#molly neuman

[theloosepage]

Riot Grrrl no. 1, Molly Neuman and Allison Wolfe, July 1991

photo: Fales Library NYU / Feminist Press

[thesearenotphotographs]

Bratmobile, Downtown Boys, and Cumgirl8 at Warsaw

On Saturday, April 27, 2024, Olympia, Washington’s Bratmobile (Alison Wolfe & Molly Neuman) performed their first concert in New York City in 22 years at Warsaw in Brooklyn, NY. The band, now expanded to five members (Audrey Marrs on keys, Marty Key on bass, and Rose Melberg on guitar), was joined by NYC’s Cumgirl8, and Providence, RI’s Downtown Boys (whose members now reside all along the east coast) for a pretty exciting bill. I covered the sold out show for Impose Magazine and the gallery is now available on their website here.

The last time I saw Alison Wolfe and Downtown Boys perform together was at The Studio at Webster Hall nearly eight years ago (on Friday, September 16, 2016) , and images of that show are available on Flickr here.

[alma3737]

bratmobile 💕

[disease]

BIKINI KILL EP | 1992/2022 LTD. ED. 30TH ANNIVERSARY BABY PINK CASSETTE & VINYL

Includes the special 20th anniversary liner notes by Ian MacKaye (Fugazi), Molly Neuman (Bratmobile), and Layla Gibbon (Skinned Teen) as well as excerpts from the band's 'zines (Bikini Kill #1 and #2, Jigsaw #4), and photos from band members' personal archives.

[chelsamander]

riot grrrl was a free mini zine first published in October ‘91 by Molly Neuman of Bratmobile, with contributions from bandmate Allison Wolfe, both of whom also published Girl Germs. 💕🦠✨

[torksmith]

guys molly neuman of bratmobile sent my work an email asking if her daughter can basically hang out at my work all day while she performs in pitchfork 😭😭😭 she asked if she could come in before we open and i told my manager i would come in early to hangout and craft with her because i love her moms work

[daggerzine]

An Ideal For Living: A Celebration of the EP- Extended Play (by Corey DuBrowa and Friends, Hozac Books, 202 pages)

Ok, first the full disclosure part is that Corey DuBrowa, the book's compiler, is my old friend, and I contributed to this terrific book.

As the title says, it's a bunch of reviews/recollections/remembrances of some favorite EPs over the years. If you know Corey's taste, then you know the guy is a textbook of knowledge of stuff from the punk and indie era. But this book goes back way before that as DuBrowa and his crew begin this journey in the 1950's and move forward from there. Everything from rock to jazz to doo-wop to folk to those previously mentioned genres are included. It goes through the decades and then beyond. It ends up with the greatest EPs of all time (I forgot to mention the book starts with a meandering of just what the heck an EP is). 

He brings along talented, word salad maniacs like Byron Coley,  Annie Zaleski Joseph Kyle, Al Quint, Molly Neuman, Tim Stegall, Pat Thomas, Steve Michener, and many, many others (Ok, so I go a little crazy over EPs by Minor Threat and Mudhoney). 

It's a marvelous book, perfectly bound, and I dig that cover artwork. Any self-respecting music fan needs this one in their collection. And you'll need to buy two copies as your first one will get completely dog-eared, trust me. Another winner from Hozac!

www.hozacrecords.com

[the-cricket-chirps]

Riot Grrrl no. 1

Molly Neuman and Allison Wolfe

July 1991

[riotgrrrl200]

Influential Zines and Flyers from the Riot Grrrl Movement 

Zines are one of the biggest parts of the Riot Grrrl movement and without them, I truly believe that the Riot Grrrl movement would not have happened. A zine is print-work that was not officially published and is most of the time DIY-ed in order to share artwork or ideas. These are typically passed around and found out about by word of mouth rather than actually publishing the works. These concepts are another example of the anti-capitalist ideas that came from and were very popular during the Riot Grrrl movement. Along with zines, there were also flyers and posters made by the leaders of the movement. Since this was a pre-internet movement, there weren’t many ways of getting the word out other than radio, television, or book publishing but those are all options that they would have to pay for. If they were to pay into any of those options it would be directly opposing one of the central ideas of the movement which is to be anti-capitalist. Zines, posters, and flyers were the best option seeing as they could make them themselves which is empowering in itself but it would also be able to be entirely controlled by one group of people. They were able to curate exactly what they wanted their brand to be and they were able to say exactly what they wanted to without being censored. 

One zine that I want to discuss is the original Riot Grrrl zine. It was created by Molly Neuman and Allison Wolfe of Bratmobile. This zine would be given out at shows and they would mail the zines wherever they could so that they could spread their information as often and quickly as possible. The original cover of the zine gives a much more sexy and flirty look to the Riot Grrrl movement.

