First off the entire band is between 13 and 18 years old. They’re from LA. And they are on Epitaph, which is huge street cred on its own. And they were “discovered” by Amy Poehler. Oh yeah, they’ve opened for Bikini Kill. They have chops. Stop reading and play some of their videos.
Sunday Preview – Sleater-Kinney
Here’s a preview for my top draw for Sunday. Sunday didn’t jump out me but these ladies coupled with the Yeah Yeah Yeahs really elevate Sunday. I have to admit I didn’t follow them that closely during their first run. They click many of the boxes…Riot grrrrl, Pacific Northwest, SubPop label, punkish females. But when I became a fan of Portlandia I went back and listened. For those unaware, Carrie Brownstein co-starred with Fred Armison on Portlandia. She’s also Sleater-Kinney’s guitarist and co-singer. Here’s a sampling of Portlandia…
Ok, about Sleater-Kinney. They started as a three piece and their drummer left a few years ago leaving Carrie and Corin as the only members, backfilled by touring musicians. They’re named after an exit south of Seattle.
Formed in the early nineties and active for about 10 years putting out seven albums before going on the dreaded “hiatus” after playing 2006 Lollapalooza in Grant Park (with The Raconteurs, RHCP, Death Cab, Violent Femmes). Reformed in 2014 and have put out three new albums. We should be more familiar with them.
Riot Fest 2019 Countdown 7 – Skating Polly
This week we’re going five wide Monday through Friday. So much to catch up on, so little time until Riot Fest. This time I dove deep into the lineup poster. One each from lines 11 to 15. I never heard any of them before but I think they’re worthy of a preview, especially based on the success we’ve had with similar bands in the past. Three are female led (Wolf Alice and Potty Mouth) and two are duos (T0P and Slaves).
Skating Polly remind me of Potty Mouth. They definitely follow the path set by Bikini Kill as a Riot Grrrl band. Led by step-sisters, they’ve put out five albums since 2011. So they’ve been busy. Their first album was produced by Excene Cervanka of X, so they got their punk street cred right away. From Oklahoma, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Just not a normal hotbed of punk like Virginia Beach.
Before we get to Skating Polly videos, let’s revisit Riot Grrrl again. Here’re a few museum pieces from Seattle’s Museum of Popular Culture (you gotta check this place out if in Seattle, especially if you even vaguely appreciate Pearl Jam and Nirvana) dedicated to Riot Grrl bands, including a few copies of the fanzine published by one of Riot Fest’s headliners. Feminist punk is alive and well at Riot Fest and you gotta love it!
