When she talks, I hear the revolutions

None of us seem to update this blog anymore and that sucks, I'm sorry. But maybe we'll revive it someday? That would be cool. Though these days I've been working on starting up my own zine, this blog will always have a little place in my heart. So I'm sure I'll return to it from time to time. So keep an eye out!

But anyways, for now I just have to use this as a place to talk about and document the amazingness that was The Kathleen Hanna Tribute show at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, NY this past Saturday night. So if anyone is actually reading this...now you know.

I seriously don't even know where to start, I had such an amazing time! The tribute show was put together and filmed for an upcoming documentary about Kathleen Hanna being made by the wonderful director Sini Anderson. So for the first half hour or so of the show Sini filmed the audience doing various dances to a handful of different Kathleen Hanna songs. Which was actually a lot of fun, I busted out some pretty smooth dance moves if I can say so myself.

Then the show started; a bunch of different bands and artists came up on stage to performed their renditions of Kathleen Hanna songs. Anything from Julie Ruin, to Bikini Kill, to Le Tigre. There was such a wide range of performers that night, which was probably one of my favorite things about the show. Everything from local artists like Hilly Eye (Who I fell in love with that night, might I add. Their sound is awesome!), to big names like Toshi Reagon. Young 16 year old girls on guitars, to older men on keyboards. Dance performances, acapella groups, xylophones; there was seriously a little bit of everything. It was just so fucking interesting to see all the different kinds of people that have been influenced by Kathleen Hanna's work. It really blew my mind.

Care Bears On Fire. These young girls are so fun and talented! I've listened to them piror to this show, so it was great to get the chance to see them perform live.

Electric Child. Another band that I heard for the first time that night and fell in love with.

JD Samson (from Le Tigre) with her new band MEN.

Besides the great music and performances, there was another magical moment of the night. When Kim Gordon (of Sonic Youth fame) came out to read Kathleen Hanna's Riot Grrrl Mannifesto. I seriously think I teared up at this point, no joke. It was just really beautiful and aw-inspiring. 

And then SURPRISE! Kathleen Hanna herself came out with her new band The Julie Ruin (which features Kathi Wilox of Bikini Kill and The Frumpies) to perform a few songs!! They played a few of the hits and one of their new songs from an upcoming album (can't wait for that!!). Finally getting to see Kathleen Hanna perform live was like a dream come true for me. I've always wanted to, but was unfortunately wayy too young to during her Bikini Kill days. I feel like I can die happy now, heh. And, of course, they were astounding.

 

First the Hilarious Murray Hill introduced The Julie Ruin. Trust me, this video is worth watching!

Kathleen Hanna!

All in all it was a really wonderful night, one that I'll never forget. I'm so glad I got the opportunity to go, seeing as how the tickets sold out so damn fast. I've never been to a show with that many talented women on the stage before, it was super inspirational for me. And just to be surrounded by so many like-minded individuals and a real sense of sisterhood was heartwarming. There were great vibes in the venue that night!

Anyways, I'm going to end this dragged out entry with a kick-ass video of Bridget Everett's performance from the night! I wish I got pictures of that one, but I guess I was just too busy dancing hard. 

All photos taken by me- Valerie Amaral

Videos  from- http://allisonmichaelorenstein.posterous.com/    

Grrrl Zines!

Obviously I'm really into feminist and riot grrrl blogs, there are a handful that I read pretty much every morning with my cup of coffee (most of which you can find linked over on the left side of this page). But recently I have wanted to begin reading feminist and riot grrrl zines as well. A zine is a self-published work of minority interest usually reproduced by photocopier. Most zines are produced in editions of less than 100, and profit is not the primary intent of publication. If you are well-read on the riot grrrl movement of the 90's, you are probably aware that it encouraged an explosion of explicit and confrontational zines about women in music and the media, feminism, and gender issues.

The truth is that there are still plenty of girls continuing to make those types of zines today. I find that really awesome because most people think that with the growth of the internet zines became obsolete, but it's cool to see that they still have a decent underground following. Nowadays if someone has something they want to say and others to hear they can just make their own website or blog about it (shit, that's what we did!), but zines have a real sense of dedication and creativity that a webpage can't compete with.

I know for me, when I first decided to start to read zines, I had no idea where to find the kinds I was interested in. I knew there were girls out there making them, but I didn't know where to look to actually find and purchase them. So in case some of you are interested but are going through the same thing, I'm going to use this post to promote and link you guys to a few feminist/riot grrrl zines that I have recently checked out and am totally excited to buy and read as soon as I can (I know they are all super cheap, but give me a break here, I'm currently jobless and beyond broke!). I've talked to a few of these girls online before, and I must say they are some amazing and intelligent women, so I know their zines will not disappoint.

