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84-779: The band pioneered the riot grrrl movement, with feminist lyrics and fiery performances. Their music is characteristically abrasive and hardcore -influenced. After two full-length albums, several EPs and two compilations, they disbanded in 1997. The band reunited for tours in 2019 and 2022, with Erica Dawn Lyle on guitar in place of Karren. Bikini Kill formed in Olympia, Washington , in October 1990, by Kathleen Hanna (vocals), Billy Karren (guitar), Kathi Wilcox (bass), and Tobi Vail (drums). Hanna, Vail, and Wilcox met while attending The Evergreen State College in Washington. Hanna also published

168-431: A DIY ethic , zines , art, political action, and activism. The movement quickly spread well beyond its musical roots to influence the vibrant zine- and Internet-based nature of fourth-wave feminism, complete with local meetings and grassroots organizing to end intersectional forms of prejudice and oppression, especially physical and emotional violence against all genders. The riot grrrl movement originated in 1991, when

252-460: A celebrity 's career. A side project can also be a band that takes on an " alter ego ", usually in order to play a different style of music that their fans are not used to. An example of this type of side project would be the band Weezer , who is also the Nirvana cover band Goat Punishment. Another example of a side project is when in 1990, Jesper Strömblad of Ceremonial Oath decided to start

336-402: A fanzine called Bikini Kill for their first tours in 1991. The band wrote songs together and encouraged a female-centric environment at their shows, urging women to come to the front of the stage and handing out lyric sheets to them. Hanna would also dive into the crowd to personally remove male hecklers. Such male concertgoers would often verbally and physically assault Hanna during shows when

420-432: A "classic", and praised as part "of the most vital rock-n-roll of the era". Bikini Kill's second album Reject All American was released in 1996, and the band broke up the next year. Despite retrospective acclaim, at the time the band was criticized for excluding men, and even Rolling Stone described Bikini Kill's first album as "yowling and moronic nag-unto-vomit tantrums." "My joke is always like, I didn't just hit

504-660: A band, let's do radio—we wanna [sic] have an all-girl radio show!" During spring 1991, Erin Smith , Christina Billotte (of Autoclave ), and Jen Smith (no relation to Erin) joined Wolfe and Neuman in Bratmobile when the latter two temporarily relocated to Washington, D.C. Neuman and Erin Smith were previously introduced at a Nation of Ulysses show in Washington, D.C., in December 1990 by mutual friend Calvin Johnson . Jen Smith had written in

588-708: A book-release concert for Jenn Pelly's book about the Raincoats . On January 15, 2019, Bikini Kill announced four U.S. shows, in New York and Los Angeles. The lineup for these shows included Hanna, Wilcox, Tobi Vail and touring guitarist Erica Dawn Lyle, who replaced Billy Karren in the lineup. The first show was April 25 at the Hollywood Palladium with Alice Bag as opener. In June the band played two European dates, in London at Brixton Academy , supported by Big Joanie , and with

672-417: A cassette of demos during summer 1991 titled Revolution Girl Style Now . Hanna, Vail and Wilcox also began collaboration on Bikini Kill zine during their first tours in 1991. The band wrote songs collaboratively and encouraged a female-centric environment at their shows, urging women to come to the front of the stage and handing out lyric sheets. Bikini Kill made it their goal to inspire more women to join

756-529: A chance to toy with different genres and recording methods, a fling with no long-term commitment". There can be aesthetic reasons to pursue side projects, and side projects can have the benefit of protecting indie credibility. One of the earliest examples of a side project in the rock era was that of The Four Seasons , who established The Wonder Who? as a brand for experimental and novelty covers that could not be released under their own name; more enduringly, lead singer Frankie Valli 's solo career began as

840-462: A group of women from Olympia, Washington and Washington, D.C. held a meeting about sexism in their local punk scenes in the United States. The word "girl" was intentionally used in order to focus on childhood, a time when children have the strongest self-esteem and belief in themselves. Riot grrrls then took a growling "R", replacing the "I" in the word as a way to take back the derogatory use of

924-462: A letter to Wolfe, "We need to start a girl RIOT!" Jen Smith proposed they collaborate with members of Bikini Kill on a zine called Girl Riot . When Neuman began the zine, she changed its title to riot grrrl , providing a networking forum for young women in the wider music scene and giving the movement its name. Erin Smith, Jen Smith, Billotte, Wolfe, and Neuman released only one tape together, titled Bratmobile DC . Thereafter, Bratmobile became

