Team Dresch is an American punk rock band originally formed in 1993 in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. Europea ...

. The band made a significant impression on the

DIY "Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...

punk movement

queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifical ...

, which gave voice through

zine A zine ( ; short for '' magazine'' or '' fanzine'') is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very s ...

s and music to the passions and concerns of

LGBT people The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and social ...

in the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

scene.

History

In 1993,

Donna Dresch Donna Dresch is an American punk rock musician, perhaps best known as founder, guitarist and bass guitarist of Team Dresch. Dresch has been actively involved in the queercore scene since the 1980s, as the creator of the fanzine ''Chainsaw'' an ...

formed Team Dresch with herself playing guitar and bass, Jody Bleyle on guitar and vocals, Kaia Wilson on guitar and vocals, and Marcéo Martinez on drums. Dresch and Bleyle met in the early 1990s, and together decided they wanted to form “an all-dyke band." Dresch has roots in the queercore movement, contributing to the zines ''

J.D.s ''J.D.s'' is a queer punk zine founded and co-published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada by G. B. Jones and Bruce LaBruce, that ran for eight issues from 1985 to 1991. " ''J.D.s'' is seen by many to be the catalyst that pushed the queercore scene i ...

'' and ''

Outpunk Outpunk enjoys the distinction of being the first record label entirely devoted to queer punk bands. The label was run out of San Francisco and began as an extension of Matt Wobensmith's fanzine, ''Outpunk''. ''Outpunk'' ran for seven issues, from ...

'', as well as writing her own, called ''Chainsaw''. Dresch's involvement in queercore influenced the band's style and involvement in the scene from the beginning. Team Dresch's first release was "Seven" on '' Rock Stars Kill'' in 1994, which generated enough attention for them to book multiple shows "all around the country," including the first

Yoyo a Go Go Yoyo A Go Go, usually abbreviated to Yoyo and often typeset in various ways, was an independent music festival in Olympia, Washington, first held in 1994 and followed by successor festivals in 1997, 1999, and 2001. Five- and six-day concert marat ...

in 1994. Today, Donna Dresch admits "people didn’t know who we were...

hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title ...

didn’t know what to make of a bunch of ’queer freaks’ onstage." In 1995 the four released their debut album, '' Personal Best'', co-released by

Chainsaw Records Chainsaw Records is an independent record label run by Donna Dresch that is devoted to Queercore bands. The label is in Portland, Oregon. History ''Chainsaw'' began life as a zine published by Donna Dresch in the late 1980s. Musicians and writ ...

and

Candy Ass Records Candy Ass Records was an independent record label in Portland, Oregon that was run by Jody Bleyle, a member of the bands Team Dresch and Hazel and of the queercore bands Family Outing and Infinite Xs. The label is best known for the 1995 relea ...

, Dresch's and Bleyle's record labels respectively. After the release of ''Personal Best'', drummer Marcéo Martinez was replaced by

Melissa York Melissa York is a rock drummer noted for her work with iconic lesbian bands such as Team Dresch, The Butchies, and Amy Ray. She lives in Durham, North Carolina. Biography York first began drumming with the New York-based hardcore punk band ...

, and the quartet put out ''

Captain My Captain ''Captain My Captain'' is the second and final studio album by the pioneering American queercore band Team Dresch. The album was released on June 4, 1996, by Chainsaw Records and Candy Ass Records. It was reissued in 2019 by Jealous Butcher Recor ...

'' in 1996, another co-release from Chainsaw and Candy Ass. ''Captain'' is often discussed as a more outwardly queer album than ''Personal Best'', with the former including lyrics such as "I'm a flaming S&M rubber dyke" and "queer sex is great." The album is also praised for its themes of mental illness and reassurance. Additionally in the late 90s, Team Dresch performed in and was interviewed for the 1997 documentary film '' She's Real (Worse Than Queer)'' by

Lucy Thane Lucy Thane (born 1967) is a British documentary filmmaker, event producer and performer, living in Folkestone. Her films include ''It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill in the UK'' (1993) and ''She's Real (Worse than Queer)'' (1997). Life and work Thane ...

