#Billy Karren

[punkrockhistory]

34 years ago today

Bikini Kill was formed in Olympia, Washington, October 4, 1990, by (L-R) Tobi Vail (drums), Kathleen Hanna (vocals), Kathi Wilcox (bass), and Billy Karren (guitar).

[twnthcntrygrl]

bikini kill, shot by tammy rae carland

[spilladabalia]

The Frumpies - Eunuch Nights

[history105rockandrollblog]

Lecture 21: “Rebel Girl” (1993) - Bikini Kill: The 1990s saw something of a revival in the feminist movement, and with it an explosion of female artists on to the scene. At the forefront of the music aspect of this revival was the Riot Grrrl movement. Emerging out of the Seattle female punk scene and centred around this feminist revival, Riot Grrrl was, in many ways, as much a social/political movement as a music oriented one.  Bands like Bikini Kill, Excuse 17, Bratmobile, and Skinned Teen addressed important issues such as female empowerment, domestic abuse, rape, racism and even eating disorders.  One of the first and most influential Riot Grrrl bands was Bikini Kill (formed in 1990), consisting of Kathleen Hanna, Billy Karren, Tobi Vail and Kathy Wilcox.

[iamdangerace]

Going to witness some innocent bikinis being killed tomorrow night, live on stage! Wait . . . nst as an innocent bikini.

I finished my BIKINI KILL video.

double dare ya and liar by BIKINI KILL. Audio ripped from the BIKINI KILL EP 20th Anniversary reissue vinyl album.

Video collected from sundry video dumps, including some fun-to-watch live performance clips shot when they were very diy and snotty–like the music.

[mayhemfontservice]

Kathleen Hanna with Billy Karren, Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox, Bikini Kill, no. 2 (1991). Collection Philip Aarons and Shelley Fox Aarons. 

[bikinikillhanna]

Kathleen Hanna Roleplay Account Introduction

Scenario: Kathleen heard all her other music friends talk about blogging on Tumblr and she wanted to try it out for herself💕

Please be 15 or Older to Look at this account, Riot GRRL is a very Mature and adult movement but for the kiddy winks who are interested go watch Moxie on Netflix.

If you don't like the account then block it, simple as that but don't go harassing me or any other rock roleplay accounts because of your hatred.

This Account is all Parody, I do not know Kathleen Hanna own the rights to any bikini kill/Le Tigre/Julie Ruin songs and am only a harmless fan.

Bands

BIKINI KILL

LE TIGRE

Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group originally consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the riot grrrl movement, with feminist lyrics and fiery performances. Their music is characteristically abrasive and hardcore-influenced. After two full-length albums, several EPs and two compilations, they disbanded in 1997. The band reunited for tours in 2019 and 2022, with Erica Dawn Lyle on guitar in place of Karren.

Le Tigre (/lə ˈtiːɡrə/, French pronunciation: [lə tiɡʁ]; French for "The Tiger") is an American electronic rock and riot grrrl band formed by Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill), Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning in 1998 in New York City. Benning left in 2000 and was replaced by JD Samson. They mixed punk's directness and politics with playful samples, eclectic pop, and lo-fi electronics. Like with many bands in and from the riot grrrl movement, many of the lyrics addressed feminist themes and ideas. The group also added multimedia and performance art elements to their live shows, which often featured support from like-minded acts such as the Need.

Bio on Kathleen

Kathleen Hanna (born November 12, 1968) is an American singer, musician and pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. In the early-to-mid-1990s, she was the lead singer of feminist punk band Bikini Kill,and then fronted the electronic rock band Le Tigre in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since 2010, she has recorded as The Julie Ruin.

In 2009, Hanna made her zines, art pieces, photography, video, music, journals, and other material which focus on the early formation of the Riot Grrrl movement available at the Fales Library at New York University. A documentary film about Hanna was released in 2013 by director Sini Anderson, titled The Punk Singer, detailing Hanna's life and career, as well as revealing her years-long battle with Lyme disease. Hanna is married to Adam Horovitz of the Beastie Boys.

1968–1988: Early life and feminism

Hanna was born November 12, 1968, in Portland, Oregon.

At age three, her family moved to Calverton, Maryland; as Hanna's father changed occupations, the family moved several more times.Hanna first became interested in feminism around the age of nine, after her mother took her to a rally in Washington, D.C. where feminist icon Gloria Steinem spoke.

In a 2000 interview with BUST magazine, Hanna recalled: "My mom was a housewife and wasn't somebody that people would think of as a feminist, and when Ms. magazine came out we were incredibly inspired by it.

