Musicians - Tobi Vail

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	Musicians - Tobi Vail

Tobi Vail is an underground musician, fanzine writer, rock critic and feminist theorist from Olympia, Washington, USA.

Her first band was The Go Team with Calvin Johnson that existed from 1985 to 1989. The group released 9 singles, as well as several cassettes, on the independent label K Records. Billy Karren was one of the rotating musicians who played with The Go Team and it was in this band that he and Tobi played together for the first time. Other guest musicians included Kurt Cobain (with whom Tobi was romantically linked), Rich Jenson, David Nichols, and Donna Dresch. The Go Team toured the West Coast as a two piece, adding Billy Karren for two U.S. tours.

Tobi was also in an all teenage girl band called Doris at this time (1986-1988). Doris played shows around the northwest with Beat Happening, Spook and the Zombies, Rich Jenson, Oklahoma Scramble and Snake Pit. They made a demo tape, which was recorded by Steve Ross (Cactus Love, the Briefs), but never released.

After the demise of The Go Team Tobi played in various project bands and made a record as the drummer for Some Velvet Sidewalk. She was present at early Earth practices but never played a show with them.

She is best known as the drummer/sometimes singer of Bikini Kill, (1990-1997) one of the key instigators of punk rock feminism. The other band members were Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox and Billy Karren, Tobi's former Go Team bandmate. Widely scorned by critics and show go-er's around the globe , Bikini Kill persevered and today are largely credited, along with Bratmobile, with starting Riot Grrl, a movement that merged Do It Yourself culture with feminism, enouraging girls to start bands, participate in the making of culture and create their own self-produced media. The band released several classic LPs and singles on the label Kill Rock Stars and toured extensively, which helped make the movement a popular one. In England, they were filmed for the movie It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill In the U.K. by Lucy Thane and appeared in other small independent films, all of which helped carry their message further afield. Members of both Bikini Kill and Bratmobile made fanzines ; Tobi and Kathleen Hanna together producing Bikini Kill and Riot Grrl; Molly Neuman and Allison Wolfe of Bratmobile creating Girl Germs; these zines are credited as the first manifestos of Riot Grrl. The word 'grrl' was coined in Tobi's seminal girl journal, Jigsaw. (1988-present). Along with Chainsaw and Sister Nobody, Jigsaw was one of the first northwest punk zines to address gender issues explicitly and is widely considered to be one of the major catalysts of Revolution Girl Style Now. Other inspirations often cited are Mecca Normal, G.B. Jones, Calamity Jane, Babes in Toyland, Donna Dresch, and Queercore.

In 1992 Tobi started The Frumpies with Kathi Wilcox, Billy Karren and Molly Neuman. The Frumpies wrote and recorded several singles, most of which are compiled on the Kill Rock Stars release Frumpie One Piece. The Frumpies toured the U.S. with Huggy Bear in 1993 and Italy with Dada Swing in 2000. Project bands Tobi was in in the 90's include Severed Lethargy, Spray Painted Love, Listen to the Elephants and the Feebles. She appeared as a guest on records made by Mary Lou Lord, Phranc, Nation of Ulysses and Bangs. Tobi started a cassette label called Bumpidee in 1994 and released music by Worst Case Scenario, the Corrections, the Bonnot Gang and the Slatternlies. Each tape came with a newsletter called The Bumpidee Times, which contextualized each release.

Since Bikini Kill broke up Tobi has played in several groups, including the Up All Nighters, Frenchie and the German Girls, Gene Defcon and Davies vs. Dresch. She currently plays in Spider and the Webs and Panic of the Square. She is also one of the founders of Bands Against Bush and Ladyfest. Tobi does solo work using the names Chopped Liver, Sabrina, and Tobi Celeste. Her most recent publications are Spider Magic, Feminists Against Bush and Pogo for Peace.

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