Candice Pedersen co-owned the Olympia, Washington-based independent record label K Records from 1986 to 1999, along with Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening. [1] In 1999, she sold her half of the label to Johnson.
Pedersen was initially hired as a K Records intern in January 1986, for $20 a week and credit at Evergreen State College. Pedersen became a full partner in 1989 until selling her half of the label to Johnson in 1999. [1] Though she managed day-to-day operations of the label, Pedersen noted in a 1992 interview that "I'm often considered my partner's secretary." [2]
Pedersen also contributed to the label's history through organizing the citywide International Pop Underground Convention, which was an extension of a summer barbecue party she'd hosted on Steamboat Island, near Olympia. [3] Pedersen decided to make the event citywide in 1991, and was responsible for the all-girls night which is cited as a formative moment within the Pacific Northwest's riot grrrl scene, [4] marking the debut performance of many acts that would become nationally renown. [5] [6] [7]
Sleater-Kinney is an American rock band that formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1994. The band's current lineup features Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein, following the departure of longtime member Janet Weiss in 2019. Sleater-Kinney originated as part of the riot grrrl movement and has become a key part of the American indie rock scene. The band is also known for its feminist and liberal politics.
Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group originally consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. 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.
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.
Huggy Bear were an English riot grrrl band, formed in 1991 and based in Brighton.
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.
Third-wave feminism is a feminist movement that began in the early 1990s, prominent in the decades prior to the fourth wave. Grounded in the civil-rights advances of the second wave, Gen X third-wave feminists born in the 1960s and 1970s embraced diversity and individualism in women, and sought to redefine what it meant to be a feminist. The third wave saw the emergence of new feminist currents and theories, such as intersectionality, sex positivity, vegetarian ecofeminism, transfeminism, and postmodern feminism. According to feminist scholar Elizabeth Evans, the "confusion surrounding what constitutes third-wave feminism is in some respects its defining feature."
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.
Tammy Rae Carland, is a photographer, video artist, zine editor, current provost at California College of the Arts (CCA), and former co-owner of the independent lesbian music label Mr. Lady Records and Videos. Her work has been published, screened, and exhibited around the world in galleries and museums in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Berlin, and Sydney.
Excuse 17 was a punk rock band from Olympia, Washington, US, that performed and recorded from 1993 to 1995. The band consisted of Becca Albee, Carrie Brownstein, and Curtis James (drums). The band recorded two full-length albums and a single, and contributed to several compilation albums.
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.
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.
Heather Lewis is an American multi-instrumentalist and founding member of Beat Happening. Prior to her work with Beat Happening, Lewis was a member of the Supreme Cool Beings, who are notable for having the first ever release on K Records, 1982's Survival of the Coolest. She appeared as a guest vocalist on several songs from Land of the Loops, as well as the Wedding Present's album Watusi.
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. Riot grrrl is 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 common for women.
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.
Nikki McClure is a papercut artist based in Olympia, Washington. She is the author and illustrator of a number of children's books and produces an annual calendar.
Women have made significant contributions to punk rock music and its subculture since its inception in the 1970s. In contrast to the rock music and heavy metal scenes of the 1970s, which were dominated by men, the anarchic, counter-cultural mindset of the punk scene in mid-and-late 1970s encouraged women to participate. This participation played a role in the historical development of punk music, especially in the US and UK at that time, and continues to influence and enable future generations. Women have participated in the punk scene as lead singers, instrumentalists, as all-female bands, zine contributors and fashion designers.
Yoyo A Go Go, usually abbreviated to Yoyo and often typeset in various ways, was an independent music festival in Olympia, Washington, first held in 1994 and followed by successor festivals in 1997, 1999, and 2001. Five- and six-day concert marathons featured dozens of punk and indie rock acts stacked back to back, as well as a variety of associated entertainment and small-scale local retail. The concerts took place at the historic Capitol Theater and showcased performers from the local Olympia music scene, while also including national and international artists.