best of 2013 by tobi vail

the jigsaw underground

band of the year - STILLSUIT

record of the year - Body/Head - Coming Apart

best feminist pop album - Ruby Pins-Ruby Pins

best punk record - Stillsuit-Stillsuit

favorite video by an underground artist: Freakapuss-'New 21st Century Dimension

best counter-hegemonic punk group - death drive

favorite band that didn't release a record: comet gain

favorite record to dance to: bleached - ride your heart LP

tape of the year - La Luz -Damp Face EP

favorite touring band I saw live: dead river

favorite pop song of the year - Janelle Monae - Q.U.E.E.N.(why isn't this #1?!?!)

best live band: VEXX (like Viva Knievel meets FANG at Tomata du Plenty's grave!!)

fav record I checked out from the public library: the who, live at hull (2012)

band to watch in 2014: gSp

best show at the Capitol Theater - The Julie Ruin, Survival Knife, Hott Fruit

best show put on by the Olympia All Ages Project at Northern - Priests

local band that broke up(or moved away or went on hiatus or whatever) that I wish was still playing all the time: sonskull tied with weird tv

best post-colonial pop album addressing neoliberal realities: MIA Matangi

best mainstream pop record: beyoncé-beyoncé

best "last show ever" - western hymn at the palace flophouse

best live original score to a film: Госкино to Eisenstein's October: ten days that shook the world

favorite feminist punk singer/performance artist: mary jane dunphe

fav nw garage pop: Morgan & the Organ Donors w/ Olivia on bass guitar & vocals

killer pop album made by a singer/songwriter - The Blow - The Blow

best music for the morning commute: daft punk - random access memories tied with wire pink flag (1977)

best avant rock-n-roll album Magik Markers - Surrender to the Fantasy

best local rockers to see live: "nu" nudity line up w/ stephie & rachel raging on 2nd guitar/keyboards

favorite hardcore band to see live: hysterics

best record I received as a gift: good throb 7" (released in 2012)

fav reissues/new release by an older group: tronics lps on m'lady's

favorite flexi: Gag (Perennial)

biggest hyped band I liked the least: savages

most played songs: unreleased tracks by bikini kill, spider & the webs shhh

favorite feminist noir fiction: Sara Gran's Claire Dewitt detective series

favorite young adult novel: Eleanor & Park

best work of fiction written by a punk rock goddess: The Vicious Red Relic Love A Fabulist Memoir by Ana Joy Springer (actually came out in 2011?)

favorite graphic novel about working in a library: bookhunter by jason shiga (2007)

favorite classic American novel: Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1952)

favorite novel published in 2013 that's not a mystery: the woman upstairs by claire messud

favorite author from a long time ago I only discovered in 2013: Dorothy Baker (Cassandra at the Wedding WTF, like Carson McCullers meets Jane Bowles!)

best book from 2012 read in 2013: Sara Schulman - Gentrification of the Mind

favorite movie: spring breakers

personal best: being published by the Feminist Press(Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer & The Riot Grrl Collection)

best of 2013 by brett & fiona of m'lady's records

1. Stewart Lee, and everything that Stewart Lee has written or performed publicly. (tie) Bridget Christie and everything that Bridget Christie has written or performed publicly.

2. Urupukapuka Island, Bay Of Islands, New Zealand

3. Hysterics & Vexx live in Olympia and in Portland and on record

4. Fred & Toody live and "unplugged" (though fully electric) at Doug Fir in Portland

5. Cate Le Bon "Mug Museum" LP and live, especially the single "Are You With Me Now?"

6. Neo Boys "Sooner Or Later" 2xLP reissue (K/Mississippi)

7. Ohana Sushi train, Portland, Ore.

8. Tig Notaro "Stool Movement" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1oyoRGkCg)

9. Vaux's Swifts roosting in the chimney of Chapman Elementary, Portland, Ore.

10. Painted Hills, John Day Fossil Beds, and Blue Basin, John Day Fossil Beds, Oregon

11. Going to Los Angeles for a week in winter [just a week, mind...]

12. Portland Museum of Modern Art, in the basement of the Mississippi Records building, especially the Mr. Otis show, Portland, Ore.

13. Multnomah County Health Services

14. Edna Vasquez performing at the Lents International Farmers Market, Portland, Ore.

15. The women of the current cast of Saturday Night Live

16. Legalization of marijuana in Washington state

17. The Russian women's sychronized swimming performing to the theme from "Suspiria" (see no. 16)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUFJ2cGZtQk

18. Helsing Junction CSA / Shaksan strawberries / 3 day punk festival

19. Bowpicker Fish & Chips, Astoria, Ore.

20. Sou'wester Lodge's artist-in-residency program, Seaview, Wash.

21. Golden Teacher "Bells From the Deep End" 12" EP (Optimo Records, UK)

best of 2013 by chris sutton

When I was thinking about my best ofs I started to realize that 2013 must have been the year of the music documentary. In fact, the last couple of years have produced so many amazing films attempting to shed a little light on artists or movements that would have otherwise disappeared into the ether of memory.  I feel lucky (or perhaps apprehensive) living in a time where technology can recreate these moments in history. Here are my top 10 favorite music documentaries that I saw last year (they may have come out before but I saw them this year).