• Zines by Jolie Noggle

• Zines by Ivana Stab

• Zines by Clementine Cannibal

The last lady I linked to, Clementine Cannibal, is looking for submissions for her compilation zine of writings by grrrls called "I knew a motherfucker like you and she said...". You can read all about this zine and what kinds of writings she is looking for here. If you feel inspired and have something to say, you definitely should participate and send a piece her way. I'm pretty sure I'm going to myself, which I have to get started on. All submissions should be sent to: lickingstarsoffceilings@hotmail.com

If you write your own feminist/riot grrrl zine, or just read some awesome ones, please tell us about them and where we can purchase them in the comments!

What I'm listening to- The Coathangers

I apologize for the long hiatus, my personal life has been crazy these days, so I had to put this blog and the internet in general on the back-burner for a little while there. I hope we can get it back up to speed now though, and that some of you are still interested in reading it. 

It's true, Riot Grrrl's not dead, it's just unfortunately not as popular or well-known anymore. But that's why I want to start doing something new here, a weekly 'What I'm listening to'. Where once a week or so I will feature a new female band or artist in the punk/metal/alternative rock field that's making awesome music and staying true to the Riot Grrrl beliefs. Because let's face it, women still don't play that big of a role in the punk and metal music genres, and it's very rare to come across all-girl bands. 

Today I'm introducing you all to 'The Coathangers'. I found out about this band a few months ago and instantly fell in love with them. Their music is super catchy and witty, and they sound like a newer version of one of the leading 90's Riot Grrrl bands; Bratmobile. The Coathangers are an all-girl alternative rock/punk band from Atlanta, Georgia. The band features 4 totally bad-ass ladies: Julia, Stephanie, Candice, and Meredith. The band is still pretty new, having only formed in the summer of 2006, but they already have 2 full length albums out (Scramble & The Coathangers S/T), and a handful of 7" records.

The band as a whole has a very DIY feel to it. The ladies were all friends who just decided that one summer to start a band, and then went out in search of the cheapest instruments they could find in an Atlanta pawn shop. None of the them have one set instrument they play in the band either, you will often find them switching instruments throughout a performance. 

The bands name is quite obviously in relation to their pro-choice opinions, and they were quoted saying that they came up with the name on their way to an anti-Bush rally in Washington, DC. Pretty sweet. When asked if there are feminist themes in their music, the ladies replied with...

"There's feminist themes in our lives, so it's going to translate into our music. It's pro-woman, definitely, but it's not anti-man or anti-heterosexuality. It's not anti-anything. It's just about women doing what they want to do. We try to be as true to ourselves as we possibly can, and that in itself is a feminist statement."

With intelligent women, fun music, and song titles such as 'Pussywillow' and 'Nestle in my boobies' what's not to love? The Coathangers are on tour now, you can find their tour schedule and more info about them here:

Their official website

Their Myspace

Revolution grrrl style now!

I'm sure you'll hear me say this a lot throughout our blog, but honestly, I'm a 90's girl at heart. Now I know what you're thinking, "Valerie, you were a 1 year old during 1990", and you're right. But I wish I was the age I am now during 1990, so I could have fully appreciated all that the 90's had to offer; like the music. In my opinion, the 90's were one of the best decades for music, especially women in music. You turned on the radio and had Alanis Morissette, L7, Veruca Salt, The Breeders, 4 Non Blondes, and many more ladies screaming back at you. Women during the 90's were fierce, and they were all over the alternative music scene, from punk, to indie, to grunge.

But you can't talk about women in music during the 90's without talking about riot grrrls. "Riot grrrl was an underground feminist punk movement that started in the early 1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism. Riot grrrl bands often address issues such as rape, domestic abuse, sexuality, and female empowerment." One of the leading bands in the riot grrrl movement was Bikini Kill. Bikini Kill consisted of Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox, Tobi Vail, and Billy Karren.

To tell it point-blank, Bikini Kill changed my life. Now I know that must sound overly sentimental, but it's true. Hearing their album 'Pussywhipped' for the first time was what sparked my interest in feminism and punk music in general. They made it known that girls could play just as big of a part in the punk music scene as their male counterparts, and they had just as much, if not more, to be angry about. I wish I was old enough during that time to have had the opportunity to see them perform live. But even now, just listening to their albums or covering one of their songs gives me a huge rush. Listening to Bikini Kill makes you feel confident in being a women and making choices for yourself. Every teenage girl should listen to this band.

Did Bikini Kill change your life too? Well Kathleen Hanna herself has just started a blog called 'The Bikini Kill Archives', were fans can submit their stories. You should definitely check it out and share your story if you have one- http://bikinikillarchive.wordpress.com/.

If you are interested in learning more about the riot grrrl movement of the 90's, this is a great documentary to start you off- Don't Need You: The Herstory of Riot GRRRL.