I used to cut pictures out of it and make posters that said 'Girls can do anything', and stuff like that, and my mom was inspired to work at a basement of a church doing anti-domestic violence work. Then she took me to the Solidarity Day thing, and it was the first time I had ever been in a big crowd of women yelling, and it really made me want to do it forever."

Hanna's interest grew when her mother checked out a copy of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique from the library.

Their involvement in the women's rights movement was done quietly during Hanna's childhood, due to her father's disapproval.

Upon her parents' divorce, Hanna returned to Portland and attended Lincoln High School and Grant High School.

After high school, she relocated from Portland to Olympia, Washington, to attend The Evergreen State College in the late 1980s.

During this time she worked as a stripper to pay her tuition.

"My parents didn't go to college. I felt lucky [to attend]." While at Evergreen, with fellow student and photographer Aaron Baush-Greene, she set up a photo exhibit featuring the pair's photography, which dealt with sexism, violence against women, and AIDS – issues that were heightened for Hanna when she volunteered for SafePlace, a domestic violence organization.

However, the school administrators took the photos down before they had the chance to be viewed, an act of censorship that prompted what Hanna refers to as her "first foray into activism": the creation of Reko Muse, an independent feminist art gallery, with friends Heidi Arbogast and Tammy Rae Carland.

Hanna began doing spoken word performances that addressed sexism and violence against women. Eventually, she abandoned spoken word in favor of music after a conversation with one of her favorite writers, countercultural icon Kathy Acker. Hanna recalled,

Acker asked me why writing was important to me, and I said, 'Because I felt like I'd never been listened to and I had a lot to say,' and she said, 'Then why are you doing spoken word—no one goes to spoken word shows! You should get in a band.'

Hanna then formed a band with Arbogast and Carland, called Amy Carter, which put on shows before the art exhibitions.

1989–1999: Bikini Kill

Later, Hanna started another band called Viva Knievel that toured the United States for two months before disbanding.

Upon returning to Olympia in 1990, Hanna began collaborating with Evergreen student, drummer and punk zinester Tobi Vail after seeing a performance of the Go Team (a band made up of Vail, Billy Karren, and Calvin Johnson) and recognizing Vail as the mastermind behind the fanzine Jigsaw that Hanna greatly admired and loved.

In October 1990, Hanna and Vail joined with Karren and bassist Kathi Wilcox to form Bikini Kill, which soon became part of the seminal early-1990s Olympia, Washington music scene. One goal of the band was to inspire more women to join the male-dominated punk scene.

While Bikini Kill were in Washington, D.C. during summer 1991, Kathleen recorded with two side projects, featured on the compilation cassette A Wonderful Treat: Suture (with Sharon Cheslow and Dug E. Bird), and Wondertwins (with Tim Green of Nation of Ulysses). Bikini Kill, Suture, and Wondertwins all performed at the International Pop Underground Convention in August 1991.

Bikini Kill's first release for the Kill Rock Stars label was a self-titled EP produced by Ian MacKaye of Fugazi.

Bikini Kill then toured the UK, recording a split LP with UK band Huggy Bear. This tour was filmed and the band was interviewed by Lucy Thane for her documentary, It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill in the UK. Upon returning to the U.S.

the band began working with Joan Jett, who produced their single "New Radio/Rebel Girl". After the single's release, Hanna began co-writing songs with Jett for her new album.

At the same time, Hanna recorded her spoken-word "Rockstar", released on a 7-inch single in the Kill Rock Stars "Wordcore" series; and "I Wish I Was Him", which appears on the KRS compilation Rock Stars Kill. The song, written by Ben Lee about alternative rock heartthrob Evan Dando,was originally recorded by Lee's band Noise Addict.

The first two Bikini Kill EPs were released on CD as The C.D. Version of the First Two Records in 1993.

The band released two more full-length albums, Pussy Whipped in 1994 and Reject All American in 1996, and in 1998, Kill Rock Stars released Bikini Kill: The Singles, a collection of the group's seven-inch and compilation tracks. Bikini Kill amicably disbanded in mid-1998.

2000–present: Le Tigre and the Julie Ruin

After Bikini Kill's breakup, Hanna began working on a solo project called Julie Ruin. The project was created entirely in Hanna's bedroom using a $40 drum machine. One self-titled album was released under the Julie Ruin pseudonym, and was partially inspired by the work of feminist theorist Julia Kristeva.

Hanna said of the project:

Girls' bedrooms sometimes can be this space of real creativity. The problem is that these bedrooms are all cut off from each other. I wanted the Julie Ruin record to sound like a girl from her bedroom made this record but then didn't just throw it away or it wasn't just in her diary but she took it out and shared it with people.