1)Kill All Redneck Pricks-A lovingly made tribute to the mysterious Olympia band KARP. The live footage is unbeatable!!

2)Searching For Sugar Man -A movie documenting the rediscovery of underground folk hero Rodriguez and his subsequent rise to belated fame.

3)A Band Called Death- The amazing tale of obscure all-black proto punk band Death. 

4)20 Feet From Stardom-The background singers are sometimes more important than the pretty face in front.  These are some of those stories. This might be my favorite.

5)It Came From Detroit-This somewhat gossip-y movie attempts to document the  Detroit rock music scene during the height of The White Stripes fame, while tying in it's rich history and then subsequent hangover after public interest waned.

6)Nothing Can Hurt Me-A film about the mythical and influential band Big Star. Stunning music.

7)The Source Family-Advertised as a movie about the music of the Ya Ho Wa hippie cult from Los Angeles. Instead they focus more on the leaders polygamist relationships and volatile behavior.  The small info they offer on the musicians and records is interesting though.

8)Muscle Shoals-Probably the best made documentary on this list, incorporating dramatics and factual information seamlessly into great cinema. You see the music move and literally hear the vibrations of the swamp influence some of the most amazing soul music ever created.

9)The Punk Singer-Essentially a tribute to the art of Kathleen Hannah, but the importance of the Punk and Riot Grrrl communities that fuel her music almost take center stage and remain in discussion throughout the film.

10)Beware Of Mr. Baker-A film about the life of wildman and Cream drummer Ginger Baker and focusing mainly on said wildmans relationship with Africa, Fela Kuti, and his libertine lifestyle.

More documentaries in 2014!!! Happy Holidays!!

best of 2013 by stephie c

TOP TEN LIVE BANDS I SAW IN 2013

1. LOS CRUDOS

2. VEXX

3. IN SCHOOL

4. 86 MENTALITY

5. BEHEAD THE PROPHET NO LORD SHALL LIVE

6. HOAX

7. NUDES

8. NUCLEAR SPRING

9. GAG

10. HEALTH PROBLEMS

TOP TEN RECORDS OF 2013

1. PUSHA T - My Name Is My Name

2. GUN OUTFIT - Hard Coming Down

3. VEXX - s/t

4. CAIRO PYTHIAN - Unity Mitford

5. HOODED HAGS - Mental Revenge CS

6. YOKO ONO AND PLASTIC ONO BAND - Take Me to the Land of Hell

7. HORNET LEG - Wrecking Ball

8. NEKO CASE - Worse Things Get

9. MOON - s/t CS

10. EARL SWEATSHIRT - Doris

SIX INSPIRING PROJECTS OF 2013

The People's House (Olympia)

The "Beyond Inversion" comp (DC)

POC Zine Project

Rock Camps for Girls/Queer Rock Camp (NW and worldwide!)

This Is Not a Step fest (Bay Area)

Nuts! Fanzine (NYC)

TOP TEN REISSUES/NEW OLD STUFF RELEASED IN 2013

1. The Human Expression - Love at a Psychedelic Velocity

2. Anonymous - Inside the Shadow

3. V/A - I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age in America 1950-1990

4. Urinals - Negative Capability...Check it Out!

5. Gene Clark - Here Tonight: The White Light Demos

6. Digable Planets - Blowout Comb

7. Big Star - Nothing Can Hurt Me OST

8. Unwound - Kid is Gone

9. Townes Van Zandt - Late Great/High, Low and In Between

10. Patrick Cowley - School Daze

TOP TEN RECORDS I LISTENED TO MOST IN 2013 THAT WEREN'T MADE IN 2013

1. Gene Clark - No Other

2. Royal Trux - Cats and Dogs

3. Big Star - Radio City

4. Cock Sparrer - Shock Troops

5. The Velvet Underground - third album

6. The Byrds - Notorious Byrd Brothers

7. Scott Walker - Scott 4

8. Dead Meadow - Feathers

9. The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main Street

10. The Scruffs - Wanna' Meet the Scruffs

SIX ANTICIPATED RELEASES OF 2014

The Mona Reels

Flesh World

In School

Spider and the Webs

Dirty Joe and the Brick Walls

Hysterics...

best of 2013 by zarjaz

Lauren Laurano by Spider & The Webs.

This track stood out as soon as I heard it.  It is some of the best music ever.  It is a masterpiece. The style and playing ability just goes to a mix that exudes greatness. Listening to it and I find myself burning incense and praying to my effigies asking WHY?  WHY?  WHY?  Why can’t I be like this? Why can’t I make this sound?  You do that too right?  Seek Lauren Laurano out and consume.

Tell Me Where It Is You Go by GURR.

Come together between Europe and the USA this band is a true rock n roll legend. Beginning and swiftly going from limited playing experience toforming and developing across the Atlantic, uncanny, incredible sound,talents and songs.  Guys, watch out!  GURR are gonna getcha!

Field Elevator by Sapphire Mansions.

How much more does it take for people to see that the mainstream has got nothing, has always followed the underground, the DIY and the unique?  SM are the archetypal example of this and in particular the 12 inch mini album, Over America, that this track is taken from.  Not only is this style and sound unique and clearly coming from the hearts and minds of the players to establish new territory, because they rightly so believe in it, but the recordings are also made by some of New York’s finest, including Jay Hough, now a veteran of punk ass dope shit, along with Serge Pinky on bass, trumpet by Gary Olson and recorded at Brooklyn’s Marlborough Farms studio.