This cover was from July of 1991 when the movement was just starting and my interpretation of it was that the creators were not sure of how the public was going to react to anything other than a cutesy version of the movement that it would one day turn into. The imagery with the hearts and the uncapitalized writing in a somewhat romantic font is not the image I get when I think of what Riot Grrrl means to me. The woman on the cover is fulfilling a typical male fantasy that we see in media such as James Bond films. She is a beautiful character who is holding a gun (which is a notoriously phallic symbol) and she looks as though she is in distress. This is certainly not the type of character I would think would embody what Riot Grrrl is meant to be but maybe that was the point. Maybe this was a way of reclaiming these things and giving them more meaning and power than what our patriarchal society has given them.

The next thing I want to discuss is this flyer made by Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill. This is a much more expected visual from the Riot Grrrl movement. The red and black signal to the recipient that there is anger behind the words. When you actually read the content of this flyer you come across short sentences such as “Burn down the walls that say you can’t” and “Acknowledge emotional violence as real”. These sentences along with the rest help the reader to understand that this is a battle. The flyer in its entirety does the movement justice by having real substance in a short and straight-forward way. Hanna talks to the viewer and makes it a personal issue rather than an over thing. She is talking to you through the paper and it is such a powerful tactic. She simplifies the entire movement and puts it on one page so that you can understand what is happening and how you can change things. While this is a part of the movement for sure, there is no advertisement for Bikini Kills shows or no contact information. This document is entirely for the purpose of helping the person overcome things that the movement was fighting for rather than trying to get the person to buy into something which is an issue that I think is very prominent. Their objective with this movement is to make sure that the participants are strong, independent people who are all fighting for the same cause without trying to get anything from them. The whole movement is to empower and while I am sure that the leading bands of the movement such as Bikini Kill and Bratmobile wanted to get popular, the movement was more important than becoming famous which is why I love Riot Grrrl so deeply and why it has resonated with me so much. 

Source:

[beatdisc]

All 3 Bratmobile albums are back in print for the first time in over 20 years!

Remastered from the original analog tapes and pressed on colour vinyl thanks to the legends at Kill Rock Stars - this is the first time Bratmobile's discography has been available on CD/LP since 2002.

Pottymouth (1993) - Yellow Vinyl With its “personal is political” lyrics read straight from our collective diary, Bratmobile’s full-length debut delivers 28 minutes of fury, fun and D.I.Y. punk, making Pottymouth one of riot grrrl’s most defining albums

Ladies, Women and Girls (2000) - Red Vinyl Bratmobile’s sophomore LP finds Allison Wolfe’s singsong delivery of her trademark barbed-wire lyrics center stage - each line catching the ear and cutting with truth. Backed by Molly Neuman’s heart attack drumming and Erin Smith’s shark-in-the-surf riffs the band returns pulling no punches. This is essential feminist punk.

Girls Get Busy (2002) - Evergreen Vinyl Equal parts sass, snark and surf-punk infused guitar, Bratmobile’s third album bursts with catchy hooks and thought-provoking critiques of their scene, consumerism and the patriarchy. It's clear what Bratmobile was busy doing in '02: creating the most brutally honest anthems brimmed with the defiant punk attitude the original grrrl gang is known for.

All 3 LP's in-stock now for $45 each, or available to order on CD for $22 each.

#bratmobile#pottymouth#ladieswomenandgirls#girlsgetbusy#killrockstars

[labourartofriotgrrrls]

Bratmobile; Breaking the boundaries

Bratmobile was created in 1991, one of the few bands alongside bikini kill and sleater-kinnley, starting the first generation revolution of "riot grrrl" bands being created. Made up of Allison Wolfe, Molly Neuman and Erin Smith bratmobile came to life to essentially eliminate the sexism and predominately male punk-scene in the game. The bands musical genious was combining the power and preformance of punk rock while having "political literacy influence" to spread the message of female empowerment. (Bobbitt, 2017)

[comingtoyoursenses]

Molly Neuman so cool I love her

[ghost-of-kurdt-haunts-my-room]

okay, i don't know if you guys know this, but billie joe armstrong grew up and got his start in the bay area

a few hours from where i grew up, and the same town AND time frame that my mother was in the scene

i know this is a bit more personal information than im usually one to share, but i think it's funny to mention because i love this photo.

