Women face off at 2011’s Battle of the Babes

Rather than raising dough through pinup calendars, fantasy-date auctions and bikini carwashes, our local chapter of the Human Rights Campaign raises dollars for women in the most rockin’ way possible: by putting babes behind guitars. This is the second year that event chairwoman Christene Main has organized the battle of the bands for Her HRC Kansas City. We asked Main for the lowdown on this year’s chick-rock face-off.

The Pitch: Last year’s battle had a huge turnout. What’s changing this year?

Christene Main: Last year, Kansas City was the only community that hosted a battle of the bands. [Other cities did burlesque shows and chocolate festivals.] This year, quite a few are following [the trend] because of the tremendous success and insane amount of fun we had.

How did you decide which bands would perform?

We put out a call for bands. Through the committee, we decided who would attract a great crowd, appeal to diverse sections of the community, and has spunk. Bands do pay a registration fee, but these fees will be pooled together and given as the Judge’s Choice prize.

How will the money be used by the HRC?

The money will be used by HRC for education, outreach and lobbying for marriage equality, employment nondiscrimination and other vital legislation.

Any performers you expect to stand out?

Heather Thornton performed in the electric showcase last year and did an amazing job. This year, she’ll switch to acoustic. Dumptruck Butterlips were requested a lot, and the B’Dinas have a fairly large local following.

How much money did the Battle of the Babe Bands raise last year?

Kansas City’s HRC raised just a little more than $7,000 last year. We predict that this year will be just as successful. We are still going to feature six acoustic and six electric bands on the upstairs and downstairs stages at Crosstown Station. We’ll have some guest performances, too — like by last year’s winner, Jen Lawless, and Dirty Dorothy and the Emerald City All-Stars.