Outside In, Hysterics, M’lady’s Records M’LR 044

WHAT DA FUK!? It’s aces.  Sit tight punkups.  2014 will be spectacularly good for punk rock n roll.

Cayucas by Cayucas.

There are a lot of things I like about this track.  The song is cool, the playing style, but most of all I like the reverb they seem to have adopted as their own unique sound.  The rest of the album fades off with no real exemplary songs but that’s OK, this track is enough for me.

No Place To Go by The Oscillation.

Although a different style, like with Spider & The Webs I’m at my effigies again with this praying to Jupiter and Venus, asking why can’t I do this? No Place To Go is set apart from most musics, again because of greatness and it is also indicative of the rest of The Oscillation’s output.  I just find outstanding the blend of the entire psychedelic 60’s and all we learned from the Pink Fairies, Syd Barrett and Hawkwind and then with all the best of the urban industrial legacies of the 1990’s up to the present and here leading the way, The Oscillation bringing fresh and life giving magic to the parley.  To avoid a serious revolution against the music industry, The Oscillation, with their seriously extraordinary psychedelic light show by Julian Hand, should rightfully be one of the biggest arena playing bands of the near future.

Ever After High Theme Song by Olivia Olsen

Such a great spirit, such a great song, such a great voice.  I love this.

Oz The Great And Powerful, movie

Along with Alice In Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz has always loomed large in my legend.  I don’t know if I’m addicted to it or what.  All I know is I have always been totally taken by it, mesmerized and wanting more.  I have studied the Judy Garland movie incalculable times, can possibly word off the script and I even often listen to a recording of the entire film backing music track with secondary and background dialogues, with the main script dialogue taken out, as Im driving in my car.  I watched with some interest from first hearing of a great Oz production being developed with intrepid horror of what abominations they would trivialize this masterpiece in the name of a new Hollywood production for the latest dim stars and distribution rights.  Some time ago I heard that Arnold Schwarzenegger was to be in it and that Britney Spears was set to be Dorothy.  After the terrible film by Sophia Copola trashing my Majesty Marie Antoinette in one of the worst commercial abominations I have ever come across I feared the worst for the merry old land of Oz.  Not just for the personal feelings I have towards my Majesty and her family but as probably the most momentous period and set of events in our entire history, misrepresented, misinformed, trivialized.  I expected the same for OZ.  After now watching Oz The Great And Powerful, several many times over I am extremely pleased with how it turned out.  The total opposite to the Marie Antoinette disaster movie.  I think a lot of care and respect has been shown to present a land of OZ, pre Dorothy by say 50 years or so and the origins of how the fairground tricker became Oz the great and powerful and setting the stage for Dorothy to come. Totally charming. Totally beautiful SFX and spectacular wicked witches.

World War Z, movie

I’m a total zombie head.  I used to jump at the chance to sit in half empty cinemas watching Zomby Flesh Eaters, Day Of The Dead and many others when they first came out.  Zomby Flesh Eaters was originally an option for the stage backdrop video for the 2012 Freakapuss – Tronics USA shows but I opted for Perversion Story, because Melissa Mell was in it but also Elsa Martinelli, the first actress to appear fully naked in a mainstream film but who was dying at the time, in real life, practically unnoticed by the film world.   Since these great beginnings I think zombie films took a down turn, especially with the British comedic versions that other zombie heads seem to prefer.  Seeing the development of zombies speeding up to a frenzy in Dawn of The Dead was a thrilling development.  Now in World War Z they are totally swarming at a frenzied pace and stunning visual FX. Seeing Brad Pit in it was unusual.  I don’t often go for a lot for films Brad is in, as great as he is, but the moments of action and implied threat were more than making up for it.  Besides World War Z is something I can more than relate to as I continue to assault the world with Freakapuss and other crack pot notions.

best of 2013 by ka na ko

favorite bands I saw live in the underground

VEXX

GAG

WET

NAPS

WILD MOTH

WILD HONEY

DR SLEEP

DOGJAW

Ô PAON

VOICES

STILLSUIT

NEGATION

BIGAWATT

NU SENSAE

TARAJANE

HYSTERICS

LINDY VISION

DREAM DECAY

OLDER WOMEN

LORI GOLDSTON

PLEASURE LEFTIST

SAN PEDRO EL CORTEZ

SHANE YEE'S EGO

jigsaw talks to stillsuit

listen to stillsuit here

JIGSAW: Describe the feminist punk scene in 2013.

Jaime: There is no "sound" or social clique that umbrellas the scene. It is more a "movement" (for lack of better word) of people and bands who are working towards at the very least events that feel comfortable and inclusive to everyone and at the most a world that feels inclusive to everyone. Death Drive, May B Knot, Centre, Best Friend/Girl Friend, Wizard Apprentice are only a few. All of these projects sound totally different from each other but everyone in them is completely inspiring and working on really cool shit outside of music as well.

