Born to be Butchie.

The tough babes of the Butchies are here to save you from gender stereotypes and the fear of rock

What exactly is a Butchie? The moniker immediately conjures some cartoonlike stocky superheroine who swoops down to save babes in peril. "We like our band name because people certainly recognize it as queer and know that they can come to one of our shows and be in a safe space," says Kaia Wilson, singer-guitarist of the punk-pop trio. "It's sort of playfully sums up who we are. We're not, like, stone butches," she adds, laughing.

Maybe not, but the group is fond of sporting zip-up mechanic's uniforms onstage, or "onesies," as drummer Melissa York lovingly refers to them. "We get the `Yes, sir' a lot when we're on tour," she jokes. "I've always wanted to wear matching outfits, and I think we've all sort of loved this particular look for many years."

Based in Durham, N.C., Wilson, York, and Alison Martlew formed the band in 1998 with a sound straight out of the Northwest's riot grrrl explosion. The Butchies nevertheless draw their inspiration from the often pilloried '70s women's movement. The group enfolds that era's feminist themes into their music while adding a winking irreverence, tumultuous guitar grinding, and stormy lyrics.

"A lot of young lesbians attempt to disconnect themselves from womyn's music," explains Martlew, the group's shy bass player. "It's the idea that the only music that's worthwhile is the stuff that's happening now."

Wilson concurs: "If we fail to acknowledge early, women-owned companies like Olivia Records, we'll be destined to keep repeating ourselves." A founder of the seminal dyke-rock band Team Dresch and co-owner of the Mr. Lady record and video label with girlfriend Tammy Rae Carland, Wilson knows the value of learning from the women who taught themselves to play, record, and set up shop.

As they're the featured band on Stag, Indigo Girl Amy Ray's solo CD, the Butchies have been busy touring in support of that release. They're also serving as Ray's opening act, playing selections from their own record, 3. On it, Wilson introduces the sounds of classic rock to her contemporary baby-dyke audience--while adding her own defining twist. On the disc's first track, "Anything Anthology," she gives her definitive take on the '70s rock-and-roll experience: "She's a giant/Towering in blue jeans/ And your heart is pounding."

Elsewhere, on the tragic "Junior High Lament," Wilson's plaintive vocals unfurl the dreaded words "You look like a Boy"--the universal preteen jeer that sends red-eyed girls running for their bedcovers. "Junior high was the worst time in my life, and it probably is for a lot of girls," Wilson confides. "Especially growing up like me--a lot of kids are butch or transgender and don't pass off in the world as how you're supposed to look."

Makes you long for that alternate universe where Al, Mel, and Kaia could come soaring through your window, capes flapping, instruments in tow, yelling, "Butchies to the rescue!"

Tucker has also written for Time Out New York, Interview, and Paper.