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1008-487: A longer legacy of self-published feminist writing that allowed women to circulate ideas that would not otherwise be published. At the time there was discomfort among many women in the music scene who felt that they had no space for organizing due to the exclusionary, male-dominated nature of punk culture at the time. Many women found that while they identified with the larger, music-oriented subculture of punk rock, they often had little to no voice in their local scenes. Women in

1092-500: A male-dominated punk scene. Punk shows had come to be understood as places where "women could make their way to the front of the crowd into the mosh pit , but had to 'fight ten times harder' because they were female, and sexually charged violence such as groping and rape had been reported." In contrast, riot grrrl bands would often actively invite members of the audience to talk about their personal experiences with sensitive issues such as sexual abuse, pass out lyric sheets to everyone in

1176-441: A performance of The Go Team and recognizing Vail as the mastermind behind Jigsaw zine. Dresch later started a record label under the name Chainsaw and formed the queercore band Team Dresch . In Chainsaw #2 she wrote, "Right now, maybe, Chainsaw is about Frustration. Frustration in music. Frustration in living, in being a girl, in being a homo, in being a misfit of any sort...Which is where this whole punk rock thing came from in

1260-408: A side project known as In Flames because he wanted to start a new project that combined Iron Maiden and death metal all together which he said he had never heard of before, the side project then grew into a band in 1995 and is now one of the most influential metal bands of all time, and still together without Jesper. A joint side project consisting of members of multiple known bands is known as

1344-459: A side project. Such was the rarity of such arrangements at the time that Philips Records , the Four Seasons' record label at the time of Valli's early solo work, was initially afraid that it was a sign the band was soon to dissolve or that Valli was leaving, which Valli assured he had no intention of doing. One example of musical side projects is Kiss 's decision in 1978 to have each member of

1428-579: A split album, Our Troubled Youth / Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah , and touring the UK. The tour was the subject of a documentary film by Lucy Thane titled It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill in the U.K. Upon their return to the United States, the band began working with Joan Jett of the Runaways , whose music Hanna described as an early example of the Riot Grrrl aesthetic. Jett produced the single "New Radio"/ "Rebel Girl" for

1512-587: A strong feminist artistic and cultural legacy that influenced early riot grrrl. In the early 1980s, Stella Marrs, Dana Squires and Julie Fay co-founded the store Girl City, where they created art and performances. The first K Records release in 1982 was a cassette of Heather Lewis ' first band Supreme Cool Beings, while she was a student at The Evergreen State College , a year before she co-founded Beat Happening . In 1985, The Go Team formed with then 15-year-old Tobi Vail . The band would go on to collaborate with Olympia scene musicians who are inherently linked to

1596-585: A trio with Wolfe, Neuman, and Erin Smith. They played their first show together as Bratmobile in July 1991, with Neuman on drums, Erin Smith on guitar, and Wolfe on vocals. Between 1991 and 1994 Bratmobile released the album Pottymouth and EP The Real Janelle on Kill Rock Stars , as well as The Peel Session . Bratmobile toured with Heavens to Betsy in 1992 and broke up in 1994. From August 20 – 25, 1991, K Records held an indie music festival in Olympia called

1680-508: Is happening – something that seems like a secret right now, but won't stay like a secret for much longer." At the time, Vail was working at a sandwich shop with Kathi Wilcox who was impressed by Vail's interest in "girls in bands, specifically," including an aggressive emphasis on feminist issues. Meanwhile, in 1989 Kathleen Hanna had co-founded the Olympia art collective/band Amy Carter and feminist gallery/music venue Reko Muse, both with Tammy Rae Carland and Heidi Arbogast. By summer 1989,

1764-466: Is often associated with third wave feminism , which also grew rapidly during the same early nineties timeframe. The movement of third-wave feminism focused less on laws and the political process and more on individual identity. The movement of third-wave feminism is said to have arisen out of the realization that women are of many colors, ethnicities, nationalities, religions and cultural backgrounds. While multiracial feminist movements have existed prior to

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1848-682: Is often associated with third-wave feminism , which is sometimes seen as having grown out of the riot grrrl movement and has recently been seen in fourth-wave feminist punk music that rose in the 2010s. The genre has also been described as coming out of indie rock , with the punk scene serving as an inspiration for a movement in which women could express anger, rage, and frustration, emotions considered socially acceptable for male songwriters but less commonly for women. Riot grrrl songs often addressed issues such as rape , domestic abuse , sexuality , racism , patriarchy , classism , anarchism , and female empowerment . Primary bands most associated with

