Spitboy | |
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Background information | |
Origin | San Francisco, California |
Genres | Anarcho punk, hardcore punk |
Years active | 1990–1995 |
Labels | Ebullition Records, Allied Recordings, Lookout Records, Don Giovanni |
Members | Michelle Gonzales Adrienne Droogas Karin Gembus Paula Hibbs-Rines Dominique Davison |
Spitboy was an American anarcho-punk band founded in the San Francisco Bay area in 1990. [1] The all-female band aggressively criticized patriarchy and gender roles but did not associate with the contemporaneous riot grrrl movement. [2] They released several records and toured extensively and then disbanded in 1995. [1] Members later played in the bands Instant Girl and Aus Rotten, while drummer Michelle Cruz Gonzales and vocalist Adrienne Droogas have been active as writers.
Spitboy was founded by drummer Michelle "Todd" Gonzales, vocalist Adrienne Droogas, bassist Paula Hibbs-Rines, and guitarist Karin Gembus. Paula left the band before the release of the Rasana 7-inch EP and was replaced by Dominique Davison.
The band toured the United States, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. Their records were released on prominent punk rock labels Lookout Records, [1] Allied Recordings, [1] and Ebullition Records, including a split LP with the Chicago-based hardcore group Los Crudos. [1]
After the breakup of the group, Davison, Gonzales, and Gembus played together in the group Instant Girl, [1] whose sound was less aggressive than that of Spitboy. Instant Girl released an LP on Allied Recordings. Droogas was briefly a member of the group Aus Rotten [1] and then moved to Richmond, Virginia. She also wrote columns for the punk zines Heartattack and Profane Existence. Davison is now an architect and owner of Draw in Kansas City. [3] Gonzales teaches English at Las Positas College in Livermore, California, [2] has published zines and memoirs on her time in Spitboy. [2]
In April 2021, it was announced that the band would be releasing their complete discography as a new compilation, Body of Work (1990-1995), released by Don Giovanni Records on June 25. [4] The first single, "What Are Little Girls Made Of?", was released in May 2021. [5]
The band had a large impact and fans included fellow musicians Alice Bag [1] and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day [4] as well as members of Operation Ivy, Fugazi, Neurosis, and Citizen Fish. [1]
1,000 Hours is the debut EP by American rock band Green Day, released in April 1989 through Lookout Records. Through a shared interest in music, school friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt formed the band Sweet Children. With the addition of drummer John Kiffmeyer, the played at the local punk club 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California, where they started attracting a following. After playing a show with the Lookouts, one of their members, Larry Livermore, signed Sweet Children to his label Lookout Records. They co-produced their debut EP, 1,000 Hours, with Andy Ernst at the Art of Ears Studio in San Francisco, California, in early 1989.
Lookout Records was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California, and later in Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having released Operation Ivy’s only album, Energy, and Green Day's first two albums, 39/Smooth and Kerplunk.
39/Smooth is the debut studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on April 13, 1990, by Lookout Records. After finalizing their line-up, the band played frequent shows at the 924 Gilman Street venue, where they started attracting a following and eventually caught the attention of Lookout Records' founder Larry Livermore. Following the release of their debut EP 1,000 Hours (1989) and stints in other bands, Green Day went to Art of Ears Studio, located in San Francisco, California, to record their debut studio album, which was co-produced with Andy Ernst. Sessions started at late December 1989 and ended in January 1990, costing $675. 39/Smooth has been tagged as punk rock, pop-punk and skate punk, with comparisons made to the work of older punk bands the Buzzcocks and the Ramones, as well to contemporaries Crimpshrine and the Lookouts. Written mostly by frontman and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, unrequited love and longing for desire served as the main lyrical topics, while reminiscing on youth appeared in two of the songs.
Aus-Rotten was an American crust punk band formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Active from 1991 to 2001, its members practiced and promoted a philosophy of anarchist politics. The band included lead vocalist Dave Trenga, vocalist/guitarist Eric Good, bassist Corey Lyons, and drummer Matt Garabedian. Spitboy singer Adrienne Droogas would often join the band in their later material. The band's name comes from the German verb ausrotten, which translates to "exterminate" or "eradicate".
Energy is the only studio album by the American ska punk band Operation Ivy. It was originally released on vinyl and cassette in May 1989 through Lookout! Records with the catalog number LK 010. Although the album itself has never been released on CD, all of the tracks were featured on the career-spanning compilation Operation Ivy issued by Lookout in 1991. Despite achieving no mainstream success, Energy is considered one of the most important albums of ska punk and is frequently cited as an influence by many later bands of the genre.
