Revolutionary Sweethearts
(from the seattle stranger)
BY HANNAH LEVIN
Most music geeks have a couple of rare records in their collection that they guard like an al Qaeda member on spider-hole duty. For me, that record is Heroines, the debut from a now-defunct New York–based band called Ruby Falls. In a nutshell, it's math rock as envisioned by angular-rocking Riot Grrrls. How hard-hitting drummer Laura Rogers and her silver-throated sister Jennifer escaped the history books is beyond me, but luckily, many more people have heard of their newer (and markedly poppier) band the Rogers Sisters, who play the University of Washington Thursday, May 25.
Speaking of overlooked riots, one of the most widely held misconceptions about the Riot Grrrl and queercore genres was that the passion of the politics always trumped the musicianship. Granted, the DIY philosophy (and, by extension, the misguided notion that anyone can pick up an instrument and play something worthwhile) produced its share of unlistenable rantings. But this mid-'90s movement was not solely defined by angry young things clumsily banging out barre chords and screeching simplistically about gender roles.
Some of this is due to the incorrect assumption that Bikini Kill were the cream of the crop. Kathleen Hanna deserves credit for her endurance as the scene's unintentional lightning rod and for providing the spark that made the band's live shows so electrifying, but BK didn't master their craft until their swan song, Reject All American. It was a group of brainier, more technically proficient bands like 66 Saints (later Parini), Juned, Huggy Bear, the Lookers, Slant 6, Containe, and the aforementioned Ruby Falls that kept the focus on breaking new ground creatively and politically. No other artist exemplified that two-pronged attack as beautifully as Team Dresch, the four-piece from Portland who were essentially the Ramones of their time.
In 1994 the band dropped Personal Best, one of the finest debuts in punk-rock history; it sounds as potent today as it did when it was released jointly by Donna Dresch's Chainsaw Records 12 years ago (earlier pressings were jointly released by Chainsaw and Jody Bleyle's Candy-Ass Records). This 24-minute hurricane of self-proclaimed "lesbionic punk rock" is a barely contained capsule of sleek pop hooks being mercilessly overdriven by the dual guitars of Dresch and Kaia Wilson and hammered heavenward by Marci Martinez's adrenalized drumming. The call-and-response vocals of Wilson and Bleyle (who also handled bass and occasional guitar duties) gave both political weight and fierce beauty to anthemic punk screeds "Fagetarian and Dyke" and "Hate the Christian Right!" while their sweeter solo moments on tracks like "She's Crushing My Mind" and "Growing up in Springfield" were both moving and mesmerizing. Recorded in a scant five days in Seattle (at producer John Goodmanson's shoebox-sized Fremont studio), Personal Best set the bar so damn high that the band faltered on their follow-up, 1996's Captain My Captain, and dissolved shortly thereafter. Dresch returned her attention to her label, releasing the first two records for Sleater-Kinney, a band clearly inspired by Team Dresch's trademark vocals and disciplined musicianship.
Although they did play a one-night stand at 2004's Homo A Go Go Festival in Olympia, Team Dresch haven't played a Seattle show in over a decade, which is what makes their reunion gig Friday, May 26, at Neumo's so meaningful. "After lesbian processing our relationship for the last five years, we realized that we really just want to be playing music together still," quips Dresch when I ask her about the motivation for the reunion. Unfortunately, illness was also a catalyst. "Our friend is fighting breast cancer right now, so we set up a benefit show in New York City," she explains. "And since we were all together we decided to play Seattle, Portland, and Olympia, as well." Their ambitions don't end there; they have a handful of new songs and there are plans in the works for a tour of China with a newly reformed L7 next year.
It's testimony to the enduring strength of Personal Best that it continues to sell steadily to this day. "I'm surprised that sales have remained so hot throughout the years," remarks Dresch. "I still get letters from kids telling me how much they love it or can't believe they just found out about it after all these years."
hlevin@thestranger.com
a very detailed bio (AND NOW VERY OLD)
i found on the internet
i was gonna write one but look, here's one already written out
whoever did this was pretty
damn thorough,
there are a few things i
would change but for the moment lets use it:
BIOGRAPHY:
'''Team Dresch''' are a
Queercore band who performed and recorded in the 1990s and made a significant
impression on that movement, as well as on the independent music scene.