1932-696: The Golden Plains Festival in country Victoria , Perth and at the Sydney Opera House . Hanna, Wilcox and Vail were joined by touring guitarist Sara Landeau, who played with both Hanna and Wilcox in The Julie Ruin . Vail also fell ill for part of the tour, leaving the band's Australian drum tech Lauren Hammel (also of Tropical Fuck Storm ) to fill in on drums for the Victorian shows. Early in 2020, in an interview with Pitchfork , Hanna stated that

2016-598: The International Pop Underground Convention (or IPU ). A promotional poster reads: As the corporate ogre expands its creeping influence on the minds of industrialized youth, the time has come for the International Rockers of the World to convene in celebration of our grand independence. Hangman hipsters , new mod rockers, sidestreet walkers, scooter -mounted dream girls, punks, teds ,

2100-500: The International Pop Underground Convention in Olympia. The first night of the event became known as "Girl Night". Tucker played her first show that night, on guitar and vocals with Heavens to Betsy and Tracy Sawyer on drums. Writing later about that summer, Melissa Klein (Wolfe's housemate at the time) said, "Young women's anger and questioning fomented and smoldered until it became an all-out gathering of momentum toward action...Bikini Kill promoted 'Revolution Girl Style Now' and 'Stop

2184-713: The manifesto of the riot grrrl movement. Sutton would also say, in "Women In Rock: An Open Letter", written in 1988, "To me rock and roll is about lust, lust for feeling; the worst I can say about a band is they're boring. That's why it's so crucial that women get up onstage and impart--inspire some emotion." Meanwhile in the Washington, D.C. area, Beat Happening fan Erin Smith started her zine Teenage Gang Debs in 1987. In 1988, two D.C. women that had been in all-women punk bands there previously – Chalk Circle 's Sharon Cheslow and Fire Party 's Amy Pickering – joined forces with Cynthia Connolly and Lydia Ely to organize group discussions focusing on gender differences and sexism in

2268-424: The '90s by so many people, and hated by so many people, and I think that that's been kind of written out of the history. People were throwing chains at our heads – people hated us – and it was really, really hard to be in that band." The band's final album, Reject All American , was released in 1996. After the band's breakup in 1997, a compilation of singles recorded between 1993 and 1995 was released in 1998 under

2352-468: The 1970s to the mid-1980s. While many of these musicians were not originally associated with each other during their time and came from a variety of backgrounds and styles, as a group they anticipated many of riot grrrl's musical and thematic attributes. These performers include The Slits , Poly Styrene , Siouxsie Sioux , The Raincoats , Joan Jett , Kim Gordon , and Kim Deal , among others. Of Kim Gordon, in particular, Kathleen Hanna noted, "She

2436-401: The 1980s, two articles on the topic of women in rock would be published by Puncture , a Portland, Oregon , zine edited by Katherine Spielmann and Patty Stirling. Authored by Rough Trade employee Terri Sutton, these articles became what is considered by some to be titular writing on riot grrrl ethos. One article, "Women, Sex, & Rock 'n' Roll" (1989) is considered particularly important as

2520-892: The D.C. punk community. The results were published in the June 1988 issue of Maximum Rock 'n' Roll . In November 1988, Connolly published the book Banned in DC: Photos and Anecdotes From the DC Punk Underground (79–85) through her small press Sun Dog Propaganda, and it was co-edited with Cheslow and Ely along with Leslie Clague. These conversations and the book laid the groundwork for riot grrrl when members of Bikini Kill and Bratmobile later came to D.C. in 1991. In fall 1989, Erin Smith visited Olympia and met Maffeo through Beat Happening's Calvin Johnson . Johnson had been in The Go Team with Vail, and co-owned K Records with Candice Pedersen. At

2604-586: The Donnas , Ted Leo , Some Girls , and the Locust . Kaia Wilson of Team Dresch and multimedia artist Tammy Rae Carland went on to form the now-defunct Mr. Lady Records which released albums by the Butchies , Electrelane, Kaia Wilson, Le Tigre, Sarah Dougher, Sextional, Tami Hart, The Haggard, TJO TKO, The Movies, V for Vendetta, The Quails. Bikini Kill played a string of shows in 2019 to present. Riot grrrl culture

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2688-464: The Fastbacks , Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet , Girl Trouble , The Pastels , Seaweed , Scrawl , Jad Fair , Thee Headcoats , Steve Fisk , Tsunami , Fugazi , Sleepyhead , The Mummies , and spoken-word artist Juliana Luecking . This convention demonstrated a new relationship between audience and performers, dismantling the power dynamic of the past, for instance voicing anger at people harassing

