Bratmobile | |
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 Bratmobile in 1994 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Olympia, Washington, U.S. |
| Genres | Riot grrrl, punk rock, indie rock |
| Years active |
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| Labels | |
| Members | |
| Past members |
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| Website | killrockstars.com/.../bratmobile |
Bratmobile is an American punk band from Olympia, Washington, formed in 1991. They are known for being one of the first-generation "riot grrrl" bands. The band was influenced by several eclectic musical styles, including elements of pop, surf, and garage rock.
Allison Wolfe (from Olympia, Washington) and Molly Neuman (from Washington, D.C.) met during fall 1989 while living next door to each other in dorms at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. [1] [2] The two had been raised in activist families: Wolfe had been raised by a lesbian activist mother, and Neuman's father worked for the Democratic National Committee and had introduced his daughter to leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). [2] Their shared musical influences included punk, hip hop, and the Olympia band Beat Happening. [2] [3] Neuman was influenced by the writings of Eldridge Cleaver. [2] Together, Neuman and Wolfe took classes in women's studies and music, traveled to Olympia on the weekends, and started collaborating on influential feminist fanzine Girl Germs in 1990. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Neuman's and Wolfe's friend Calvin Johnson, an indie musician in the Olympia scene in The Go Team and Beat Happening who also co-owned K Records, asked them to play a show in Olympia on Valentine's Day in 1991 with Bikini Kill and Some Velvet Sidewalk. [2] [5] At first, Wolfe admitted that they were "a fake band" because they did not play instruments, but they had written some songs which they performed a cappella. [2] After an attempt to get out of the gig, they agreed and sought the help of Some Velvet Sidewalk member Robert Christie. [2] [3] Christie let Bratmobile borrow rehearsal space and equipment and advised them to listen to the Ramones for inspiration. [2] [3] In response to that advice, Wolfe said, "Something in me clicked. Like, okay, if most boy punk rock bands just listen to the Ramones and that's how they write their songs, then we'll do the opposite and I won't listen to any Ramones and that way we'll sound different." [2] With five original songs, the band played its first show as a two-woman act at Olympia's North Shore Surf Club on February 14, 1991, with Neuman and Wolfe sharing duties on guitar, drums, and vocals. [2] They recorded the next day for the first Kill Rock Stars compilation, which was released later that year. [2] Briefly, they were joined by a bass player Michelle Noel. [2] They played only a couple shows with this line-up, including one with The Melvins and Beat Happening, also at the Surf Club on May 16, 1991.
Initially, Wolfe and Neuman thought of Bratmobile as a loose organization that would have different branches in different cities. [2] During spring break 1991, Neuman and Wolfe went to Washington, D.C., to work on this new form of Bratmobile that, at that time, included different musicians Erin Smith on guitar, Christina Billotte of Autoclave on drums and bass, and artist Jen Smith (no relation to Erin). [2] [5] [6] [7] Johnson had previously introduced Neuman to nascent guitarist Erin Smith from Bethesda, Maryland, during the Christmas holiday in December, 1990 at a Nation of Ulysses show in D.C. [2] Erin Smith was co-author, with her brother, of the much-revered TV pop culture fanzine Teenage Gang Debs when Neuman and Wolfe asked her to jam with them. [2] [5] They rehearsed at the Embassy, a group house in D.C. that served as headquarters for the Nation of Ulysses. When Beat Happening, Nation of Ulysses, and Autoclave toured the east coast that spring, Bratmobile DC had its first performance at Maxwell's in Hoboken, New Jersey. The newly minted Bratmobile DC lineup of Neuman, Wolfe, Erin Smith, and Billotte spontaneously got on stage. Back in D.C., they recorded with Tim Green of Nation of Ulysses in the Embassy's basement studio. Around this time, Jen Smith, who lived at the Embassy, recorded with Bratmobile DC and played a show with them. [2]
This lineup with Billotte and Jen Smith released a cassette tape entitled Bratmobile DC. [3] [8] Thereafter, Bratmobile became a trio with Wolfe, Neuman, and Erin Smith.
