Bikini Kill
Encyclopedia
Bikini Kill was an American punk rock
band formed in Olympia, Washington
in October 1990. The group consisted of vocalist and songwriter Kathleen Hanna
, guitarist Billy Karren
, bassist Kathi Wilcox
, and drummer Tobi Vail
. The band is widely considered to be the pioneer of the riot grrrl
movement, and was notorious for its radical feminist lyrics and fiery performances. Their music was characteristically abrasive and hardcore
-influenced. After two full-length albums, several EPs and two compilations, they disbanded in 1998.
While occasionally collaborating with high-profile acts such as Nirvana
and Joan Jett
, Bikini Kill was well-known for shunning major labels and the mainstream rock press.
, in October 1990, by Kathleen Hanna
(vocals), Billy Karren
(guitar), Kathi Wilcox
(bass), and Tobi Vail
(drums). They began working together on a fanzine
called Bikini Kill and, with the addition of former Go Team
guitarist Billy Karren, formed a band of the same name. The band wrote songs together and encouraged a female-centric environment at their shows, urging women to come to the front of the stage and handing out lyric sheets to them.
After an independent demo cassette, Revolution Girl Style Now!
, Bikini Kill released the Bikini Kill
EP on the indie label Kill Rock Stars
. Produced
by Ian MacKaye
of Minor Threat
and Fugazi, the album began to establish the band's audience. The band's debut album, Pussy Whipped
, was released in September 1993. Bikini Kill toured in London
, England
to begin working with Huggy Bear, releasing a joint recording together and touring the UK. The tour was the subject of a documentary film by Lucy Thane
entitled It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill In The U.K.. By the following year, Riot Grrrl
was receiving constant attention in the media, and Bikini Kill were increasingly referred to as pioneers of the movement. Hanna called for a "media blackout
" amongst Riot Grrrls, as they felt the band and the movement were being misrepresented by the media.
Upon their return to the United States, the band began working with Joan Jett
of The Runaways
, whose music Hanna described as an early example of the Riot Grrrl aesthetic. Jett produced the single "New Radio"/"Rebel Girl" for the band. The band's final album was Reject All American
(1996). Shortly before breaking up in 1998, a collection of singles were released only on vinyl between 1995 to 1996, titled Bikini Kill:The Singles
.
was formed by Karren, Wilcox, Vail, and Molly Neuman
of Bratmobile
, and toured as late as the early 2000s with similar Italian punk rock band Dada Swing.
Vail, notorious for her numerous side projects and being in several bands at a time, later resurfaced in a band called Spider and the Webs, and she is now playing with the Old Haunts. Kathi Wilcox plays in the Casual Dots and Bill Karren is in GHOST MOM. Hanna first contributed to an LP as a member of The Fakes, and then turned to more dance-based New Wave music
(with similar feminist lyrical themes) on her solo debut, Julie Ruin
. She then became a member of the political New Wave
outfit Le Tigre
.
, The Gossip
, Jack Off Jill
, Mika Miko
, and countless others. Mike Park
(of Skankin' Pickle
, The Chinkees
, The Bruce Lee Band
, and founder of Asian Man Records
) has a song about the band titled "Tobi Vail 4 President" on the album Beans & Toast from his acoustic solo project. J Church
's album Prophylaxis features a song called "Why I Liked Bikini Kill", a criticism of the responses to the band and their message. Music journalist Steve Palopoli has attributed the song to be aimed at an "unspecified critic of Kathleen Hanna".
NOFX
has a song titled "Kill Rock Stars" on their album So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes, written as a response to Kathleen Hanna labeling the band as misogynists.
Bikini Kill's song "Rebel Girl
" is number 445 in Blender
's The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born.
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band formed in Olympia, Washington
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
in October 1990. The group consisted of vocalist and songwriter Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna is an American musician, feminist activist, and punk zine writer. In the early- to mid-1990s she was the lead singer and songwriter of Bikini Kill, before fronting Le Tigre in the late 1990s and early 2000s...
