96 • UNCUT• JULY 2019
ÒY
Ou’redoing
greatwith‘girls
tothefront!’”
enthuses
Kathleen
Hannatothewomenthrongingthe
stageatthesecondoffourBikiniKill
reunionshowsatthe5,000-capacity
HollywoodPalladium.Thecrowd
respondbychantingthemantrathat
hascometodefinetheriotgrrrlpunk
movementBikiniKillpioneeredin the 1990s. “Girls to the front!”
they shout – women, their partners
and young daughters in protective
earmuffs. It is both a unifying rebel
yell and a matter of course.
It’s been 22 years since founding
members Hanna, Tobi Vail and Kathi
Wilcox last played together as Bikini
Kill, and 29 since they founded the
revolutionary band that changed the
conversation around punk rock. Vail- who’d played in The Go Team with
Calvin Johnson – met Wilcox in 1989
while working at a sandwich shop in
Olympia, Washington, about an hour
south of Seattle. Both knew Hanna
from DIY punk shows where she
performed spoken word and played
in the band Amy Carter. They came
together as a three-piece in 1990,
Vail on drums and vocals, Wilcox on
guitar and Hanna on bass and vocals,
adding guitarist Billy Karen in 1991.
There’s much lore surrounding
the Olympia music scene of this
era, particularly as it relates to the
emergence of Nirvana. As the story
goes, Kurt Cobain penned “Smells
Like Teen Spirit” after a night out
partying with his friend Hanna,
who wrote “Kurt smells like teen
spirit” on his bedroom wall. Vail and
Cobain even dated for a period.
More important, though, were the
record labels. K records had been
releasing cassette compilations and7-inch singles of local bands since
1982, and Kill rock Stars began in
1991 with a split 7-inch of spoken
word by Hanna and co-founder Slim
Moon. In Olympia, women – and
particularly the co-founders of these
labels – ran the scene. It was fertile
soil for Bikini Kill and the regional
riot grrrl acts that followed.
Their aim was to speak openly
about the oppression and abuse of
women, to be a rallying cry for change
in an often toxic, hyper-masculine
hardcore punk scene. Their sound
was raucous and unpolished,
melding elements of surf, rock’n’roll
and punk with the confrontational
tone of hardcore to promote a feminist
message. “We’re Bikini Kill and we
want revolution girl-style now!” Hanna
howled at the beginning of “Double
Dare Ya” from their first self-titled,
self-released cassette, recorded by
Ian MacKaye of Fugazi.bikiNi kiLL
HollywoodPalladium,
LosAngeles,April 26
Riotgrrrlsuperheroes return
- andnota momenttoo soon
steve
rose
“In this mercilessly
distressing political
climate, Bikini Kill
are necessary and
invigorating”
There’s a rrriot
going on: (l–r)
kathleen Hanna,
Tobi Vail and
kathi Wilcox