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Canadian actress/musician, Kinnie Starr was born in Calgary, Alberta, and didn't begin playing guitar until she was in her twenties. Her musical beginnings - BK Lounge - consisted of Starr and several guys who were not into the women's issues Starr advocated, or her spoken word pieces. After two years and the release of one cassette, Learning 2 Cook, Starr left the band, blaming herself for the band's lack of success. Once on her own, Starr was able to explore other musical and artistic avenues. In her pre-music days she sold stickers and silk-screened t-shirts with positive messages directed at women (which are now sold at her concerts). Her politically motivated graffiti and posturing were yet other outlets for her creative urges. Starr's dedication to her outlet of graffiti art in Victoria and Vancouver was eventually replaced by making music.

Starr's unconventional interactive shows have attracted many supporters. A loyal fan base, which includes a significant lesbian following, competes onstage with unique masturbation stories in order to win free t-shirts. The bisexual Starr frequently jumps into the crowd to confront her audience. Her longing for attention from the masses stems not from a need for admiration but an honest desire to make people think. "I'm fighting for respect, to connect with people and to stir people's minds up," she says.

Once she put together another band, Starr released her next major recording, the full length CD Tidy, on her own Violet Inch Records in 1996. Her artwork graces the liner notes and she uses space on the inside and back cover to promote other peoples' projects and protest against tampons. Critics praised the spoken verse, heavy beats and crunching guitars on the album.

It was not long before Starr signed with a major label in 1996 she joined Mercury Records and they released Tidy in the United States in April 1997. A 1997 stint on the Lilith Fair tour, further exposed her to American listeners.

Soon after, she began work on her Mercury Records debut, Mending. The album was shelved, however, when the Universal/Seagram merger swallowed up several smaller labels, including Mercury. Starr busied herself with a subsequent tour in fall 1997, which included co-headliners Veda Hille and Oh Susanna. The three musicians took their Scrappy Bitch Tour across Canada and the United States, and provided Starr the opportunity to reintroduce her to the masses after the Mercury debacle.

In June 2000, Starr released Tune-Up, on her own independent label, Violet Inch Records. This album marks a new beginning for Starr, and the end of a long journey through major label hell. Despite the less-than-smooth journey Starr underwent to achieve this level of personal and critical success, her unique approach to music and performing continues to attract curious fans.

For more info go to http://www.kinniestarr.com