The Punk Singer Page #2

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And she told me that when she.

was on the stairs, she thought,

"I'm gonna finish my f***ing.

...symphony," and she just flipped.

...out and just, like, punched him

and got loose and got away.

And I came home, and she

was, like, all beat up.

I was like, "I have to make

sure this never happens again. "

I made a dress that said, "as he.

...drug her upstairs by her neck. "

I didn't even want to finish...

...but she was like, "you

have to finish it. "

So, I ended up making... That.

...project was just about me being

able to finish something.

And then I realized in the.

...middle of it, it wasn't

just about that.

It was, I had to take this

thing that had happened to my.

...friend... it had affected me

... And put it into my work.

I couldn't keep it out.

Like, it was just totally

impossible for me to keep it out.

I mean, I remember the first

time I saw her, it was like...

"who is this person that she.

...just has, like, this

commanding presence?"

She's just like, "yes, I'm doing.

...a fashion show in the

library building. "

You know what I mean?

It was like, "we're only 18,"

...like, you know what I mean?

What are you doing?

Kathleen and I, we

were both going to.

...evergreen state college.

Our friends had this idea

that was, like, called "the.

...revolution girl style now. "

That was sort of like our idea.

Like, "let's get all these girls.

...somehow to play instruments. "

I'd read Jigsaw,

Tobi's fanzine.

And she was one of the only

girls I knew around who was.

...talking about feminism and.

...punk rock kind of in

the same sentence.

Tobi was like, "Kathi, do you.

...know how to play

guitar or something?"

I was like, "no. "

"Do you know how to play bass?"

"No. "

She's like, "do you

want to start a band?"

I was like, "okay. "

Tobi was like, "I think we.

...should ask this girl

Kathleen to be the singer. "

I was like, "yeah, we should,"

'cause she's perfect

to be a singer.

You couldn't get

a better singer.

You couldn't ask for a

better front person.

And we all got together and.

...started playing at

Tobi's parents' house.

It was just the three of us

for, like, months and months.

We wanted a girl guitar player,

but we just couldn't do it.

We would have people

come and play with us.

But it just didn't work.

And then Tobi was kind of like...

"I think we should

ask my friend bill. "

And I'm like, "oh, I

guess we can try it. "

And then that was it.

We're bikini kill.

We're bikini kill,

and we want revolution.

Girl style now!

Hey, girlfriend, I

got a proposition.

Goes something like this.

Dare ya to do what you want

dare ya to be who you will

dare ya to cry

right out loud

you get so emotional, baby

double dare ya

double dare ya

double dare ya

What everybody said about us.

was that we couldn't play our.

...instruments, and we said, "and?"

We were a young band getting a

ton of attention in a scene.

where there were a ton of bands...

...and everybody wanted attention.

And we didn't realize it at the.

...time because we weren't

really that careerist.

We didn't give a sh*t.

We weren't making money.

We knew we were never gonna

make money, and it was really.

...important that we

made our music.

We were on a mission, and we

were gonna do what we did...

whether we got attention or not.

We were spreading the message on.

...the road at our shows, handing.

...out fliers, telling people

what we were doing.

Our fanzines were all about

feminism and political issues.

We just tried to take feminist.

...stuff that we read in books and.

...then filter it through

a punk rock lens.

Just wait.

Zoom in on that.

In a hundred years, this.

...footage will be worth quite

a bit of money... Not.

Fanzine by me, by me.

3- D cover.

Gonna be red.

It's gonna be red.

Ooh!

Giving me a flier at a show...

...handing it to me and smiling at.

...me, that's as much of the way

Kathleen communicates as when.

...she's on stage, singing

really powerful lyrics.

It was so great, you know?

She just presented all

of that, like, "kapow!

Here I am, and I'm gonna talk

like this, and I'm gonna sound.

...like a valley girl, and what I'm.

...gonna say is actually totally.

...brilliant, and you have

to take me seriously. "

I got a valley girl accent.

...from "the valley girl handbook,"

...and me and my best friend,

Angela cheever, we lived in.

Maryland, and we desperately

wanted to be the kind of girls.

who had credit cards.

I think we thought it made us.

...sound like we were, like, rich.

We thought it was

like a posh accent.

It goes to show that you can.

...be just, like, you know, I don't.

...know, some valley girl, and you

still can be smart and have.

...feminist ideas, and you still

should be listened to.

It was an exciting moment for.

...a lot of young

women, especially.

It was speaking to women and

wanting to connect with women.

And that I think is why the.

...intervention of bikini

kill was really necessary.

It was, like, basically

me and Tobi and Kathi.

We're like, "we're gonna take.

...over the punk rock

scene for feminists. "

You hold me down

you hold me down

like a magnet

She was, like, by, for, and.

...about women... Her

thing, their thing.

But they had Billy.

He was a boy.

But he was like... All boys

around her were kind of just...

"we kind of need you

to do some sh*t.

So, will you just do the sh*t,

'cause we are doing the top. "

I've got the love

that's strong and not weak

I've got the love that's

strong and not weak

I've got the love that's

strong and not weak

I've got the love that's

strong and not weak

Kathleen was very clear

and didn't hold back.

This is for all the f***ers.

She was just screaming

at the top of her lungs.

There were veins sticking

out of her neck.

Don't you need you

to say we're good

don't need you

to say we suck

don't need your protection

don't need your dick to f***

whaa

It was the first time I'd sen

a woman on stage completely.

...angry, aggressive, doing stuff.

...that you kind of see guys

do, and it was amazing.

Somebody had to be bikini kill.

Like, it had to happen, or else.

we'd have all starved

to death culturally.

It had to happen, and

there they were.

Girls to the front... That is.

...the thing that never

happened before.

Men could be in the room, but.

...men could never

dominate the room.

It was a flip of the script

that blew people's minds.

All of that incredibly rich stuff

that made punk what it was.

...had just been tamped down by

the boy mosh pit, you know?

Right when bikini kill

started, right when grunge was...

...like, going off the hook, right.

when nirvana was exploding,

it was a wild scene.

And it was very physical...

...violent, like, all the

moshing, all that stuff.

These young women, who wanted to.

...be a part of the scene, like

physically wanted to go to the.

...shows, wanted to get into this.

...punk rock scene, we physically

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