2772-542: The Go Team. At the same time, Vail was writing Jigsaw zine and working with friend Wilcox. Vail wrote at the time in Jigsaw : I feel completely left out of the realm of everything that is so important to me. And I know that this is partly because punk rock is for and by boys mostly and partly because punk rock of this generation is coming of age in a time of mindless career-goal bands. With Billy Karren , Bikini Kill self-released

2856-571: The J-Word Jealousy From Killing Girl Love'." As this ideal spread via band tours, zines, and word of mouth, riot grrrl chapters sprang up around the country. Kathleen Hanna , Tobi Vail , and Kathi Wilcox were all studying at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington during the late 1980s. Hanna worked at Reko Muse, a small collective art gallery that would frequently host local bands to play shows between art exhibitions. There she met Vail after booking her band,

2940-936: The North Shore Surf Club in Olympia, after Johnson invited them to perform on a bill with Bikini Kill and Some Velvet Sidewalk . While working on a documentary film about the Olympia music scene, Tucker went to this show and interviewed Neuman and Wolfe. Hanna, Vail and Wilcox collaborated on a feminist zine titled Bikini Kill for their first tours in 1991. The Riot Grrrl movement believed in girls actively engaging in cultural production, creating their own music and fanzines rather than following existing materials. The bands associated with Riot Grrrl used their music to express feminist and anti-racist viewpoints. Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, and Heavens to Betsy created songs with extremely personal lyrics that dealt with topics such as rape, incest and eating disorders. Jenny Toomey and Hanna had known each other as young teens while attending

3024-607: The Old Haunts until the band broke up in 2009. Kathi Wilcox played in the Casual Dots, who released albums in 2004 and 2022, and Billy Karren played in Ghost Mom. Hanna first contributed to an LP called Real Fiction as a member of the Fakes, and then turned to more dance-based new wave music (with similar feminist lyrical themes) on her solo debut, Julie Ruin . She then became a member of

3108-458: The Raincoats' Ana da Silva at a Hole show after Hole covered a Raincoats song. Thane filmed Bikini Kill and Huggy Bear for the entirety of their 1993 tour using borrowed film and video equipment. Naylor was tour manager. It Changed My Life premiered in 1993 at The Kitchen in New York City , during a film program curated by filmmaker Jill Reiter. UK zines that wrote about riot grrrl at

3192-556: The Tuts and Child's Pose opening. On September 15, they headlined the third day of the Riot Fest event in Chicago. On November 6, 2019, Bikini Kill announced a thirteen-date North American Tour for 2020, beginning in Olympia, Washington . The lineup for these shows was the same for the previous dates in 2019, and was scheduled to start March 13, 2020 at Olympia's Capitol Theater . The remainder of

3276-499: The Washington punk scenes took it upon themselves to represent their own interests artistically through the new riot grrrl subculture. To quote Liz Naylor, who would become the manager of English riot grrrl band Huggy Bear : There was a lot of anger and self-mutilation. In a symbolic sense, women were cutting and destroying the established image of femininity, aggressively tearing it down. Riot grrrl bands were influenced by groundbreaking female punk and mainstream rock performers of

3360-742: The West Coast tour included shows in Victoria, B.C., where they were to be supported by Mecca Normal , and in Portland supported by the Lithics. The tour also included some European dates in June and August, including Oslo's Øya Festival . The tour was rescheduled to 2022 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic . In October 2022 the band announced an Australian tour for March 2023, their first Australian shows in 26 years, touring to Hobart , Brisbane , Adelaide , Melbourne ,

3444-539: The Wondertwins with Tim Green of Nation of Ulysses . It was here that so many zinester people who'd only known each other from networking, mail, or talking on the phone, finally met and were brought together by an entire night of music dedicated to, for, and by women. An exceptionally large number of independent bands played and collaborated within the Olympia music scene . The convention also featured bands such as Bikini Kill , Nation of Ulysses , Unwound , L7 ,

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3528-544: The audience, and often demand that the mosh boys move to the back or side to allow space in front for the girls in the audience. The bands weren't always enthusiastically received at shows by male audience members. Punk Planet editor Daniel Sinker wrote in We Owe You Nothing : The vehemence fanzines large and small reserved for riot grrrl – and Bikini Kill in particular – was shocking. The punk zine editors' use of ' bitches ', ' cunts ', ' man-haters ', and ' dykes '