Vanessa: (it's hard for me to answer this one because i've been a real curmudgeon about shows lately, hate everything) but there seems to be a resurgence of queer/feminist/ conscious of the fucked up world punk in the bay area in the past year or so. some bands are sbsm, believe, may b knot, crabapple, no babies, death drive.. an interesting thing is that while bands might have similar politics, they all sound totally different- from electronic or dancey stuff to stuff to variations on punk stuff. permanent ruin and replica are good hardcore bands that are happening here, alabaster choad is a great band that doesn't exist anymore.

JIGSAW: Who are your favorite bands to play with?

J: We just finished a month-long tour with Death Drive and Velvet Chains, which is the solo project of Ryan from Death Drive. Those are my favorite bands to play with. Not only is Death Drive a really fucking good band, they are amazing people and we were incredibly fortunate to get to spend so much time with them. I got home from tour feeling refreshed and excited as opposed to drained and grouchy, I credit Marissa and Vanessa and the Death Drive crew for that outcome.

Marissa: I kind of like playing shows with shredder dude type bands because I always think of it as this really cool challenge. Last years tour it felt like we were playing a lot of shows with dudes with guitars doing things that were maybe technically challenging but altogether boring. I definitely spent a lot of time watching these bands and just waiting to annihilate them. It happens a lot where we’ll get the cold shoulder until after we play. I honestly see myself as a relatively inept guitar player but I also view this as a large aspect of my style of playing. My style is messy chaos, it’s ripping off slash but not trying to copy him. I also like playing shows with hardcore bands. We played a show in St. Louis with a band of teenage girls that had a definite Flying Lizards vibe to it which was really cool, they’re called Willis. In Philadelphia we played with this absolutely mind blowing band called swarm. They had two drummers, a bassist, and a singer and then three dancers that were also singing for the whole time in like a chorus type way. It was interesting I realized that we only played legit establishments like 3 times out of a month long tour, everything was mostly basements.

V: Playing with death drive was really great. being on tour with them kinda made me feel excited about music in a way i hadn't in a while. i feel like i hadn't danced so much to a band in a long time. i like shows in small places put on by nice nerds. minneapolis was also a great show, we played at a friends' house and all the bands were really good, there's a really good band from there called tips for twat- we played with them last year and they were my new favorite band. also gula gila, from chicago are really awesome. i like house shows with easy load in situations the best really.

JIGSAW: What are your songs about?

M: Vanessa and I write lyrics pretty separately, occasionally we’ll fill each other in on what we are singing about or even write like a chorus that we both sing. I tend to write stuff about mental illness, feminist identity politics and critiques of the world around me and how I’m treated as a woman in the world. My lyrics on 5656 are based on an essay by Jo Freeman pertaining to feminist trashing. There's really only four lines “deny reality/infect but don’t admit/do I still exist?/am I in my head?" The first two lines are mainly about passive aggressive exclusion of someone in order to make them go away, the last two lines are referring to a part of the essay where Freeman talks about during being trashed, essentially being passively aggressively blacklisted, she began to believe she was a figment of her own imagination. There is another song 9 that I really like the lyrics of and the origins of the lyrics – I was really really upset by the death of Whitney Houston which was weird because I never really considered myself a fan or anything but when she died I cried for days and as was just so upset. As with anytime when it seems like the whole world is upset about something people come out of the woodwork saying what about the starving children or the victims of war and whatever other world atrocity you can think of and why aren’t you upset about that? This implies that it is somehow not possible to be upset over the death of a celebrity while also being upset about any other injustice in the world. It’s ridiculous. Not to mention I find it pretty fucked up to be lectured on what is and is not appropriate to be mourned. So on that song some of my lyrics are “which atrocity is worth it? which atrocity deserves it? who am I to decide?” which is pretty self explanatory

JIGSAW: Is playing in a band a viable political action?

M: As a band we have definitely talked about being blatantly political. I think a lot of the time we end up preaching to the choir in a lot of ways which is fine. It’s interesting because we’re not doing anything that I kind of default to when I think of being political, we’re not really lecturing crowds or handing out pamphlets or anything, but it’s real that we play music that is pretty traditionally gendered as male and that is a political act in and of itself. That idea also applies to things like playing at girls rock camp and picking specific songs to demonstrate specific ideas, like for that we made a point of playing a song that heavily features a guitar solo –or how we end up playing a good amount of shows where we are the only performers who aren't cis-men. I also consider it political that we put out our own record sans crowd sourcing and we make a point of having free access to everything we've put out. I think all of these things are import at the same time I don’t know if we are necessarily effecting change.

V: i think culture is still a really good place to struggle, if for nothing else than being a performer, being a decent person, demystifying the idea of playing music playing in a band. i want to show that we're just totally regular nedrs who just figured out how to make music in our own way, and that that is something anyone can do.

JIGSAW: Does Girls Rock Camp reinforce the gender binary? If yes, what way do you see around that limitation?