Bikini Kill toured with Nation of Ulysses in May/June 1991, converging in D.C. with Bratmobile that summer. [2] [5] [9] In July 1991, Bratmobile played their first show as a 3-piece with Neuman on drums, Wolfe on vocals, and Erin Smith on guitar. [2] Bratmobile were just in time to play at the historic International Pop Underground Convention in Olympia in August 1991, becoming the only band to appear twice. [3] [4] They played the opening show "Girl Night". [10] [11] [12] They also played a show at Capitol Lake Park on a bill with Melvins, Mecca Normal, Girl Trouble, Beat Happening, and Fugazi. [13] During the summer of 1992, Bratmobile toured with Heavens to Betsy. [14] Bratmobile released the album Pottymouth (1993) and The Real Janelle EP (1994) on Kill Rock Stars, as well as The Peel Session . [3] [15] [14]
On May 7, 1994, under the backdrop of intense media scrutiny and inner pressures within the riot grrrl movement, Bratmobile infamously broke up onstage at the Thread Waxing Space in New York City. [14] [16] [17] With the members of Bratmobile already stressed from a lack of practice and having to perform in front on several high-profile individuals, several women in the audience stole the band's microphone to accuse a male audience member of assault whilst also criticizing Bratmobile's failure to provide a safe space, thereby "[stopping] the show for a span of time at least as long as [the band] eventually played", according to Spin journalist Ann Powers. [16] [17] Wolfe said: "All of a sudden not only was I supposed to serve as talent that night, I was also supposed to serve as club manager and security! [...] everybody was screaming at each other. It was like slapstick comedy or some kind of crazy performance art, and we just broke up". [17]
After the break-up, Molly Neuman moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and began working at East Bay punk record label Lookout! Records. She also played in The PeeChees and The Frumpies. [18] Allison Wolfe moved to Washington, D.C., and she and Maryland-based Erin Smith started a new band together called Cold Cold Hearts.[ citation needed ] Wolfe has also been active in feminism and activism. [19]
In 1999, the band decided to reunite for a low-key show in Oakland's Stork Club and the band was relaunched to go on tour with Sleater-Kinney.[ citation needed ]
In 2000, Bratmobile released their second full-length studio album, Ladies, Women and Girls . The album was well-received by critics and earned Bratmobile new fans as they toured with Sleater-Kinney, The Donnas, The Locust, among others. Ladies, Women and Girls was released on Neuman's Lookout! Records and produced by Tim Green of Nation of Ulysses and The Fucking Champs. Jon Nikki (Prima Donnas, Gene Defcon, Mocket, Sarah Dougher, Sir, Puce Moment) added guitar, bass and keyboard parts to the minimal Brat sound.
On May 7, 2002, Bratmobile released their third album, Girls Get Busy . On Girls Get Busy, Audrey Marrs, (Mocket, Gene Defcon) added keyboards that gave the album its distinctive new sound. Marty Violence (Young Pioneers) also contributed bass.[ citation needed ]
After dedicating most of 2002 and 2003 to promoting Girls Get Busy via touring, each of the principal members went back to do other things. While the band didn't formally break up, Allison Wolfe did post a message on January 30, 2004, in the Bratmobile message board concerning the status of the band:[ citation needed ]
Yeah, sorry to say i think Bratmobile is through. We never had a certain incident where anyone said "I quit" or whatever, so it's been vague and drawn out. Sorry if that's been confusing to people. I think all 3 of us just have different ways of doing things and different things we want to do now, in and outside of music. Molly has just been so busy with managing the Donnas and the Locust, and as co-owner of Lookout! Records. Erin is also working full time at Lookout! Records. I've been living across the country in Washington DC, working 2 part-time jobs, and now doing other musical things. I'm now in Hawnay Troof, Baby Truth, and also a new girl band in DC called Partyline.
In 2018, Kill Rock Stars produced a podcast series about Bratmobile titled Girl Germs. [8]
In 2019, Bratmobile's original lineup reunited to perform at Tobi Vail's birthday party. In 2023, Wolfe and Neuman reformed Bratmobile again to perform at the Mosswood Meltdown festival in Oakland, California, where they were joined by Tiger Trap’s Rose Melberg on guitar, Marrs on keyboards, and Marty Key on bass. [20] [21] Erin was unable to join the band for this reunion due to "other commitments". [21]
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent music" since the 1980s.
Kathleen Hanna is an American singer, musician and pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. In the early-to-mid-1990s she was the lead singer of feminist punk band Bikini Kill, and then fronted Le Tigre in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since 2010, she has recorded as the Julie Ruin.
Tobi Celeste Vail is an American independent musician, music critic and feminist activist from Olympia, Washington. She was a central figure in the riot grrl scene—she coined the spelling of "grrl"—and she started the zine Jigsaw. A drummer, guitarist and singer, she was a founding member of the band Bikini Kill. Vail has collaborated in several other bands figuring in the Olympia music scene. Vail writes for eMusic.