3612-495: The band had no plans at the time to create new material. Current members Current touring musicians Former members Former touring musicians Riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington , and the greater Pacific Northwest , and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. A subcultural movement that combines feminism, punk music, and politics, it

3696-402: The band, Gene Simmons , Paul Stanley , Ace Frehley and Peter Criss , simultaneously release solo albums. In 1992, The Melvins released solo EPs in a similar fashion. "Side project" may also refer to pursuits of famous individuals outside of their primary fields. For instance, Wicked Wisdom is a "side project" of actress Jada Pinkett Smith . Side projects often occur at a crossroads of

3780-471: The band, and Hanna co-wrote several songs on Jett's Pure and Simple album. By the following year, Riot Grrrl was receiving constant attention in the media, and Bikini Kill were increasingly referred to as pioneers of the movement. Hanna called for a " media blackout " amongst Riot Grrrls, as they felt the band and the movement were being misrepresented by the media. The pioneer reputation endures but, as Hanna recalls, "[Bikini Kill was] very vilified during

3864-402: The boundaries established by their main project. Side projects can later become full-time endeavours, but should not be confused with quitting a band for a solo career or another band. Peter Hartlaub of San Francisco Chronicle called the solo side project "the biggest longshot bet in mainstream music". The New York Times described the side project as "a break from the other band members,

3948-507: The code of silence... Because in every form of media we see ourselves slapped, decapitated, laughed at, objectified, raped, trivialized, pushed, ignored, stereotyped, kicked, scorned, molested, silenced, invalidated, knifed, shot, choked and killed. Because a safe space needs to be created for girls where we can open our eyes and reach out to each other without being threatened by this sexist society and our day to day bullshit." The riot grrrl movement encouraged women to develop their own place in

4032-465: The country to contribute their skills, energy, anger, creativity and curiosity. We will be having at least three shows, as well as workshops on everything from self-defense, to how to run a soundboard and how to lay out a zine. Plus, there will be a lot of time to talk with other women about how we fit (or don't fit!) in the punk community. By 1994, riot grrrl had been discovered by the mainstream, and Bikini Kill were increasingly referred to as pioneers of

4116-504: The end of 1989, Cheslow began publishing her zine Interrobang?! focusing on punk and sexism, and the first issue included an interview with Nation of Ulysses (NOU). Vail saw a copy of this issue and was instantly captivated by NOU's aesthetic. Vail began publishing her zine Jigsaw in 1988, around the same time that Dresch started her zine Chainsaw . Zines became a means of urgent expression; Laura Sister Nobody wrote in her zine Sister Nobody , "Us, we are women who know that something

4200-427: The fear that riot grrrl would be co-opted by corporate enterprises, in the few interviews they did take, they often made the movement out to be bigger than it was, claiming the music scene existed in cities far beyond its actual scope. This encouraged feminists to seek out said scenes, and when they couldn't find them, they created them on their own, further broadening riot grrrl's scope. From July 31 to August 2, 1992,

4284-454: The female performers. Exposure to Bikini Kill and then Bratmobile inspired other riot grrrl factions to spring up around the United States and Canada . Women in other regional punk music scenes across North America were encouraged to form their own bands and start their own zines. While Bikini Kill, amongst other bands, frequently avoided attention from mainstream media outlets due to

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4368-486: The first Riot Grrrl Convention brought people together in Washington, D.C. for a weekend of performances and workshops on topics such as rape, sexuality, racism, domestic violence, and self-defense. A promotional flier reads: Calling all grrrls and women! The riot grrrls in and around Washington DC are organizing a three-day riot grrrl convention this summer. We invite all grrrl and feminist bands and performers, grrrl fanzine writers, and energetic grrrls and boys from across

4452-536: The first issue of the zine Girl Germs . Corin Tucker came up with the band name Heavens to Betsy in Eugene during the summer of 1990, and moved to Olympia that fall to attend The Evergreen State College. Kathleen Hanna and her friends Tobi Vail and Kathi Wilcox, who were also studying at Evergreen, recruited Billy Karren to form Bikini Kill in fall 1990. Neuman and Wolfe played their first show on Valentine's Day 1991 at

4536-558: The first issues of Riot Grrrl and Jigsaw zines during their subsequent correspondence. Skinned Teen formed in London in 1992, when they were around 14 years old. They were included in British filmmaker Lucy Thane 's documentary of the 1993 Bikini Kill/Huggy Bear UK tour titled It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill In The U.K. ; the film also included The Raincoats and queercore band Sister George . Thane, from Sheffield , had previously met