J: Retrospect is 20/20, I think that given hindsight the founders of girls rock camp would have named it otherwise. i don't have experience working with any other rock camps, but have been very involved with bay area girls rock camp for over 5 years and i think that "girls" and "rock" wouldn't likely be included in the name of that organization given a chance to do it all over. again, i only have experience with bagrc, and can't speak for every rock camp out there, but i don;t think rock camp reinforces the gender binary in that it is open to and serves not only girls but also gender non-conforming youth. the body of volunteers in mentorship roles represents a huge spectrum of gender identities as well. there is a constant and on-going discussion around gender during programs; we talk a ton about gender expression, respect campers' pronoun preferences, and witness a lot of gender exploration under the rock camp roof. the bummer thing about the name is that gender non-conforming youth potentially face having to out themselves or be read as a gender they don't identify as as to the "rock" question, very few of the songs turn out sounding anything like traditional "rock" music. yes, the instruments involved make up the stereotypical rock band (with the exception of turntables, which rock camp has offered in the past), but most of the campers have no background in western music theory or experience playing on their own or with others. some songs definitely have a "rock" vibe, but most songs are more on the punk or experimental tip. right now there is a really good R&B band that formed during a 2012 summer session. they are called True Religion, keep your ears to the ground for them.

M: At this point I feel like it just happens to be called girls rock camp – there's options beyond just the traditional rock instruments and while there is the big element of forming a band I don’t think its like meant to be a breeding ground to produce more women playing rock, its more about self-esteem and a way to express yourself and something that you can do with your body beyond sex and childbirth. I think of it as being similar to sports in this sense. Forming bands is more of an exercise in learning how to collaborate and work with others the rock is just a means to an end. When I was working on ladyfest 2005 I remember one of the other planners at some point said something along the lines of “I don’t necessarily identify with being a woman but I do identify with oppression.” And that really struck me –recently some people organized a ladyfest here in the bay area and while it definitely wasn’t sticking to gender binary in content it still had this name that seemed outdated. Also queer rock camp in olympia is specifically moving beyond this boundary

The Riot Grrrl Collection: Preliminary Thoughts by Tobi Vail

INTRODUCTION: I am an author/fanzine editor featured in this book. My contribution includes excerpts from Jigsaw #1 1989, Bikini Kill #1 1990/91, Bikini Kill #2 1991, various correspondence and flyers/graphics. I am enjoying reading The Riot Grrrl Collection and I think it looks fantastic. I would like to thank everyone involved in making this happen. I appreciate all of your hard work. I fully support this project and I am looking forward to seeing what people have to say about The Riot Grrrl Collection after they read it. I know I am not alone in welcoming critical, analytical responses to this document and the history that it represents.

I will post a full review when I've finished reading the book but I already have a lot to say so I will start with the introduction. First of all, there are some factual details I would like to correct, question and/or add to the book. I am keeping a running list of mistakes or questionable claims, as I do every time a book is written that includes local history that I have witnessed/taken part in. This is one way history gets revised so I don’t want to just ignore errors or inconsistencies. History that is being written and recorded is contestable terrain.

So far this is what I have down:

Lisa's intro to The Riot Grrrl Collection ends with a quote from Girl Germs #3:

“If you are sitting there reading this and you feel like you might be a riot grrrl then you probably are so call yourself one”

She attributes the quote to me, Tobi Vail, but this should be credited to Molly Neuman.

When I first read this I thought -

I don’t think I would have ever said this, I don’t remember ever feeling this way about riot grrrl, I actually remember feeling like it was really important to acknowledge that many of us (myself included) were a bit apprehensive about calling ourselves riot grrrls for legitimate reasons.

This is obviously a-whole-nother article but, in short, some of these reasons included class, race, sexuality, gender expression as well as theoretical differences – for example, following feminist/political theorists such as bell hooks, Judith Butler, Alison Jaggar, Michel Foucault, Joan Cocks, Elizabeth Spelman, Angela Davis - not wanting to universalize a utopian idea of sisterhood or promote an essentialist idea of gender. I also had problems witnessing what I later learned is called the oppression Olympics (see Elizabeth Martinez) and some of the self-serving misuses of identity politics that I saw happening in the riot grrrl scene. There were also strategic differences – like wanting to play in bands and make zines but not wanting to go to C.R. type meetings (but still respecting those who did go to meetings, blah blah blah....) and in general, being focused on trying to build a culture of resistance rather than wanting to get involved in more traditional forms of political organizing, which, at the time, I felt were ineffective in that they no longer spoke to young people. Then the media coverage happened and it got even more confusing/alienating adding all these additional layers and layers of complexity...one being that I was not interested in being a leader or a star or taking part in a feminist movement that had leaders or stars. I was interested in encouraging and participating in radical, anti-capitalist, non-hierarchical, diffuse, localized feminist movement/scenes/action and was trying to help build an international network through punk rock /d.i.y. /underground music culture that connected us via bands and zine-making – I wasn’t really focused on A NAME, I thought there should be multiple names and mutability and when riot grrrl started to seem to represent something else it didn’t speak to me so much AS A NAME…I thought it would keep moving, evolving, changing, growing – now, of course, that whole time/place is known as “riot grrrl” and you have to just say, yes ok, that is the term, fine, I surrender.

This is all to say that YEAH - I understood the hesitancy to call yourself a riot grrrl as something to respect and not something to gloss over. You could be a feminist, a punk feminist even, a self-identified grrrl even, a member of a so-called “riot grrrl band” and not feel represented by that category.