The port city of Olympia, Washington, has been a center of post-hardcore, anti-folk, and other youth-oriented musical genres since the late 1970s. Before this period, Olympia's The Fleetwoods had several Billboard chart successes between 1959 and 1963. Olympia saw a rise in feminism in the music industry, where artists commonly addressed rape, domestic abuse, sexuality, racism, patriarchy, classism, anarchism, and female empowerment in their songs. It was a center for the riot grrrl movement of the early 1990s, which featured Bikini Kill and Bratmobile.
Heavens to Betsy was an American punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1991 with vocalist and guitarist Corin Tucker and drummer Tracy Sawyer. The duo were part of the DIY riot grrrl, punk rock underground, and were Tucker's first band before she co-formed Sleater-Kinney.
Pottymouth is the debut studio album by American punk rock band Bratmobile, released on June 8, 1993, by Kill Rock Stars.
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.
Autoclave was an American indie rock band, based in Washington, D.C. Their releases were on local label Dischord Records. Formed in the summer of 1990, the group consisted of vocalist and bassist Christina Billotte, lead guitarist Mary Timony, guitarist Nikki Chapman, and drummer Melissa Berkoff.
Cold Cold Hearts was a punk rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1995. Comprising singer and songwriter Allison Wolfe, guitarist and back-up vocalist Erin Smith, bass player Nattles, and drummer Katherine Brown, the band released one 7" single in 1996, and a full-length self-titled record the following year, both through Olympia, Washington-based label Kill Rock Stars. Wolfe and Smith were members of the band Bratmobile prior to forming Cold Cold Hearts; they revived Bratmobile after Cold Cold Hearts disbanded.
Christina Billotte is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, known for her involvement in the punk music scene in Washington, D.C., as a performer and organizer. She is included in Venus Zine's list "The Greatest Female Guitarists of All Time".
Sharon Ann Cheslow is an American musician, composer, artist, writer, photographer, educator, and archivist. In 1981, she formed Chalk Circle, Washington, D.C.'s first all-female punk band. She has since become an accomplished artist who works between different mediums, mostly sound-based.
The Frumpies were an American lo-fi punk rock band formed in 1992 in Olympia, Washington. The original line-up consisted of singers/guitarists Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox, and Billy Karren, and Bratmobile drummer Molly Neuman. Their debut was the 7-inch single Alien Summer Nights on the Chainsaw Records label. Babies and Bunnies was recorded in 1993, with future Make-Up and Weird War bassist Michelle Mae signing on long enough to record "Tommy Slich."
Molly Neuman is an American drummer, writer and publisher, originally from the Washington, D.C. area who has performed in such influential bands as Bratmobile, the Frumpies, and the PeeChees. She was a pioneer of the early-to-mid '90s riot grrrl movement, penning the zine which coined the phrase in its title. She also co-wrote Girl Germs with Bratmobile singer Allison Wolfe while the two were students at the University of Oregon; that title later became the name of a Bratmobile song.
Jen Smith is an artist, musician, zine editor, and activist from the United States. Smith is credited with being the inspiration behind the term riot grrrl and being one of the architects of the movement.
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 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.
Carlos Cañedo is an American rock musician, professional Argentine Tango dancer/choreographer, and documentary producer. As a musician, Cañedo performed in American punk rock and hardcore bands The PeeChees, Rice, and Beehive and the Barracudas, releasing albums on indie labels Kill Rock Stars, Lookout! Records, and Sub Pop. He is currently performing in Carlos Cañedo Is Filling Gaps with Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys. As a dancer, Cañedo has performed throughout the United States, Canada, Argentina, and Europe and his choreographies have been performed on Broadway and Europe. Carlos was also an associate producer of No No: A Dockumentary, a film about Dock Ellis, the baseball player turned drug abuse counselor who claims to have pitched a no-hitter on LSD. The documentary premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Girls Get Busy is the third and final studio album by Bratmobile, released in 2002 on Lookout! Records.
The International Pop Underground Convention was a 1991 punk and alternative rock music festival in Olympia, Washington. The six-day convention centered on a series of performances at the Capitol Theater. Throughout August 20–25, 1991, an exceptionally large number of independent bands played, mingled and collaborated at the Capitol and other venues within the Olympia music scene. A compilation of live music from the event was released later by the local record label K Records.
Erin Smith in Washington, D.C., is best known for being the guitarist of riot grrrl band Bratmobile, a band with drummer Molly Neuman and vocalist Allison Wolfe.
Suture was an American punk rock and indie rock trio based in Washington, D.C., affiliated with early riot grrrl. Suture consisted of Kathleen Hanna, Sharon Cheslow, and Dug E. Bird aka Doug Birdzell.