4620-584: The first place." Molly Neuman (from D.C.) and Allison Wolfe (from Olympia) met in fall 1989 while living next door to each other in dorms at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon , and they traveled to Olympia on weekends. They first read Vail's zine Jigsaw in January 1990, and around the same time met Hanna. While on winter break 1990–91, Neuman returned to Washington, D.C., where her family lived and created

4704-509: The gender makeup of their band, and were based in Brighton and London . Their debut EP was released in 1992, and in the same year they began working closely with Bikini Kill as riot grrrl's popularity peaked on both sides of the Atlantic . This culminated in a 1993 split album on Catcall Records (Huggy Bear) and Kill Rock Stars (Bikini Kill) called Our Troubled Youth / Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah ,

4788-421: The glass ceiling, I pressed my naked [breasts] up against it," Hanna said of that time. Bikini Kill eventually called for a " media blackout " due to their perceived misrepresentation of the movement by the media. Their pioneer reputation endures but, as Hanna recalls: [Bikini Kill was] very vilified during the '90s by so many people, and hated by so many people, and I think that that's been kind of written out of

4872-600: The history. People were throwing chains at our heads – people hated us – and it was really, really hard to be in that band. Hailing from Eugene , Oregon , Bratmobile was a first-generation riot grrrl band that became the second-most prominent founding voice of the riot grrrl movement. In 1990, University of Oregon students Allison Wolfe and Molly Neuman collaborated on feminist zine Girl Germs with Washington, D.C.'s Jen Smith , touching on sexism in their local music scenes. We were very encouraged by people like Tobi and Kathleen in Olympia, and we were like, "Oh let's do

4956-742: The indie rock band Tsunami . The third issue of Vail's zine Jigsaw , published in 1991 after she spent time in Washington, D.C., was subtitled "angry grrrl zine". In spring 1991 Cheslow was living in San Francisco , and she received letters from Ian MacKaye and Nation of Ulysses' Tim Green informing her about Bikini Kill and "angry grrrl" zines. That spring 1991, Neuman and Wolfe spent spring break in D.C. and formed Bratmobile there with Erin Smith, Christina Billotte (of Autoclave ), and Jen Smith . Bikini Kill toured with Nation of Ulysses in May/June 1991, converging in D.C. with Bratmobile that summer. It

5040-470: The instigators of the Love Rock Explosion, the editors of every angry grrrl zine, the plotters of youth rebellion in every form, the midwestern librarians and Scottish ski instructors who live by night, all are setting aside August 20–25, 1991 as the time. A mostly all-female bill on the first night, called "Love Rock Revolution Girl Style Now!" and later simply "Girl Night", signaled a major step in

5124-640: The male-dominated punk scene. Hanna would also stage dive into the crowds to personally remove male hecklers who would often verbally and physically assault her during shows. However, the band's reach did include a large male audience in addition to the female target audience . After releasing the Bikini Kill EP on the indie label Kill Rock Stars in 1992, Bikini Kill began to establish their audience. Members of Bikini Kill also began to collaborate with other high-profile musicians, including Joan Jett , whose music Hanna has described as an early example of

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5208-451: The movement by media include Bikini Kill , Bratmobile , Heavens to Betsy , Excuse 17 , Slant 6 , Emily's Sassy Lime , Huggy Bear , Jack Off Jill (which later coined the term Riot Goth) and Skinned Teen . Also included were queercore groups such as Team Dresch and the Third Sex . In addition to a unique music scene and genre , riot grrrl became a subculture involving

5292-618: The movement. The night was organized by Lois Maffeo , KAOS DJ Michelle Noel (who later organized the first Yoyo A Go Go in 1994), and Margaret Doherty. The lineup featured Maffeo, Tobi Vail solo, Christina Billotte solo, Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy, Nikki McClure , Jean Smith of Mecca Normal , 7 Year Bitch , Kicking Giant , Rose Melberg , Kreviss, I Scream Truck, the Spinanes , and two side projects of Kathleen Hanna: Suture , with Sharon Cheslow of Chalk Circle (DC's first all-women punk band) and Dug E. Bird of Beefeater , and

5376-728: The movement. These bands credited with establishing the subculture of riot grrrl resisted being co-opted as heads of the movement broadly. Dedicated to a DIY ethos , bands and artists encouraged grrrls to challenge hierarchies and self-produce work relating to their own experiences and identities. As Bikini Kill's music and zines spread throughout England in 1991–92, bands formed and were quick to embrace riot grrrl. England had previously spawned such influential all-female or female-fronted punk bands as X-Ray Spex , The Slits , and The Raincoats that provided inspiration. Huggy Bear formed in 1991, calling themselves "girl-boy revolutionaries" in reference to both their political philosophy and