I thought about it some more…

I thought, MAYBE, it is POSSIBLE that the quote is mine. MAYBE I felt this way once a long, long, time ago - way back at the very beginning of riot grrrl…the year before it started…the summer it started, the month it started, the week it started, the day it started…that long hot summer evening in Malcolm X Park…in a secret grrrl gang solidarity letter to Jen Smith that spring? Before meetings were happening and it all was just this big utopian dream of revolution that some of us girls were using as a metaphor - or maybe a dare - as a way to imagine and talk about what a feminist network of action would actually look like, as a way of getting to that next step, as a way to create a feminist future, as a way of asking for back up or to gather an army?

When I look back at some of my writing in Jigsaws #2-#4 I see some of this kind of hopeful romanticism there in the form of sisterly sloganeering and it’s not totally formulated on paper yet but it is inspired and it did inspire others to action, it did get me from point a to point b to point c, and so - YES - maybe I could have written this but I don’t remember feeling it. That makes sense, as a lot of emotions you experience as a young person are hard to feel or even relate to later in life. Perhaps this is just something I blocked from my memory years ago? Hmmm.

But then I noticed that the quote was credited to an issue of Girl Germs. I didn’t write for Girl Germs. Molly Neuman and Allison Wolfe were the editors/main writers of Girl Germs and I don’t remember ever contributing any writing or being interviewed for Girl Germs but, again, I thought maybe I had forgotten? So I looked around and started rereading Girl Germs #3, which is included in the Riot Grrrl Collection in its entirety, and I found it - see page 78 of the book, page 27 of the fanzine - as a part of Molly’s Top Ten (Extended Dance Remix) under the sub heading "#9 riot grrrl":

I encourage those of us who were participants to comment on the historical record, to tell our version of what happened, to record our memories and thoughts and find a way to share them. If you are reading "riot grrrl" zines for the first time I look forward to finding out how someone in 2013 will hear what we had to say about the world 20 or more years ago when we were much younger.

Ok, that's it for now! Back to the book.

Tiny House, Big Heart by marina gagarina (for kim langston)

my friend marina gagarina made this cool animated movie to help out her friend kim. kim's tiny house burned down in a mysterious fire as it was near completion:

Tiny House, Big Heart from marina gagarina on Vimeo.

if you believe in community & sustainability please consider making a donation of $1 or more, thanks!

xo

tobi vail

p.s. while I have yr attention, why don't you check out marina's existential masterpiece, westside elegies?

cool video for a cool song

la luz - call me in the day

dirty girls

if the code doesn't work, you can view the film here

La Luz live at Northern

Last night I left the coziness of my apartment - where I was happily reading Who I Am by Pete Townshend - to venture across downtown to catch a new girl group from Seattle called La Luz. They are a little hyped already and friends were sort of skeptical about them, the way people get when anything is hyped.

I looked them up and found their music to be pretty great sounding - a nice mix of surf guitar, reminiscent of Shadowy Men from a Shadowy Planet, and contemporary girl group singing that references Frankie Rose, Dum Dum Girls, Coasting, Vivian Girls, Best Coast, Bleached - what some call femme pop. It's arguable whether or not any of those groups should be put into the same category but I do sort of do that in my head. I think they all reference 60's girl groups as filtered through The Ramones and The Jesus and Mary Chain/ C86 but adding a very modern version of a 60's reverb/often digital lo-fi sound to the mix. (Of course each group I listed is different and genre is mostly arbitrary/problematic so keep in mind that all these bands can also be put into different categories with other groups that may or may not share their gender based on different aspects of their sound.)

Live La Luz was a bit awkward. They are solid musicians but seem the type who read music and may not have a lot of experience letting loose in a rock-n-roll group. Or something. I guess I would put them in the pop realm actually. More like The Fleetwoods or Jan and Dean than The Stooges or Velvet Underground. They were very clean-cut and wholesome in their image. I don't know if that is a conscious decision or not but it is something I noticed in their presentation. Because women are so often judged by our appearance I am hesitant to even bring up their use of style, but playing a show and being in a band, you do have a visual presentation component at work that is there whether you discuss it or not. Watching their show I couldn't really figure them out! They seem like "formalists" to me, which is kind of an indie thing where people are interested in working in a certain form or genre and exploring the formalistic elements of songwriting.

Before I went to see them I read an interview with them that rubbed me the wrong way. They made a remark about how they think they are better musicians than most girls in bands. They did pay lip service to the idea that being new to an instrument creates a rawness that you may not be able to achieve as you become a better player, but the remark still stung and hung in the air. I know what it's like to be in a new group and I know how interviews go but one thing to be aware of when you are a girl in a band is to try not to say anything in an interview that will give the reporter an opportunity to feed into sexist stereotypes about girls in bands. Essentially they gave the magazine a chance to reinforce the stereotype that girls can't play their instruments. If you are going to talk about musicianship, why talk about it in terms of gender at all? Also, it is a mistake to think that playing in a certain 'musician-y' style is somehow more difficult than another style. Playing a lot of notes for me is actually easier than playing just a few for example. But when I play too many notes people notice that I am a good drummer. However, I am often not serving the song or the group when I do that. Often what the song needs is just some simple beats on the floor tom. But then, I am into repetition and minimalism as an aesthetic choice.