, guitarist Billy Karren
Billy Karren
Billy Karren is an American musician and feminist most commonly known as the lead guitarist of the influential punk band Bikini Kill. He was also active in many other music projects in the Olympia music scene including: The Go Team, The Frumpies, Corrections, and Spray Painted Love.He was not often...
, bassist Kathi Wilcox
Kathi Wilcox
Kathi Wilcox is an American musician. Currently the bass player in The Julie Ruin, she has previously been in bands such as Bikini Kill, The Casual Dots and The Frumpies.- Music :...
, and drummer Tobi Vail
Tobi Vail
Tobi Vail is an independent musician, DIY zinester, and feminist activist from Olympia, Washington, noted primarily as the drummer of the defunct punk band Bikini Kill. She formed one of her first bands as the drummer for The Go Team when she was 15, later collaborating in several other groups...
. The band is widely considered to be the pioneer of the riot grrrl
Riot grrrl
Riot grrrl was an underground feminist punk movement based in Washington, DC, Olympia, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and the greater Pacific Northwest which existed in the early to mid-1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism...
movement, and was notorious for its radical feminist lyrics and fiery performances. Their music was characteristically abrasive and hardcore
Hardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
-influenced. After two full-length albums, several EPs and two compilations, they disbanded in 1998.
While occasionally collaborating with high-profile acts such as Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
and Joan Jett
Joan Jett
Joan Jett is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress.She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular...
, Bikini Kill was well-known for shunning major labels and the mainstream rock press.
Biography
The band formed in Olympia, WashingtonOlympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
, in October 1990, by Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna is an American musician, feminist activist, and punk zine writer. In the early- to mid-1990s she was the lead singer and songwriter of Bikini Kill, before fronting Le Tigre in the late 1990s and early 2000s...
(vocals), Billy Karren
Billy Karren
Billy Karren is an American musician and feminist most commonly known as the lead guitarist of the influential punk band Bikini Kill. He was also active in many other music projects in the Olympia music scene including: The Go Team, The Frumpies, Corrections, and Spray Painted Love.He was not often...
(guitar), Kathi Wilcox
Kathi Wilcox
Kathi Wilcox is an American musician. Currently the bass player in The Julie Ruin, she has previously been in bands such as Bikini Kill, The Casual Dots and The Frumpies.- Music :...
(bass), and Tobi Vail
Tobi Vail
Tobi Vail is an independent musician, DIY zinester, and feminist activist from Olympia, Washington, noted primarily as the drummer of the defunct punk band Bikini Kill. She formed one of her first bands as the drummer for The Go Team when she was 15, later collaborating in several other groups...
(drums). They began working together on a fanzine
Fanzine
A fanzine is a nonprofessional and nonofficial publication produced by fans of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest...
called Bikini Kill and, with the addition of former Go Team
The Go Team
The Go Team was a 1980s band from Olympia, Washington, consisting of Tobi Vail and Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening.-Career:The Go Team was founded in 1985. As Vail described:...
guitarist Billy Karren, formed a band of the same name. The band wrote songs together and encouraged a female-centric environment at their shows, urging women to come to the front of the stage and handing out lyric sheets to them.
After an independent demo cassette, Revolution Girl Style Now!
Revolution Girl Style Now!
Revolution Girl Style Now! was the very first work by the punk rock band Bikini Kill. It was self-released in cassette form in 1991. Recorded at Yo-Yo studios.-Track listing:# "Candy"# "Daddy's Li'l Girl"# "Feels Blind"# "Suck My Left One"...
, Bikini Kill released the Bikini Kill
Bikini Kill (EP)
Bikini Kill was the first label work by the punk rock band Bikini Kill. It was released in 1992 on Kill Rock Stars.-Track listing:# "Double Dare Ya" - 2:40# "Liar" - 2:35# "Carnival" - 1:30# "Suck My Left One" - 2:24# "Feels Blind" - 3:21...
EP on the indie label Kill Rock Stars
Kill Rock Stars
Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and based in both Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole as having any one artistic mission...
. Produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Ian MacKaye
Ian MacKaye
Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, musician, label owner, and producer. Active since 1979, MacKaye is best known for being the frontman of the influential hardcore punk bands Minor Threat and The Teen Idles, the post-hardcore bands Embrace and Fugazi, as well...
of Minor Threat
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1980 and disbanded in 1983. The band was relatively short-lived, but had a strong influence on the hardcore punk music scene, both stylistically and in establishing a "do it yourself" ethic for music distribution and...
and Fugazi, the album began to establish the band's audience. The band's debut album, Pussy Whipped
Pussy Whipped
Pussy Whipped is the debut full-length album of punk rock band Bikini Kill. It was released in 1993 on Kill Rock Stars. The album includes the track "Rebel Girl", which is #27 on the Rolling Stone list of "Most Excellent Songs of Every Year Since 1967", a playlist assembled by the magazine in 2006...
, was released in September 1993. Bikini Kill toured in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
to begin working with Huggy Bear, releasing a joint recording together and touring the UK. The tour was the subject of a documentary film by Lucy Thane
Lucy Thane
Lucy Thane is a documentary filmmaker.One of her most notable works is It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill In The UK in which she followed the 1990s riot grrrl band Bikini Kill while they were on tour in the UK with Huggy Bear....
entitled It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill In The U.K.. By the following year, Riot Grrrl
Riot grrrl
Riot grrrl was an underground feminist punk movement based in Washington, DC, Olympia, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and the greater Pacific Northwest which existed in the early to mid-1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism...
was receiving constant attention in the media, and Bikini Kill were increasingly referred to as pioneers of the movement. Hanna called for a "media blackout
Media blackout
Media blackout refers to the censorship of news related to a certain topic, particularly in mass media, for any reason. A media blackout may be voluntary, or may in some countries be enforced by the government or state. The latter case is controversial in peacetime, as some regard it as a human...
" amongst Riot Grrrls, as they felt the band and the movement were being misrepresented by the media.
Upon their return to the United States, the band began working with Joan Jett
Joan Jett
Joan Jett is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress.She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular...
of The Runaways
The Runaways
The Runaways were an American all-girl rock band that recorded and performed in the second half of the 1970s. The band released four studio albums and one live set during its run. Among its best known songs: "Cherry Bomb", "Queens of Noise", "Neon Angels On the Road to Ruin", "California Paradise"...
, whose music Hanna described as an early example of the Riot Grrrl aesthetic. Jett produced the single "New Radio"/"Rebel Girl" for the band. The band's final album was Reject All American
Reject All American
Reject All American was the second full-length and last studio album by punk rock band Bikini Kill, released in 1996.-Track listing:All songs composed by Kathleen Hanna.# "Statement of Vindication" – 1:11# "Capri Pants" – 1:40...
(1996). Shortly before breaking up in 1998, a collection of singles were released only on vinyl between 1995 to 1996, titled Bikini Kill:The Singles
Bikini Kill:The Singles
The Singles is a compilation album by punk rock band Bikini Kill compiling the band's three singles released on Kill Rock Stars. It was released in 1998...
.
Post-breakup
During the summer of 1992, the band The FrumpiesThe Frumpies
The Frumpies was a punk rock band formed in 1992 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 label...
was formed by Karren, Wilcox, Vail, and Molly Neuman
Molly Neuman
Molly Neuman is a musician 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...
of Bratmobile
Bratmobile
Bratmobile was an American punk band. Bratmobile was a first-generation "riot grrrl" band, which grew from the Pacific Northwest and Washington, DC underground...
, and toured as late as the early 2000s with similar Italian punk rock band Dada Swing.
Vail, notorious for her numerous side projects and being in several bands at a time, later resurfaced in a band called Spider and the Webs, and she is now playing with the Old Haunts. Kathi Wilcox plays in the Casual Dots and Bill Karren is in GHOST MOM. Hanna first contributed to an LP as a member of The Fakes, and then turned to more dance-based New Wave music
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
(with similar feminist lyrical themes) on her solo debut, Julie Ruin
Julie Ruin
Julie Ruin is the independent record produced by Kathleen Hanna under the name Julie Ruin in 1997, while taking a break from Bikini Kill. It touches upon feminism, crocheting, aerobics and resisting police abuse. It was mostly produced in Kathleen's apartment in Olympia, Washington...