Donna Dresch, founder of
the band, had been involved in the queercore scene in the late 1980s and early
90's as creator of her own fanzine ''Chainsaw'' and, in addition to contributing
to other zines such as ''Outpunk'' and ''J.D.s'', she was featured on the cover
of issue five of ''Homocore'' and appeared in the girl-gang film ''The Yo-Yo
Gang'' by G.B. Jones.
The line up of the group
for their first recordings was Donna Dresch, guitar and bass; Jody Bleyle, guitar
and vocals; Kaia Wilson, guitar and vocals; and Marci Martinez on drums. All
were veterans of other musical outfits; Donna Dresch had previously played and
recorded with such bands as Dinosaur Jr., Dangermouse, Screaming Trees, Rastro!,
Fifth Column, Some Velvet Sidewalk, Lois, Mary Lou Lord and The Go Team; Jody
Bleyle was simultaneously in the band Hazel while playing in Team Dresch; Kaia
Wilson had been in the band Adickdid and Marci Martinez in Calamity Jane.
Their first single,''Hand
Grenade'', appeared on Kill Rock Stars in 1994. ''Personal Best'', the album
which followed it, appeared as a co-release on the independent labels Chainsaw
Records, run by Dresch and Candy Ass Records, run by Bleyle. The next co-release
by these labels was the compilation ''Free To Fight'', a double LP of all-women
bands addressing issues such as harassment and rape and dedicated to self-defense.
The band toured with self-defense instructor Alice Stagg, who spoke and gave
demonstrations to the audience prior to the bands' performance. The members
were committed to a DIY ethic, running their own record labels and booking their
own tours.
On their second recording
Melissa York, previously of the hardcore punk bands Vitapup and Born Against
replaced Marci Martinez. This LP, ''Captain My Captain'', also featured a guest
appearance by Phranc, well known lesbian musician. As well, the song "Uncle
Phranc", written as a tribute to her, appears on this album.
After this LP Kaia Wilson
and Melissa York left the band to form The Butchies, while Dresch and Bleyle
continued recording with the addition of new member Amanda Kelly and Marci Martinez
once again on drums. The band stopped playing in 1998, with Dresch increasingly
involved in running her record label which was releasing many recordings by
newer Queercore bands, including The Need, Longstocking, Sleater Kinney and
many more. But in 2004, Donna Dresch returned to the stage with a new band,
Davies vs. Dresch. They appeared as part of "Queercore Blitz", a group
of queer bands touring the U.S together. The same year Jody Bleyle also debuted
a new band, Family Outing, which includes her brother.
The band performs and is
interviewed in the documentary film ''She's Real, Worse Than Queer'' by Lucy
Thane.
Albums
*''Personal Best'', a Chainsaw
Records/ Candy Ass Records co-release (1994)
*''Captain My Captain'', Chainsaw/Candy Ass (1995)
Singles
*''Hand Grenade'' on Kill
Rock Stars
*''Take On Me'' on Banda Bonnet
*''Temporary Insurence'', a split 7" with Automaticons on Metal Monkey
*''What can A Lover Do?'', a split 7" with F-80, Shove and Dahlia Seed
on Marigold Records
*''The New Team Dresch v.6.0 Beta'' on Outpunk Records
*''It's Conversation'', a split 7" with Longstocking on Sub Pop
*"temporary insurance" a plit 7" with the automaticans on Mental Monkey
Compilations
*"Fake Fight"
on ''Periscope'' Yoyo Records (1993)
*"Song For Anne Bannon" on ''Free To Fight'', a Chainsaw Records/Candy
Ass Records co-release (1996)
*"She's Amazing" on ''Yoyo a Go Go'' Yoyo Records
*"Seven" on ''Rock Stars Kill'' Kill Rock Stars
*"Hand Grenade" on ''Some Songs'' Kill Rock Stars
*"Detached" on ''Join The Queercorps'' Outpunk Records
*"Fake Fight" and "My Voice" on ''The Shiner Cassette''
Slo-Mo Records