After they were done playing I noticed my friends had left without saying goodbye. The same friends who had talked me into leaving my cozy apartment to join them at the show! I received a message on my phone explaining that the band was "Hallmark, blah blah blah". I don't know what that means exactly but maybe it's a reference to their visual presentation. The music was nice. I liked it a lot. I thought the drummer played too many notes but they compensated for this nicely with their vocal lines, which reminded me of Neu or Stereolab. Wavering between a few drawn out notes, the vocals achieve a nice droning affect. Harmonizing drove the tension through the song the way the drums normally do in rock-n-roll. The bass player used her fingers and was understated and solid. They had a new keyboard player who sang well, this was her first show with the group. The drummer seemed the most comfortable being on stage. Her drum set sounded fantastic, nicely tuned and played with the finesse of someone who has had lessons or played in high school jazz band. The singer/guitarist made an effort to rock out and smile and I enjoyed her warmth and graciousness towards the audience. She said this was their first show outside Olympia. They played a long set.

I don't know if I would go see them again but I will probably listen to their tape for years. I guess that sounding nice is enough to get me to listen but maybe not enough to get me to go to a show. I am left wondering what it means to be in a band in 2013. At the very least it is nice to see a group of young women collaborating together on a fully realized musical project.

old bridges

jigsaw's guide to ending the bar scene

1. Stop playing shows in bars when you can afford to - in other words - if you live in the NW don't play a bar here, demand to play an all ages venue instead. No excuses, please.

2. Stop going to bars you hate that you go to anyway because people you know will be there, Etc. There are other ways to be social and see your friends. If I go out to a bar for a drink it is ALWAYS at Ben Moore's because that place rules and if they went out of business Olympia would suck. When I go to The Reef it is for pie and coffee because that is what they do best. When I go elsewhere, reluctantly, I might have one drink but I might just have a cup of coffee and gorge myself on water or chips and salsa or something.

3. Make a point of supporting all ages shows by paying to attend them regularly. Do not try to get in free to an all ages show. Pay extra when you can afford it. Even if you are on the guest list. If there is a bar show and an all ages show on the same night, go to the all ages show before going to the bar show.

4. Try to spend large chunks of time NOT DRINKING on a regular basis - I celebrate sober February, June and October every year. For me this breaks the habit of drinking out of sheer boredom or whatever and goes along with a cleanse I do during those months. If you have trouble with this step there are resources that can help you quit drinking.

5. Start a regular exercise program that is goal-oriented. When you wake up early to run 5 miles on your day off you don't wanna be hungover (unless you are The Country Teasers, but that is another story). Likewise, you stop feeling tempted by happy hour after work when you know you have to be done at the Y before 9pm. Drummers are natural runners. We need to be in shape in order to play our best. Do it for the band.

6. Playing in a band, you end up at a lot of parties. As a general rule I try to limit myself to 7 drinks per week, which is pretty easy for me, except when touring in a band that plays bars/house parties every night. I am prone to drinking more than usual in social situations (the music scene, duh) where people drink a lot. I also have a lot of friends who are alcoholics (musicians, duh) so it started to seem normal to me to sit in a bar for hours. When I toured with The Old Haunts I made a rule where I had one drink before we played and one drink after. Every once in awhile I'd party (San Pedro comes to mind...) but I tried to keep it in check. As the drinking started to escalate on those tours I decreased my intake to less than one drink a day. I drink minimally nowadays - I'd say on average 2 or 3 drinks a week. I still like to celebrate birthdays and holidays and friend reunions with a party - but that's fine, parties are for SPECIAL OCCASIONS , remember? Like, hanging out in Spain or London on vacation or three day weekends or whatever. Not for everyday life. Everyday life is for writing songs and letters and reading books and going swimming and working on stuff. Creativity vs. destruction. We have to balance these forces.

7. DO NOT make the move from playing in a band to DJing in a bar. Nothing against DJing - it's just that I don't want to be a part of the reason why people come out to a bar to drink, EVER. DJ a house party, DJ your apartment, DJ the streets. Don't DJ in a bar (unless it's your job…but you know what? there are better jobs out there…) If you are a DJ-for-Life please make a point of DJing all ages events on a regular basis and please make a point of DJing sober on a regular basis. It sets a good example and it will keep you healthy and that will make you the best DJ you can be.

JIGSAW FANZINE SAYS:

END THE BAR SCENE NOW

BE GOOD TO YRSELF

DEVELOP HEALTHY HABITS

STAY CONNECTED

WELLNESS PUNKS RULE, OK???

DON'T DIE

best of 2012

BAND OF THE YEAR: PUSSY RIOT

ALBUM OF THE YEAR: DEXYS - ONE DAY I'M GOING TO SOAR

TAPE OF THE YEAR: STILLSUIT DEMO

FAVORITE SONG OF THE YEAR: FREAKAPUSS - HARRIOT IN HER CHARIOT (B SIDE RULES TOO)

BEST NEW GROUP: VEX

BAND TO WATCH IN 2013: MOON

FAVORITE LIVE ACT: Госкино

BEST COUNTER-HEGEMONIC PUNK GROUP WHO FUCK SHIT UP: DICK BINGE

BEST OUT OF TOWN SHOW: THE CORIN TUCKER BAND IN BROOKLYN

FAVORITE ART EVENT: FREAKAPUSS LIVE - EXCURSUS III (OOGA BOOGA AT ICA PHILLY)