. She then became a member of the political New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
outfit Le Tigre
Le Tigre
Le Tigre is an American electroclash band, formed by Kathleen Hanna and Johanna Fateman in 1998. It also featured Sadie Benning from 1998 until 2001, and JD Samson for the rest of the group's run...
.
Influence
Bikini Kill is recognized as an influence by Sleater-KinneySleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...
, The Gossip
The Gossip
Gossip is a three-piece American indie rock band formed in 1999. The band consists of singer Beth Ditto, guitarist Brace Paine and drummer Hannah Blilie. After releasing several recordings, the band broke through with their 2006 studio album, Standing in the Way of Control . A follow-up, Music for...
, Jack Off Jill
Jack Off Jill
Jack Off Jill was an American alternative rock band from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, founded in 1992 by Jessica Fodera, Tenni Arslanyan, Robin Moulder, and Michelle Oliver. Though these four young women were the initial founders, twelve members rotated through the group in its lifespan, including...
, Mika Miko
Mika Miko
Mika Miko was a band formed in 2003 in Los Angeles, California. In 2004 they gained local popularity for their frenetic live performances. Featuring Victor Fandgore , Jet Blanca , Michelle Suarez, Jessica Clavin, and Jon Erik Edrosa, the original line up of the band made its first demo CD-R, its...
, and countless others. Mike Park
Mike Park
Mike Park is a Korean American musician and progressive activist. His musical ventures include Skankin' Pickle for whom he both played the saxophone and sang, The Chinkees, The Bruce Lee Band, and most recently an acoustic solo project under his own name...
(of Skankin' Pickle
Skankin' Pickle
Skankin' Pickle was an American ska punk band formed in San Jose, California that was active from 1989 to 1996.-Biography:Skankin' Pickle first formed in December 1988, made up of students from Westmont High School and Los Gatos High School. The band played their first show on April 28, 1989,...
, The Chinkees
The Chinkees
The Chinkees are an American ska punk band fronted by Mike Park . The group debuted with 1998's The Chinkees Are Coming!, and followed with 1999's Peace Through Music and 2002's Searching for a Brighter Future before a greatest hits album was released in 2003...
, The Bruce Lee Band
The Bruce Lee Band
The Bruce Lee Band is the name given to the releases of Mike Park and his backing band which has so far included Less Than Jake and the Rx Bandits....
, and founder of Asian Man Records
Asian Man Records
Asian Man Records is a small, DIY record label run by Mike Park in Monte Sereno, California. Park started a record label and began releasing music in 1989 under the name Dill Records, with the Asian Man label established May 1996.-Artists:...
) has a song about the band titled "Tobi Vail 4 President" on the album Beans & Toast from his acoustic solo project. J Church
J Church (band)
J Church was an American punk rock band formed by guitarist and vocalist Lance Hahn and bassist Gardner Maxam in 1992 in San Francisco, California after the demise of Hahn and Maxam's former band, Cringer...
's album Prophylaxis features a song called "Why I Liked Bikini Kill", a criticism of the responses to the band and their message. Music journalist Steve Palopoli has attributed the song to be aimed at an "unspecified critic of Kathleen Hanna".
NOFX
NOFX
NOFX is an American punk rock band from Los Angeles, California .The band was formed in 1983 by vocalist/bassist Fat Mike and guitarist Eric Melvin. Drummer Erik Sandin joined NOFX shortly after. In 1991 El Hefe joined to play lead guitar and trumpet, rounding out the current line-up...
has a song titled "Kill Rock Stars" on their album So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes, written as a response to Kathleen Hanna labeling the band as misogynists.
Bikini Kill's song "Rebel Girl
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah
Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah is the Bikini Kill side of a split album between American and English riot grrrl bands Bikini Kill and Huggy Bear. It was released in 1993 on Kill Rock Stars. The song "Rebel Girl" is in the game Rock Band 2....