While in Portland, Oregon, Hanna began working with friend and then-zine editor Johanna Fateman on a live show for Julie Ruin. The collaboration resulted in the two briefly forming a band called the Troublemakers, named after a G. B. Jones film, which ended when Fateman relocated to New York City to attend art school.

Hanna soon moved to New York City, and with the addition of filmmaker Sadie Benning, they started another band called Le Tigre based upon a more electronic style of music, similar to the sampler-driven sound Hanna had begun to explore with Julie Ruin. (She later revealed to Bust magazine that she was "totally broke" at this time and ate oatmeal daily.)

Hanna refers to it as part of a "Punk Feminist Electronic genre".

The band recorded for the Mr. Lady Records label, its first recording being an eponymous album which included the singles "Hot Topic" and "Deceptacon." Benning then left the band and was replaced by JD Samson for their second album, Feminist Sweepstakes.

Mr. Lady Records folded, and the group switched to Universal Records for the 2004 release of This Island. Hanna left the band in 2005 due to illness; she was later diagnosed with late-stage Lyme disease.

According to the Le Tigre website, during her time off from the band, Hanna volunteered as a band coach for the Willie Mae Rock and Roll Camp for Girls. She also taught an art class at NYU's grad school in the Fall 2007 semester and attended interior design classes.

In 2010, Hanna DJed at the Museum of Modern Art, later joining the Raincoats on stage to cover the Slits' Vindictive.

Also in 2010, Hanna announced she was rebuilding her 1997 act Julie Ruin, turning it into a full band called the Julie Ruin with Kenny Mellman and Kathi Wilcox, and that they would be creating a new record.

The band played their first show at Knitting Factory in New York City which included songs from Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, and one new composition.

 From 2010 to 2013, director Sini Anderson worked on a documentary on Kathleen Hanna titled The Punk Singer, documenting her works from Bikini Kill to the Julie Ruin.

It premiered at SXSW in 2013.

 In June 2013, Julie Ruin released its first single, "Oh Come On". An album, Run Fast was released in September 2013 with the band going on tour.

The band cancelled the tour planned for May to September 2014 due to Hanna's Lyme disease condition deteriorating.

DISCOGRAPHY

 She has since recovered and begun performing again. The Julie Ruin's second album, Hit Reset, was published in July 2016 by Hardly Art.

Bikini Kill

Revolution Girl Style Now! self-released cassette (1991)

Bikini Kill  EP, Kill Rock Stars (1991)

Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah split LP with Huggy Bear, Catcall Records (UK), Kill Rock Stars (US) (1993)

Pussy Whipped, Kill Rock Stars (1993)

The C.D. Version of the First Two Records (compilation of the Bikini Kill EP and their half of the Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah split LP), Kill Rock Stars (1994)

Reject All American, Kill Rock Stars (1996)

The Singles, Kill Rock Stars (1998)

Julie Ruin/The Julie Ruin

Julie Ruin, Kill Rock Stars (1998)

Run Fast, TJR Records (2013)

Hit Reset, Hardly Art (2016)

Le Tigre

Le Tigre, Mr. Lady (1999)

Feminist Sweepstakes, Mr. Lady (2001)

This Island, Universal (2004)

(Other RP Accounts)

@gardengrampa

@theeverglades

@gwenstefoubt

[antivirginsuicide]

some of my favourite riot grrl bands

1. hole

vocals courtney love

guitar eric erlandson

bass kristen pfaff

bass mellisa maur

drums patty schemel

2. bikini kill

vocals kathleen hanna

guitar billy karren

bass kathi wilcox

drums tobi vail

3. dazey and the scouts

vocals lea jaffe

guitar brennan wedl

bass otto klammer

drums austin corona

4. lunachicks

vocals theo kogan

guitar gina volpe

guitar sindi valsamis

bass sydney silver

drums kate schellenbach

drums becky wreck

drums helen destroy

drums chip english

5. destroy boys

vocals alexia roditis

guitar vi mayugba

drums ethan knight

6. slutever

vocals nicole snyder

vocals rachel gagliard

7. mommy long legs

vocals and guitar lilly morlock

guitar melissa kagerer

bass leah miller

drums cory budden

8. dream wife

vocals rakel mjoll

vocals and guitar alice go

vocals and bass bella podpadec

9. the beaches

vocals and bass jordan miller

guitar kylie miller

guitar and keyboard leandra earl

drums eliza enman mcdaniel

[mildredpierce8]

YEAHHH

FEMINISM

ENDORPHINES

PUNK ROCK

MY FAVORITE WOMANNNN

kathleen hanna and kathi wilcox talk about the formation of bikini kill, and working with joan jett, in 1997, on Australian music tv broadcast, Recovery.

