The Gits were an American punk rock band formed in
Yellow Springs, Ohio
Yellow Springs is a village in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 3,697 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is home to Antioch College.
History
The area of the village had long b ...
, in 1986. As part of the burgeoning Seattle music scene of the early 1990s, they were known for their fiery live performances. Members included singer Mia Zapata, guitarist Joe Spleen (born Andy Kessler), bassist Matt Dresdner and drummer Steve Moriarty.Jeffries, Vincent The Gits Biography ,
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
, retrieved May 7, 2012 They dissolved in 1993 after the murder of Zapata.
During their existence, the band released two studio albums, one compilation of early recordings, one live recording, three 7" singles and appeared on various compilations. The band recorded on a few independent labels, and released its two studio albums on C/Z Records. In 2003, each release in the band's discography was remastered and expanded with bonus tracks on Broken Rekids.
History
Formation and early history
The Gits met and formed in 1986 at
Antioch College
Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its ...
, a
liberal arts
Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...
school in Yellow Springs, Ohio. They called themselves the 'Snivelling Little Rat Faced Gits' (a reference to a Monty Python skit), but soon shortened the moniker to just 'The Gits'. In 1988 they recorded and self-released their "unofficial" debut album entitled ''Private Lubs'' with the help of friend Ben London (later of
Alcohol Funnycar
Alcohol Funnycar was an American rock band from Seattle, Washington.
The band was formed in 1991 by Ben London, an Ohio native, in Seattle. Bassist Tommy "Bonehead" Simpson was a former member of Love Battery and Crisis Party.Kings & Queens''.
Local following
After relocating to
Seattle, Washington
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...
The Seattle Times
''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington ...
'', May 26, 2005, retrieved May 7, 2012 They quickly earned a following in the local scene and gained many friends, particularly in the city's punk rock community. During the early 1990s, buzz began surrounding the band, which caused some media outlets to erroneously lump them in with the then-burgeoning Seattle grunge music scene, and Zapata's persona led many to incorrectly associate The Gits with the
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 ...
riot grrrl movement.
The band's first official release was "Precious Blood", released by the local Big Flaming Ego Records. This single was quickly followed up by two more releases (" Second Skin" on Broken Rekids (1991), " Spear & Magic Helmet" on Empty Records (1991), as well as the ''Bobbing For Pavement'' compilation (Rathouse/Broken Rekids, 1991).
In 1992 the band recorded and released their debut album, '' Frenching the Bully''.
Murder of Mia Zapata
On the night of July 7, 1993, Mia Zapata was brutally raped and murdered while walking home from a bar, The Comet. The
Seattle Police Department
The Seattle Police Department (SPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the city of Seattle, Washington, United States, except for the campus of the University of Washington, which is under the responsibility of its own police department ...
initially focused their investigation on Zapata's circle of friends, believing that her murderer must have been someone she knew. Using funds generated by the Seattle music community (from benefit shows and CDs), as well as their own money, the remaining band members hired private investigator Leigh Hearon to supplement the police department's investigation. For over three years, Hearon and the Seattle Police Department investigated the crime with few or no breaks in the case. In 1996, the investigation first gained national attention in an episode of '' Unsolved Mysteries''. It however did not open any new leads. The case was later highlighted on several other TV shows including A&E's ''
American Justice
''American Justice'' is an American criminal justice television program airing on the A&E Network. From 1992–2005, the show was hosted by television reporter Bill Kurtis. The show features interesting or notable cases, such as the murder ...
'', ''
Cold Case Files
''Cold Case Files'' is a reality legal show/ documentary on the cable channel A&E Network and the rebooted series on Netflix. It is hosted by Bill Kurtis and the original series produced by Tom Golden. The show documents the investigation o ...
'', ''
City Confidential
''City Confidential'' is an American documentary television show, originally transmitted on the A&E Network, which singled out a community during each episode and investigated a crime that had occurred there. Rather than being a straightforward ...
'',
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
TruTV
TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts comedy, docusoaps and reality shows.
The channel was originally launched in 1991 as Court TV, a network that fo ...
's ''
Forensic Files
''Forensic Files'', originally known as ''Medical Detectives'', is an American documentary television program that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes, mysterious accidents, and outbreaks of illness. The show was orig ...
''.
Nine years passed with few new leads in the case, until a random DNA check conducted by the Seattle PD's Cold Case Unit and the Washington State Crime Lab led to the arrest of Jesus Mezquia. Mezquia, who briefly lived in Seattle during the time of Zapata's murder, was linked to the crime in 2003 when a DNA profile was extracted from a saliva sample left on Zapata's body;Johnson, Gene (2003) Florida Man Held for '93 Slaying of Punk Singer – Mia Zapata of The Gits was strangled in July 1993 , '' Yakima Herald-Republic'', January 12, 2003, retrieved May 7, 2012 via
Highbeam Research
HighBeam Research was a paid search engine and full text online archive owned by Gale, a subsidiary of Cengage, for thousands of newspapers, magazines, academic journals, newswires, trade magazines, and encyclopedias in English. It was head ...
