Candy Ass Records is an independent record label run out of Portland, Oregon by Jody Bleyle , formerly a member of the band Team Dresch and, at present, a member of the queercore group Family Outing .

The label is best known for the 1995 release, in collaboration with Chainsaw Records, of the double LP compilation Free To Fight. Featuring all-women bands and musicians such as The Third Sex , Rebecca Gates of The Spinnanes , Fifth Column, Lois , Heavens to Betsy, Excuse Seventeen , Containe , Cheesecake and Team Dresch, all contributing songs dealing with women's safety, defence against harassment and rape and pertinent topics surrounding these issues. The recording also featured self defense instructions which were included in a 75 page illustrated booklet accompanying the LPs/CD. As well, the booklet contained a great variety of other contributions from women such as bell hooks, Sue P. Fox and others, in the form of stories, practical advice and poems, all dealing with self defense.

Jody Bleyle is interviewed in the documentary film She's Real, Worse Than Queer speaking about Candy Ass Records and the release of Free To Fight, along with Alice Stagg , who contributed several segments on self defense on the recording and accompanied Team Dresch on the tour promoting the release.

Candy Ass also co-released, with Chainsaw Records, the first Team Dresch LP, Personal Best, in 1994 and the band's second LP, Captain My Captain, in 1995. Jody Bleyle also released recordings by her other band Hazel .

After the release of Free To Fight, the label also issued several follow-up singles by various artists under the same name as the original compilation and dealing with the same issues. The first release, called Free To Fight #1, was a split single with Sleater Kinney and Cypher In The Snow accompanied by self defense tips.

Aside from these endeavors the label has also released recordings by many other artists, such as The Lookers (with Sarah Dougher ), Vegas Beat , and Cypher In The Snow .

Artists appearing on Candy Ass Records

• Cheesecake
• Containe
• Cypher In The Snow
• Excuse Seventeen
• Fifth Column
• Rebecca Gates
• Hazel
• Heavens to Betsy
• Heavy Johnson Trio
• Lois
• The Lookers
• Mizzery
• New Bad Things
• Ovarian Trolley
• Sleater Kinney
• Surf Maggots
• Team Dresch
• The Third Sex
• Thirty Ought Six
• Vegas Beat

See also

• List of record labels
• List of independent record labels
• List of all-women bands

External links

• Review of Free To Fight CD and Booklet
• Candy Ass Discography
• Free To Fight single and CD Reviews