[popmusicu]

On the release of Kathleen Hanna’s memoir “Rebel Girl: My Life As a Feminist Punk” and my experience as a decade-long fan of the Riot Grrrl movement.

This last May 14 Kathleen Hanna’s first book, a memoir titled “Rebel Girl: My Life As a Feminist Punk” hit the bookshelves, immortalizing the activist and feminist icon’s experiences in forging a safe space for women in the male dominated 90’s punk scene. The book recounts (apparently, as I haven’t read it yet, soon hopefully!) the singer’s upbringings, her first forays into activism and her star in the Olympia, Washington music scene, forming the band Bikini Kill alongisde Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox, and Billy Karren, one of my personal favourites since I was 12 years old.

Being an integral part of the 90’s Riot Grrrl movement, the band merged punk music with feminism, DIY art, and politics, their lyrics centering mainly around themes of sexual abuse, rape, violence towards women, incest, sexual freedom and the general desire to create a spece where girls can express themselves freely. Their sound consisted of  generally noisy punk out of tune instruments, sometimes being played by the bandmates for the first time in their lives, all accompanied by Hanna’s Valley Girl accent and sometimes Vail’s high pitched voice, who during their shows urged all women attendees to the front of the venue, yelling “girls to the front”.

Some of the stories Hanna seems to recount in her memoir follow, for example – and this one is my favourite random fact to dump at parties– the time she wrote “Kurt smells like teen spirit” on Kurt Cobain’s hotel wall with a sharpie, because back then Nirvana’s front man had been dating Bikini Kill’s Tobi Vail and using her Teen Spirit brand deodorant, a product that was heavily marketed for young girls, idea that Hanna found very funny, thus, Nirvana’s anthem got its name. Other numerous tour shenanigans, having to work as a stripper to finance said tours, collaborating with the likes of Joan Jett, the forming of side projects Julie Ruin, the bands Le Tigre and The Julie Ruin, her marriage to Adam Horovitz of The Beastie Boys, and her struggle with Lyme disease seem to be all different and important chapters of the singers’ life as she reminisces of how far she has come in her journey of activism, fighting for a better world.

As I previously mentioned, I’ve been a fan of Hanna and her numerous side projects, as well as many other riot grrrl bands such as Sleater-Kinney, Babes in Toyland and Hole (controversies aside) for over ten years and I seem to be experiencing a new found love and passion for the bands and the music that first got me into activism and feminism, an inegral part of my life. I am very happy to share how this experience came full circle for me last March 7, when I got to see Bikini Kill play live in Santiago for the first time, and managed to get my record signed by Kathleen Hanna herself!!! (not bragging or anything haha)

That’s all for now, I reccomend you listen to the bands I mentioned and

REVOLUTION GIRL STYLE NOW!

By Mar��a Jesús Espinoza

[agendaculturaldelima]

 #SinMusicaNoExisto

🎶 “PUNK ROCK [20º Aniversario]”🎙️🎸🥁🤘🎉🥳

💥 Banda formada en el año 1990 por Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox, Tobi Vail y Billy Karren, que se encuadrada dentro del movimiento Riot Grrrl (1990-1998), con una lírica netamente feministas, letras políticas,  fanzines y actos confrontaciones en vivo; incitando de manera activa a las mujeres para crear grupos como medio de resistencia cultural, fomentando la participación femenina y la construcción de una comunidad feminista a través de la escena punk.📜✒👊

👥 Bikini Kill [Estados Unidos]

😎 Invitadas: Las Ratapunks y Dj La Chinoise [larutadelvinilo]

© Producción: PAF Producciones y Proyectoamil.

📌 CONCIERTO:

📆 Martes 12 de Marzo

🕖 7:00pm.

🏪 Centro de Convenciones Festiva (av. Alfonso Ugarte 1439 – Centro de Lima)

🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️ Ingreso libre 

🖱 Reservas: https://www.joinnus.com/events/concerts/lima-bikini-kill-en-lima-58328

[punkrockhistory]

34 years ago

Bikini Kill was formed on October 1990 in Olympia, Washington by Tobi Vail, Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox and Billy Karren

Here with her most famous song Rebel Girl, which brought their breakthrough

[persephone-nymph]

Kathleen Hanna, Bikini Kill, 90s

[iamdangerace]

[glittersister]

⭐ Billy Karren & Kathleen Hanna ⭐ found on an old site called riotgrrrl-rebelgirl

[ifyouseekay468]

…so we all agree that Nirvana and Bikini Kill had some weird polycule thing going on right?