" is number 445 in Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
's The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born.
Albums
- Revolution Girl Style Now!Revolution Girl Style Now!Revolution Girl Style Now! was the very first work by the punk rock band Bikini Kill. It was self-released in cassette form in 1991. Recorded at Yo-Yo studios.-Track listing:# "Candy"# "Daddy's Li'l Girl"# "Feels Blind"# "Suck My Left One"...
self released cassette (1991) - Bikini KillBikini Kill (EP)Bikini Kill was the first label work by the punk rock band Bikini Kill. It was released in 1992 on Kill Rock Stars.-Track listing:# "Double Dare Ya" - 2:40# "Liar" - 2:35# "Carnival" - 1:30# "Suck My Left One" - 2:24# "Feels Blind" - 3:21...
EP on Kill Rock StarsKill Rock StarsKill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and based in both Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole as having any one artistic mission...
(1991) - Yeah Yeah Yeah YeahYeah Yeah Yeah YeahYeah Yeah Yeah Yeah is the Bikini Kill side of a split album between American and English riot grrrl bands Bikini Kill and Huggy Bear. It was released in 1993 on Kill Rock Stars. The song "Rebel Girl" is in the game Rock Band 2....
split LP with Huggy Bear on Catcall Records in the UK, Kill Rock Stars in the US (1993) - Pussy WhippedPussy WhippedPussy Whipped is the debut full-length album of punk rock band Bikini Kill. It was released in 1993 on Kill Rock Stars. The album includes the track "Rebel Girl", which is #27 on the Rolling Stone list of "Most Excellent Songs of Every Year Since 1967", a playlist assembled by the magazine in 2006...
LP on Kill Rock Stars (1993) - The C.D. Version of the First Two RecordsThe C.D. Version of the First Two RecordsThe C.D. Version of the First Two Records is the 1994 first CD release of punk rock band Bikini Kill, collecting their 1992 eponymous EP and their half of the 1993 EP Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah, an album they shared with the band Huggy Bear...
(1994) - Reject All AmericanReject All AmericanReject All American was the second full-length and last studio album by punk rock band Bikini Kill, released in 1996.-Track listing:All songs composed by Kathleen Hanna.# "Statement of Vindication" – 1:11# "Capri Pants" – 1:40...
LP on Kill Rock Stars (1996)
Singles
- New Radio/Rebel Girl 7" single on Kill Rock Stars (1993)
- The Anti-Pleasure Dissertation Single on Kill Rock Stars (1995)
- I Like Fucking/I Hate Danger 7" single on Kill Rock Stars (1995)
- European Tour Single split 7" with Team DreschTeam DreschTeam Dresch is an American punk band from Portland, Oregon, originally formed in Olympia, Washington, which was initially active from 1993 until 1998. The band made a significant impression on the do-it-yourself movement queercore, which gave voice through zines and music to the passions and...
on Banda Bonnot (1996) - Peel Sessions 7"
Compilations
- Kill Rock Stars on Kill Rock Stars LP/CD (1991)
- Throw: The Yoyo Studio Compilation on Yoyo Records (1991)
- "Daddy's Li'l Girl" on Give Me Back LP Ebullition RecordsEbullition RecordsEbullition Records is an independent record label and distro based out of Goleta, California. It published HeartattaCk, a zine focusing on independent punk and hardcore from around the world, informed by an anti-consumerist and D.I.Y. ideology....
(1991) - "Suck My Left One" on There's A Dyke In The Pit, Outpunk Records/Harp Records (1992)
- Bikini Kill:The SinglesBikini Kill:The SinglesThe Singles is a compilation album by punk rock band Bikini Kill compiling the band's three singles released on Kill Rock Stars. It was released in 1998...
(1998)
External links
- Fact sheet
- Tigerbomb.net - a Bikini Kill archive site
- Kathleen Hanna's Bikini Kill Archive at Wordpress.com
- Bikini Kill at Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...