5460-446: The name The Singles . During the summer of 1992, Karren, Wilcox, and Vail, along with Molly Neuman of Bratmobile , formed The Frumpies , touring as late as the early 2000s along with a similar Italian punk rock band Dada Swing . Vail, notorious for her numerous side projects and being in several bands at a time, later resurfaced in a band called Spider and the Webs, and played with

5544-615: The name and appropriated it after Maffeo settled on the band name Cradle Robbers. After an independent demo cassette, Revolution Girl Style Now , Bikini Kill released the Bikini Kill EP on the indie label Kill Rock Stars . Produced by Ian MacKaye of Minor Threat and Fugazi , the released help establish the band's audience. The band's debut album, Pussy Whipped , was released in September 1993. Bikini Kill toured in London , England to begin working with Huggy Bear , releasing

5628-659: The names of the Huggy Bear and Bikini Kill sides respectively. Huggy Bear received widespread national attention after performing their third single "Her Jazz", a split release between Catcall and Wiiija Records , on The Word in 1993. Kill Rock Stars had been co-founded in Olympia by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, while Catcall was founded by former Manchester punk zine City Fun writer Liz Naylor. Naylor had met Bikini Kill's Kathy Wilcox by chance while they were each traveling in Europe in 1991, and Wilcox sent Naylor music and

5712-720: The original riot grrrl bands, Bratmobile, Heavens to Betsy and Huggy Bear had split in 1994, Excuse 17 and most of the UK bands had split by 1995, and Bikini Kill and Emily's Sassy Lime (formed in Southern California in 1993) released their last records in 1996. However, Team Dresch were active as late as 1998, the Gossip were active from 1999, and Bratmobile reformed in 2000. Perhaps most prolific of all, Sleater-Kinney were active from 1994 to 2006, releasing seven albums. Corin Tucker (Heavens to Betsy) and Carrie Brownstein (Excuse 17) had formed Sleater-Kinney in Olympia. Many of

5796-507: The political new wave outfit Le Tigre . After Le Tigre broke up, Hanna became the front woman of a band named after her solo project, The Julie Ruin , for which Wilcox plays bass. In February 2016, a pro- Hillary Clinton clip utilizing the Bikini Kill song "Rebel Girl" began to go viral, but was taken down by Vail (who supported Bernie Sanders in the primary). In 2017, Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox and Tobi Vail reunited to play one song at

5880-625: The punk rock community and in society. They used their music and publications to express their views on issues such as patriarchy, double standards against women, rape, domestic abuse , sexuality , and female empowerment . An undated, typewritten Bikini Kill tour flier answers the question "What is Riot grrrl?" with: "[Riot Grrrl is ...] Because we girls want to create mediums that speak to US. We are tired of boy band after boy band, boy zine after boy zine, boy punk after boy punk after boy... Because we need to talk to each other. Communication and inclusion are key. We will never know if we don't break

5964-584: The riot grrrl aesthetic. Jett produced the single "New Radio"/ "Rebel Girl" for the band after members of Bikini Kill heard "Activity Grrrl", a song Jett wrote about the band. Bikini Kill's debut album Pussy Whipped , released in 1993, included the song "Rebel Girl". "Rebel Girl" has become one of Bikini Kill's signature songs as well as a widely-recognized anthem for the riot grrrl movement While "the unforgettable anthem", as Robert Christgau calls it, never charted due to its independent release, it has received widespread critical acclaim. It has been called

6048-518: The riot grrrl movement: Donna Dresch , Lois Maffeo , and Billy "Boredom" Karren . Karren was a rotating musician who played in the band, and it was there that he and Vail played together for the first time, later collaborating in several other bands which included Bikini Kill and The Frumpies . Maffeo hosted a women-centered radio show on Olympia's community radio station KAOS . Candice Pedersen interned at K Records in 1986 while at The Evergreen State College, and became co-owner in 1989. In

6132-671: The same D.C. area junior high school. Toomey co-founded the indie rock label Simple Machines with Kristin Thomson in early 1990, and they ran the label out of a punk group house in Arlington, Virginia . They shared the house with Positive Force activists before moving into their own group house in Arlington. Toomey visited Olympia during fall 1990, where she formed My New Boyfriend with Tobi Vail, Aaron Stauffer from Seaweed , and Christina Calle. Upon returning to Arlington, Toomey and Thomson formed