RECORD THAT GREW ON ME THAT I DIDN'T LIKE AT FIRST: FRANKIE ROSE - INTERSTELLAR

FAVORITE BAND TO PLAY WITH: REYNOSA

RECORD FROM 2012 LISTENED TO MOST SO FAR IN 2013: DUM DUM GIRLS - END OF DAZE

RECORDS FROM 2011 LISTENED TO MOST IN 2012: BLEACHED 7"s

FAVORITE DEMO BY LOCAL PUNK KIDS: SPIRITUAL WARRIORS

RECORD THAT GETS STUCK IN MY HEAD THAT I LOVE/HATE: DIE ANTWOORD - TEN$SION

BAND I WANTED TO SEE LIVE MORE OFTEN BUT THEY MOVED AWAY: SEWN LEATHER

BEST NO RAVE BAND: UNCANNY VALLEY

FAVORITE SONG I WROTE: SPIDER AND THE WEBS - LEAVING LAWRENCE (TO HIS WAVES)

BEST FEMINIST ALBUM ABOUT GENTRIFICATION: GRASS WIDOW - INTERNAL LOGIC

KILLER POP ALBUM MADE BY A SINGER SONGWRITER: CAT POWER - SUN

BEST PUNK RECORD: WEIRD TV 12"

FAVORITE DANCE TRACK: MIA - BAD GIRLS

BEST INDIE RECORD: DEEP TIME - DEEP TIME

KILLEREST HIPPY JAM: THE FAMILY STONED - HIGH TIME WOMAN II

FAVORITE TOP 40 POP SONG: MADONNA - GIVE ME ALL YOUR LUVIN'

PUNKEST UNDERGROUND ANTHEM: HIVE DWELLERS - GET IN

FAVORITE FEMINIST POP ALBUM: COASTING - YOU'RE NEVER GOING BACK LP

CATCHIEST PIECE OF CULTURAL CRITICISM: CHAIN AND THE GANG - CERTAIN KINDS OF TRASH

FAVORITE RECORD GIVEN TO ME AS A GIFT: PATTI SMITH - BANGA

MOST MEANINGFUL SONG TO ME PERSONALLY: CORIN TUCKER BAND - I DON'T WANNA GO

PRETTIEST RECORDING BY AN AVANT INDIE ARTIST: BROKEN WATER - CHANTAL

FAVORITE BAND TO DANCE TO LIVE: NEONATES

BEST NEW HARDCORE PUNK BAND FROM OLYMPIA: GAG

FAVORITE WEDDING SONG: TED LEO'S DIGITAL LOVE (DAFT PUNK) FOR MOLLY AND ALEX

GREATEST NW PUNK GROUP: MECCA NORMAL

FAVORITE RAPPER: AZAELIA BANKS

FANZINE: NUTS!

PUNKEST INDIE ALBUM: HUNX AND HIS PUNX - TOO YOUNG TO BE IN LOVE

FAVORITE DOOMY AMBIENT RECORD: EARTH - ANGEL OF DARKNESS, DEMON OF LIGHT ii

SHOW OF THE YEAR: GRASS WIDOW & THE RAINCOATS IN SEATTLE

KILLER RECORD TO LISTEN TO ON REPEAT: SONSKULL - WIPED CLEAN 12" EP

BEST NW GARAGE PUNKS: HOODED HAGS

FAVORITE FEMINIST PUNK SINGER: MISH WAY FROM WHITE LUNG

BEST ROCK MEMOIR: COAL TO DIAMONDS BY BETH DITTO (WITH MICHELLE TEA)

books I read in 2012

in chronological order, a selected list:

1. Out of the Vinyl Deeps by Ellen Willis

2. Caliban and the Witch by Silvia Federici

3. Retromania by Simon Reynolds

4. Witches, Midwives and Nurses by Barbara Ehrenreich

5. Flight by Sherman Alexie

6. The Lady and the Little Fox Fur by Violette Leduc

7. Iron Man by Tony Iommi

8. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes

9. The time of the Doves by Merce Rodereda

10. Double Happiness by Jason Shiga

11. Love Rock Revolution by Mark Baumgarten

12. This is How by Augusten Burroughs

13. Tattoo by Manuel Vasquez Montalban

14. How Should a Person Be? by Shelia Heti

15. Grow Up by Ben Brooks

16. Sonechka: A Novella and Stories by Lyudmila Ulitskaya

17. Mister Wonderful by Daniel Clowes

18. The Dialectic of Sex by Shulamith Firestone

19. My Friend Dahmer by Derf

20. Farhenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

21. Coal to Diamonds by Beth Ditto

22. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

23. Memoirs of an Ex-Prom Queen by Alix Kates Shulman

24. _____________ by Lisa Carver

25. Reconsidering Yoko Ono by Lisa Carver

26. Green Girl by Kate Zambreno

27. Airless Space by Shulamith Firestone

28. Job Interviews for Dummies

29. Are You My Mother by Alison Bechdel

30. Woman's Consciousness Man's World by Shelia Rowbotham

31. Promise of a Dream by Shelia Rowbotham

32. Swimming Home by Deborah Levy

33. Bossypants by Tina Fey

34. The Voyeurs by Gabrielle Bell

35. Dora a Headcase by Lidia Yuknavitch

36. Heroines by Kate Zambreno

Currently Reading: Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy; Cecil and Jordan in New York by Gabrielle Bell