Kerplunk is the second studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on December 17, 1991, by Lookout! Records. Following a US tour promoting their debut studio album 39/Smooth (1990), drummer John Kiffmeyer left to attend college and was replaced by Tré Cool, formerly of the Lookouts. By this stage, Green Day's audience expanded to teenage girls from suburban towns. In May 1991, they decamped to Art of Ears Studios in San Francisco, California, to record their next album with Andy Ernst, who co-produced the sessions with band. Six songs were recorded until the proceedings stopped in order for Green Day to resume touring, returning to the studio in September 1991 to finish the work.
The Lookouts were an American punk rock band that existed from 1985 to 1990 on Iron Peak, a remote rural mountain community outside Laytonville, California, United States. The members were Larry Livermore on guitar and vocals, Kain Kong on bass and vocals, and Tré Cool on drums and vocals. All three contributed on songwriting.
Lawrence Hayes, better known by his stage name Larry Livermore, is an American singer, musician, record producer, and author, best known as the co-founder of Lookout Records.
Los Crudos is an American hardcore punk band from Chicago, Illinois active from 1991 to 1998 and from 2006 onward. Comprising all Latino members, the band paved the way for later Spanish-speaking punk bands in the United States and helped to increase the presence of Latinos in the country's predominantly white punk subculture.
Allison Wolfe is a Los Angeles–based singer, songwriter, writer, and podcaster. As a founding member and lead singer of the punk rock band Bratmobile, she became one of the leading voices of the riot grrl movement.
Robert Burnett, better known as Robert eggplant, is an American writer, publisher, musician and activist from Pinole, California, United States.
Parasites are an American pop-punk band. They were formed in the late 1980s by guitarist / singer Dave Parasite and bassist Ron Nole in New Jersey. Dave later relocated to Berkeley, California, and continued with a new lineup during the heyday of Lookout! Records and the Bay Area pop-punk revival.
Blatz was an American punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California, United States. Blatz came out of the 924 Gilman Street Project scene during the late 1980s, and early 1990s along with bands like Operation Ivy, Filth, and Green Day.
Since the mid-1970s, California has had thriving regional punk rock movements. It primarily consists of bands from the Los Angeles, Orange County, Ventura County, San Diego, San Fernando Valley, San Francisco, Fresno, Bakersfield, Alameda County, Sacramento, Lake Tahoe, Oakland and Berkeley areas.
Riverdales is the eponymously titled debut studio album by the Chicago-based punk rock band the Riverdales. Formed after the break-up of Screeching Weasel, the band sought to write more Ramones-inspired music and the album was released on June 7, 1995, through Lookout Records with the catalog number LK 120. The group supported the album by opening for Green Day on the initial US leg of the tour for their album Insomniac. Riverdales experienced substantial success on the tour, and the album became the group's best-selling release to date.
Fuel was a short-lived Bay Area post-hardcore musical act that created both personal and political songs, something that was unique during the "first wave" of emo in the 1990s. Fuel had a sound akin to the mostly East Coast bands on Dischord Records, especially Fugazi, with twin guitars and dueling rough post-hardcore vocals. In fact, it is noted that Fuel was often jokingly referred to as "Fuelgazi." Fuel's style resembled the D.C. sound of many Dischord bands.
The Rotten Agenda is the third and final studio album by the American hardcore punk band Aus-Rotten, released in 2001 on Rotten Propaganda Records. The record label bears the name of lead vocalist/lyricist Dave Trenga's anarchist DIY newspaper Rotten Propaganda.
Can of Pork is a compilation album of various punk rock artists. It was released as two 12-inch vinyl records or one CD in April 1992 by Lookout Records. The vinyl version has a booklet of lyrics and photography and the CD version has information on contacting the bands and a detailed description of the compilation's production.
Michelle Cruz Gonzales is a musician, author, and college English instructor. She is a founding member and drummer of the groundbreaking all-female hardcore punk band Spitboy. Gonzales is featured in the Green Day-produced documentary Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk (2017), directed by Corbett Redford.
Kamala Lyn Parks is an American drummer, songwriter, tour booker, and author from Berkeley, California. She played drums for Kamala & The Karnivores, Cringer, The Gr’ups, Naked Aggression, Hers Never Existed, and Plot 66.