6216-475: The space had hosted The Go Team, Babes in Toyland , and Nirvana . Hanna also interned at SafePlace, an Olympia domestic violence shelter and provider of sexual assault/abuse services, for which she did counseling, gave presentations at local high schools, and started a discussion group for teenage girls. Hanna came upon a copy of Jigsaw in 1989 and found resonance with Vail's writing. Hanna began to contribute to

6300-587: The term. Both double and triple "R" spellings are acceptable. The Seattle and Olympia, Washington music scenes in the Pacific Northwest had sophisticated do it yourself (DIY) infrastructure. Women involved in local underground music scenes took advantage of this platform to articulate their feminist beliefs and desires by creating zines (short for "magazine"). While the model of politically-themed zines had already been used in punk culture as an alternative (to mainstream) culture, zines also followed

6384-408: The third wave, the proliferation of technology during the early nineties allowed for easier networking amongst feminist groups. Riot grrrls used media spectacle to their advantage, crafting works from oppositional technologies such as zines , videography , and music. The riot grrrl movement allowed women their own space to create music and make political statements about the issues they were facing in

6468-447: The tickets were still inexpensive and easily procured. However, the band's reach included large male audiences as well as young women. Fellow riot grrrl musician Lois Maffeo originally adopted Bikini Kill as a band name, inspired by the 1967 B-movie The Million Eyes of Sumuru . She and her friend Margaret Doherty used the name for a one-off performance in the late 1980s where they donned faux fur punk cave girl costumes. Vail liked

6552-550: The time included Girlfrenzy and Ablaze! . By the mid-nineties, riot grrrl had severely splintered. Many within the movement felt that the mainstream media had completely misrepresented their message, and that the politically radical aspects of riot grrrl had been subverted by the likes of the Spice Girls and their " girl power " message, or co-opted by ostensibly women-centered bands (though sometimes with only one female performer per band) and festivals like Lilith Fair . Of

6636-816: The women involved in riot grrrl are still active in creating politically charged music. Kathleen Hanna went on to found the electro-feminist post-punk "protest pop " group Le Tigre and later the Julie Ruin , Kathi Wilcox joined the Casual Dots with Christina Billotte of Slant 6, and Tobi Vail formed Spider and the Webs. Sleater-Kinney reformed the band in 2014 after an 8-year hiatus and have released four albums since, while Bratmobile reunited to release two albums, before Allison Wolfe began singing with other all-women bands, Cold Cold Hearts, and Partyline . Molly Neuman went on to play with New York punk band Love Or Perish and run her own indie label called Simple Social Graces Discos, as well as co-owning Lookout! Records and managing

6720-462: The zine, submitting interviews to Jigsaw while on tour with Viva Knieval in 1990. In Jigsaw , Vail wrote about "angry grrls", combining the word girls with a powerful growl. Some issues of Jigsaw have been archived at Harvard University as a research resource along with other counterculture zines. After touring for two months in summer 1990, Hanna's band Viva Knievel called it quits. Hanna then began collaborating with Vail after attending

6804-416: Was a forerunner, musically [...] Just knowing a woman was in a band trading lead vocals, playing bass, and being a visual artist at the same time made me feel less alone." Riot grrrl musicians and musicians-to-be were also inspired by the 1982 U.S. musical drama movie Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains , which tells the story of a (fictional) seemingly proto-riot grrrl band. Olympia, Washington had

6888-465: Was here that Neuman and Wolfe created the first issue of riot grrrl zine. While Bikini Kill and Bratmobile band members were in D.C. during summer 1991, a meeting was held with women from the D.C. area to discuss how to address sexism in the punk scene. These women were inspired by recent anti-racist riots in D.C., and they wanted to start a "girl riot" against a society they felt offered no validation of women's experiences. The first riot grrrl meeting

6972-487: Was organized by Kathleen Hanna and Jenny Toomey, and it was held at the Positive Force group house in Arlington, Virginia. Hanna later said, "We had to go to a Positive Force meeting first. I'd never had a pitch meeting before. But I was doing a pitch meeting for why they should let us use their house for this all-women's radical feminist community organizing meeting." In August 1991 many of these individuals gathered at

7056-498: Was proof-positive that sexism was still strong in the punk scene. Kathi Wilcox said in a fanzine interview: Side project In popular music , a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band . It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize a different aspect of that person's or that band's musical interests that they feel they cannot explore within

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