Mezquia had bitten her breast. The saliva sample had been kept in cold storage until the STR technology was developed for full extraction. An original entry in 2001 failed to generate a positive result, but Mezquia's DNA entered the national data bank after he was arrested for burglary in Florida in 2002.
On March 25, 2004, a jury convicted Mezquia of Zapata's murder and he was later sentenced to 36 years in prison, the maximum allowed in the case under Washington state law.Johnson, Tracy (2004) Singer's Killer Gets 37 Years: Mia Zapata's Friends Fill Courtroom for Sentencing of Jesus Mezquia , ''
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States.
The newspaper was f ...
'', May 1, 2004, retrieved May 7, 2012 via
Highbeam Research
HighBeam Research was a paid search engine and full text online archive owned by Gale, a subsidiary of Cengage, for thousands of newspapers, magazines, academic journals, newswires, trade magazines, and encyclopedias in English. It was head ...
Mezquia died on January 21, 2021.
Legacy
Home Alive
In the aftermath of Zapata's murder, friends created a
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
self-defense
Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force ...
group called
Home Alive
Home Alive is a Seattle-based anti-violence organization that offers self-defense classes on a sliding scale payment system. Home Alive once operated as a non-profit organization and now continues to operate as a volunteer collective. Home Alive ...
, which ceased operations in 2010, organized
benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...
s and CDs with the participation of several bands, including
Nirvana
( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...
Heart
The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to t ...
, and the Presidents of the United States of America. The Home Alive group has its own instructors and seek to empower women with ways to protect themselves against predators. They hold a range of courses, from
anger management
Anger management is a psycho-therapeutic program for anger prevention and control. It has been described as deploying anger successfully.Schwarts, Gil. July 2006. Anger Management', July 2006 The Office Politic. Men's Health magazine. Emmaus, PA: ...
and use of
pepper spray
Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, ...
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...
-based
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
hardcore
Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to:
Arts and media Film
* ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film
* ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott
* ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
band Retching Red included a Gits cover ("Spear and Magic Helmet") on their debut album ''Get Your Red Wings''. Also, the
alt-country
Alternative country, or alternative country rock (sometimes alt-country, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative), is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that differ significantly in style ...
tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conqu ...
song to the band, called "The Gits".
Punk rock band 7 Year Bitch, who were good friends and briefly label mates of The Gits, named their 1994 album ''
¡Viva Zapata!
''¡Viva Zapata!'' is the second album by the American punk band 7 Year Bitch. It was released June 28, 1994, on Seattle-based C/Z Records. It was their first record to feature new guitarist Roisin Dunne who had replaced Stefanie Sargent in 199 ...
'' in tribute to Mia Zapata. The album cover also featured a painting by artist Scott Musgrove featuring Zapata wearing bullet sashes. The song "M.I.A.", which explicitly deals with Zapata's death, appears on this album.
Films
In 1996, '' Hype!''—a documentary about the Seattle scene, featuring The Gits—came out. Nine years later, in 2005, a movie chronicling the life of Mia Zapata during her time with The Gits was released. The final cut of the film was released theatrically in over 20 North American cities on July 7, 2008, the 15th memorial anniversary of Zapata's death. The following day saw the film released on DVD along with a ''Best of the Gits'' CD (both from Liberation Entertainment).
The story of the Gits was made into a "lively and engaging" documentary film, titled simply ''The Gits'', and reflected a renewed interest in the band. The film, directed by Kerri O'Kane, had its first screenings in 2005 at the
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. The SIFF runs for more th ...
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
. In her review for
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
, Sarah Bardeen found that "Above all, we fall for the music. Compared to many of their contemporaries, the Gits were instrumentally brilliant, playing fast, tight, classic punk rock which took a radical left turn when Zapata added her voice to the mix".
Related projects
Following the posthumous completion of '' Enter: The Conquering Chicken'', Spleen formed a hardcore punk band called the Dancing French Liberals of '48, and later toured briefly with hardcore legends Poison Idea.Woodlief, Mark & Robbins, Ira Gits , ''
Trouser Press
''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...
'', retrieved May 7, 2012 Dancing French Liberals of '48 featured all of the remaining Gits as well as longtime friend and guitarist Julian Gibson (ex-DC Beggars). Their music was, as expected, much in the vein of the Gits although with a more
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier p ...
attitude. Together the Liberals issued an EP (''Scream Clown Scream'') and a full-length album (''Powerline'') on the Broken Rekids label before disbanding in the late 1990s.
Following Zapata's death,
Joan Jett
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...
and
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 th ...
frontwoman
Kathleen Hanna
Kathleen Hanna (born November 12, 1968) is an American singer, musician, artist, feminist activist, pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. In the early-to-mid-1990s she was the lead singer of feminist punk band B ...
co-wrote a song (entitled "Go Home") inspired by Zapata's death. Jett also included a message at the end of her video for the song asking for any information anyone had in regard to Zapata's murder. After seeing the video the remaining members of the Gits approached Jett about touring with the band. Jett agreed as she had long been a fan of The Gits. The band renamed themselves Evil Stig (''Gits Live'' backwards), and toured in early 1995 playing a mix of Gits and Joan Jett songs, with a majority of the profits going towards Zapata's murder investigation. A self-titled album was issued later in the year, again with a majority of the profits going towards the investigation.Marsh, Steven P. (1995) The Riot Grrrl Returns, with a Vengeance , '' The Record'', September 8, 1995, retrieved May 7, 2012 via
Highbeam Research
HighBeam Research was a paid search engine and full text online archive owned by Gale, a subsidiary of Cengage, for thousands of newspapers, magazines, academic journals, newswires, trade magazines, and encyclopedias in English. It was head ...
While touring and recording with Evil Stig, Spleen, Dresdner and Moriarty also continued playing with the Dancing French Liberals of '48.
Moriarty later appeared in the punk rock band St. Bushmill's Choir as well as the more acoustic based Pinkos. In January 2012 Moriarty conducted a comprehensive audio interview with Music Life Radio about his life and career with extensive references to The Gits.
Precious Blood
Blood of Christ, also known as the Most Precious Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in Christian theology refers to (a) the physical blood actually shed by Jesus Christ primarily on the Cross, and the salvation which Christianity teaches was accomp ...
" b/w "Seaweed" and "Kings & Queens" (Big Flaming Ego Records) (1990)
* " Second Skin" b/w "Social Love" (Broken Rekids) (1991)
* " Spear And Magic Helmet" b/w "While You're Twisting, I'm Still Breathing" (Empty Records) (1991)
Appearances/Soundtrack contributions
* "Here's to Your Fuck" and "Ain't Got No Right" on ''Bobbing For Pavement: The Rathouse Compilation'' (Rathouse/Broken Rekids) (1991)
* "Drinking Song" on ''Power Flush: San Francisco, Seattle & You'' (Broken Rekids) (1993)
* "Guilt Within Your Head" and "Social Love (Live)" on ''Home Alive: The Art Of Self-Defense'' ( Epic Records) (1996)
* "Second Skin (Live)" on ''Hype! The Motion Picture Soundtrack'' (
Sub Pop Records
Sub is a common abbreviation of words beginning with the prefix "sub-". Sub or SUB may also refer to
Places
* Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB
Computing and technology
* , an HTML tag for subscript
* SUB designate ...
) (1996)
* "Seaweed" on ''Cool Beans #13-Eviction Compilation'' (Cool Beans!/Broken Rekids) (2000)
* "Another Shot of Whiskey" on ''Wild and Wooly: The Northwest Rock Collection'' (
Experience Music Project
The Museum of Pop Culture or MoPOP is a nonprofit museum in Seattle, Washington, dedicated to contemporary popular culture. It was founded by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2000 as the Experience Music Project. Since then MoPOP has organized ...
/
Sub Pop Records
Sub is a common abbreviation of words beginning with the prefix "sub-". Sub or SUB may also refer to
Places
* Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB
Computing and technology
* , an HTML tag for subscript
* SUB designate ...
) (2000)
* "Whirlwind" on ''Girls Kick Ass'' (Vitaminepillen) (2001)
* "Absynthe" on ''Whatever: The 90's Pop & Culture Box'' (
Rhino
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
/ WEA) (2005)
* "Another Shot of Whiskey" on ''Sleepless In Seattle: The Birth of Grunge'' (LiveWire Recordings) (2006)
* "Second Skin" on ''Blood On The Flat Track: The Rise Of The Rat City Rollergirls'' CDr (2009) - Documentary soundtrack
* "Absynthe" on ''Teen Spirit (Mojo Presents 15 Noise-Filled Classics From The American Underground)'' (
Mojo Magazine
''Mojo'' is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom, initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer. Following the success of the magazine '' Q'', publishers Emap were looking for a title that would cater for the bur ...
Blackheart Records
Blackheart Records is an American record label founded by rock musicians Joan Jett and Kenny Laguna. Artists include The Eyeliners, Girl in a Coma, the Cute Lepers, the Dollyrots, The Vacancies, Fea (band), Fea, Jackknife Stiletto, L7 (band), L7, ...