you notice how nobody's dancing? or smiling? or headbanging? or doing fucking anything? that's because green day is opening this show. as they did CONSTANTLY. if you're a fan of punk, or 90s music, or music in GENERAL, check out bay area punk. they were wAY ahead of the curve and produced some of the best bands of their respective subgenres by far (jawbreaker's roaring and yet vulnerable take on skater punk, crimpshrine's brutal punk rock with elements of ska, surf, and skater, fifteen's quite honestly clairvoyant activist message layered under blistering bay punk, and of course, the gods of ska, operation ivy). this pushed green day, who were inexperience, young, hungry, and talented, to the fucking sidelines. the scene was bonkers. it was ahead of its time. it created what would become pop punk from the ground up.

so you might be asking yourself, why did green day become one of the most famous and enduring rock bands in the past 30 years? well, here's where the story takes a turn.

i love green day. they were the first rock band i ever listened to. but they're fucking sellouts.

the worst thing you can be.

all of these people got their start and based their careers on 924 Gilman St., an old cannery that got turned into one of the most revolutionary punk clubs of all time. it was the scene. and it had rules

Rule #1. No record labels.

That means no reach, no sellouts, no traitors. everything was under the table, in the club, the scene was exclusive to those who were really there and really cared. almost every single band was signed to an indie label called lookout records, which was owned by one of the guys who played at gilman all the time (Larry Livermore of the Lookouts) and worked with Tim Yo all the time, the guy who opened the club. They agreed. and everyone went along with them. if you wanted to play, you're not getting paid.

Because that's just not fucking punk. This seems harsh, but Larry and Tim were protecting the scene from big execs, big business, big record labels like geffen and motherfucking mtv because no matter WHAT happened, they were for the fucking people. for the downtrodden. for the have-nots and the ne'er-do-wells, the rejects, the others. They once rioted against a gang of 3 dozen or more Nazi Punks because Fuck You, That's Not Punk. and they fucking did it. Gilman is still kicking

and one. band. broke that rule.

green day.

billie knew he wasn't gonna make it past 1995.

he knew he didn't have what Tim Timebomb or Jeff Ott had, and im sorry to be so blunt, but he knew wasn't that talented.

so he sent a record to Reprise.

and they picked him up.

and i say all this because i want the world to know that at Gilman Street, the openers get famous and the headliners go down in the punk hall of fame. i want you, dear reader, to know the names like Larry Livermore, Jeff Ott, Tim Timebomb, Tim Yo, Jesse Michaels, Matt Freeman (one of the greatest bassists alive), Dave Mello, Anna Joy Springer, Rob Eggplant, Annie Laliana, Allison Wolfe, Molly Neuman, Erin Smith, Aaron Cometbus, Jack Curran, Lucky Dog, Mikey Mischief, Doc Frank, Jon Von Zelowitz and so many more. i know that's a lot of names. but those are all lives. those are the bricks of pop punk music. those are the foundation of the sound of bands you know. bands like simple plan, green day, blink-182, sum-41.

these are your architects.

Billie Joe Armstrong

[fantasy-vibes-with-the-magi]

Bratmobile Reunite for First Show in Over 20 Years

The punk band, featuring singer Allison Wolfe and drummer Molly Neuman, will perform at Oakland’s Mosswood Meltdown in July from RSS: News https://ift.tt/bT02thr

[neonscopecommunity]

Bratmobile Reunite for First Show in Over 20 Years

The punk band, featuring singer Allison Wolfe and drummer Molly Neuman, will perform at Oakland’s Mosswood Meltdown in July from RSS: News https://ift.tt/dCh7H63 via IFTTT

[bikinikillarchives]

THURSTON HEARTS THE WHO: performed at Sanctuary Theater, Washington DC, on April 4, 1992. a 2 day Rock for Choice benefit (organized by L7), which featured Fugazi, L7, and Scrawl (4/3/92.) this video shot by ourvoltage, and the audio featured on Bikini Kill’s self-titled 1992 ep, & 1994′s, “The CD Version Of The First Two Records.”

(1)

the song was written by drummer Tobi Vail and bassist Kathi Wilcox, “Whenever anyone played New York, everyone would talk about Kim and Thurston coming to the show as this idea of that’s how your band becomes “cool” or whatever. One night Kathi and I just made up this song as we were falling asleep and we ended up playing it live soon after — maybe a few days later. We thought it was funny. Reading the show review into the mic was in homage to “HC Rebellion” by Pussy Galore.” Kathleen on drums, Kathi on bass, Billy on guitar, while Tobi sings the lyrics* (*) over Molly Neuman of Bratmobile reading a bad review** (**) written about one of Bikini Kill’s live performances. (and later features Erika Reinstein screams when Kathleen passes her the mic :) )

photo taken by Pat Graham during the performance. (2)