, which showcased the 90's

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcul ...

and queercore scenes. Team Dresch disbanded in 1998 to work on individual projects. During this break, Jody Bleyle was interviewed for the 2001 German documentary Step Up and Be Vocal, Interviews zu Queer Punk und Feminismus in San Francisco by Uta Busch and Sandra Ortmann. In 2004, Team Dresch reunited to headline the Olympia queercore festival Homo-a-Go-Go, put together by the band's friend Ed. They discuss their activity since 2004 as "taking things day by day and enjoying ourselves." They performed sporadically, embarking on brief West and East coast tours throughout 2006 and 2007, including at California's Outfest. They played in Portland and Seattle in September 2009, as well as in Brazil for two Ladyfest shows in May 2010. They played some shows in the Pacific Northwest in 2014 in addition to some in 2017. Also in 2017, they appeared in Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution, a documentary by Yony Leyser. In March 2019, Team Dresch announced they would be reissuing their entire catalogue via Jealous Butcher Records in honor of the band's 25th anniversary. The reissue allowed Marcéo Martinez, who came out publicly as

transmasculine A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

in 2019, to have his name corrected in credits, which was "so important and necessary" for him to feel seen. They also released previously unheard music through Jealous Butcher Records with ''Choices, Chances, Changes: Singles & Comptracks 1994-2000.'' This all came alongside the release of a new video for the band's classic track "Fagetarian and Dyke." The new visual featured never-before-seen live footage of the group, offering a glimpse into the wild mosh pit-filled shows of their heyday. Along with the rerelease, they announced a US tour as well as a release of a new single, "Your Hands in My Pockets," the band's first new music in 19 years. Most recently, Team Dresch released the single "Story of the Earth" in July 2020. The "fast, raw, and simple" song was written in 2007 in response to a rise in colony collapse cases. On

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...

, the group stated that all proceeds from the single would be donated to the Trans Justice Funding Project.

Discography

Albums

*'' Personal Best'' (1995,

) *''

'' (1996,

) *''Choices, Chances, Changes: Singles & Comptracks 1994-2000'' (2019, Jealous Butcher Records)

Singles

*''Hand Grenade'' / ''Endtime Relay'' / ''Molasses In January'' 7-inch (1994,

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally kn ...

) *''The New Team Dresch V 6.0 Beta'' 7-inch (1998,

Outpunk Records Outpunk enjoys the distinction of being the first record label entirely devoted to queer punk bands. The label was run out of San Francisco and began as an extension of Matt Wobensmith's fanzine, ''Outpunk''. ''Outpunk'' ran for seven issues, from ...

) *''Your Hands in My Pockets'' digital (2019, Jealous Butcher Records) *''Story of the Earth'' digital (2020, Jackpot! Recording)

Split singles

*''Take On Me'' split tour 7-inch with

Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered the r ...

(1996, Banda Bonnet) *''What Can A Lover Do?'' split 7-inch with F-80, Shove, and Dahlia Seed (1996, Marigold Records) *''It's A Conversation'' split 7-inch with

Longstocking Longstocking were an America, Los Angeles-based queercore-punk band. Formed in 1995 by singer and guitarist Tamala Poljak, the group had originally been a guitar and drums duo with Poljak and drummer, Kevin Hair. Tamala had previously been in ...

(1998,

Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are oft ...

) *''Temporary Insurance'' split 7-inch with The Automaticons (2000, Mental Monkey Records)

Compilation appearances

*"Fake Fight" on ''Periscope'' (1994, Yoyo Recordings) *"Seven" on '' Rock Stars Kill'' (1994,

) *"Song For Anne Bannon" on '' Free To Fight'' (1995,

/ Chainsaw Records) *"She's Amazing" (live) and "The Lesbionic Story" on ''Yoyo A Go Go'' (1996, Yoyo Recordings) *"Hand Grenade" on ''Some Songs'' (1997, Kill Rock Stars) *"Deattached (A Maximum Volume Interpretation)" remix by Christoph de Babalon on ''Join The Queercorps'' (1998, Queercorps) *"Fake Fight" and "My Voice" on ''The Shiner Cassette'' (Slo-Mo Records)

References

External links

A fansite
{{DEFAULTSORT:Team Dresch All-female punk bands Punk rock groups from Washington (state) Queercore groups Riot grrrl bands Musical groups from Portland, Oregon LGBT-themed musical groups LGBT people from Oregon 1993 establishments in Washington (state) Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups disestablished in 1998 Musical groups reestablished in 2004 2004 establishments in Oregon