna.