Bikini Kill is an American

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

band formed in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington. It had a population of 55,605 at the 2020 census, making it the state of Washington's 23rd-most populous city. Olympia is the county seat of Thurston County, and the central city ...

, in October 1990. The group originally consisted of singer and songwriter

Kathleen Hanna Kathleen Hanna (born November 12, 1968) is an American singer, musician and pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. She is the lead singer of feminist punk band Bikini Kill and fronted the electropunk band Le Tigre ...

, guitarist

Billy Karren William Francis Karren is an American musician, best known as the lead guitarist of the punk/riot grrrl band Bikini Kill, formed by Kathleen Hanna, with Karren, Tobi Vail and Kathi Wilcox. He was also active in many other music projects, includin ...

, bassist

Kathi Wilcox Kathi Lynn Wilcox (born November 19, 1969) is an American musician. She is the bass player in Bikini Kill and guitar player in the Casual Dots. She was also a member of the Julie Ruin and the Frumpies. Music Wilcox attended The Evergreen Stat ...

, and drummer

Tobi Vail Tobi Celeste Vail (born July 20, 1969) is an American independent musician, music critic and feminist activist from Olympia, Washington. She was a central figure in the riot grrl scene—she coined the spelling of "grrl"—and she started the z ...

. The band pioneered the

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. A subcultural movement ...

movement, with

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

lyrics and fiery performances. Their music is characteristically abrasive and hardcore-influenced. After two full-length albums, several EPs and two compilations, they disbanded in 1997. The band reunited for tours in 2019 and 2022, with Erica Dawn Lyle on guitar in place of Karren.

History

1990 – 1997: Formation and career

Bikini Kill formed in

, in October 1990, by

(vocals),

(guitar),

(bass), and

(drums). Hanna, Vail, and Wilcox met while attending

The Evergreen State College The Evergreen State College is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, Washington. Founded in 1967, it offers a non-traditional undergraduate curriculum in which students have the option to design their own study towards a degree or follow a ...

in Washington. Hanna also published a

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

called ''Bikini Kill'' for their first tours in 1991. The band wrote songs together and encouraged a female-centric environment at their shows, urging women to come to the front of the stage and handing out lyric sheets to them. Hanna would also dive into the crowd to personally remove male hecklers. Such male concertgoers would often verbally and physically assault Hanna during shows when the tickets were still inexpensive and easily procured. However, the band's reach included large male audiences as well as young women. Fellow

musician

Lois Maffeo Lois Maffeo (professionally known for much of her career as Lois) is an American musician and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. She has been closely involved with and influenced many independent musicians, especially in the 1990s-era O ...

originally adopted Bikini Kill as a band name, inspired by the 1967 B-movie ''

The Million Eyes of Sumuru ''The Million Eyes of Sumuru'', also known as ''The Million Eyes of Su-muru'' and ''Sumuru'', is a 1967 British-Hong Kong spy film directed by Lindsay Shonte and starring Frankie Avalon, George Nader and Shirley Eaton. It was produced by Harry ...

''. She and her friend Margaret Doherty used the name for a one-off performance in the late 1980s where they donned faux fur punk cave girl costumes. Vail liked the name and appropriated it after Maffeo settled on the band name Cradle Robbers. After an independent demo cassette, '' Revolution Girl Style Now'', Bikini Kill released the ''

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

'' EP on the

indie label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in February 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 it was orig ...

. Produced by

Ian MacKaye Ian Thomas Garner MacKaye (; born April 16, 1962) is an American musician. Active since 1979, he is best known as the co-founder and owner of Dischord Records, a Washington, D.C.–based independent record label, and the frontman of hardcore pu ...

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guita ...

and

Fugazi Fugazi (; ) is an American post-hardcore band formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They were noted for their style-transc ...

, the released help establish the band's audience. The band's debut album, ''

Pussy Whipped ''Pussy Whipped'' is the debut studio album by American punk rock band Bikini Kill. It was released on Kill Rock Stars on October 26, 1993. Critical reception David Browne of ''Entertainment Weekly'' called ''Pussy Whipped'' "the first great ...

'', was released in September 1993. Bikini Kill toured in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England to begin working with Huggy Bear, releasing a split album, ''Our Troubled Youth'' / ''

Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah ''Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah'' is the Bikini Kill side of a split album released in 1993 on Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in February 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washin ...

'', and touring the UK. The tour was the subject of a documentary film by Lucy Thane titled ''It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill in the U.K.'' Upon their return to the United States, the band began working with

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actress. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music#J, Godmother of Punk", she is regarded as a Pop icon, rock icon and ...

the Runaways The Runaways were an American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. Formed in 1975 in Los Angeles, the band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are " Cherry Bomb", " Holl ...

, whose music Hanna described as an early example of the Riot Grrrl aesthetic. Jett produced the single "New Radio"/ "Rebel Girl" for the band, and Hanna co-wrote several songs on Jett's '' Pure and Simple'' album. By the following year,

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. A subcultural movement ...

was receiving constant attention in the media, and Bikini Kill were increasingly referred to as pioneers of the movement. Hanna called for a "

media blackout A media blackout is the censorship of news related to a certain topic, particularly in mass media, for any reason. A media blackout may be self-imposed or voluntary or enforced by the government or State (polity), state. In countries with stro ...

" amongst Riot Grrrls, as they felt the band and the movement were being misrepresented by the media. The pioneer reputation endures but, as Hanna recalls, " ikini Kill wasvery vilified during the '90s by so many people, and hated by so many people, and I think that that's been kind of written out of the history. People were throwing chains at our heads – people hated us – and it was really, really hard to be in that band." The band's final album, '' Reject All American'', was released in 1996. After the band's breakup in 1997, a compilation of singles recorded between 1993 and 1995 was released in 1998 under the name '' The Singles''.

1998 – 2016: Post-breakup

During the summer of 1992, Karren, Wilcox, and Vail, along with

Molly Neuman Molly Neuman (born June 18, 1972) is an American drummer, writer and publisher, originally from the Washington, D.C. area who has performed in such influential bands as Bratmobile, the Frumpies, and the PeeChees. She was a pioneer of the earl ...

of Bratmobile, formed

The Frumpies The Frumpies were an American lo-fi punk rock band formed in 1992 in Olympia, Washington. The original line-up consisted of singers/guitarists Tobi Vail, Kathi Wilcox, and Billy Karren (all of whom were also a part of the riot grrrl band Bikin ...

, touring as late as the early 2000s along with a similar Italian punk rock band Dada Swing. Vail, notorious for her numerous

side project In popular music, a side project is a project undertaken by one or more people already known for their involvement in another band. It can also be an artist or a band temporarily switching to a different style. Usually these projects emphasize ...

s and being in several bands at a time, later resurfaced in a band called Spider and the Webs, and played with the Old Haunts until the band broke up in 2009. Kathi Wilcox played in the Casual Dots, who released albums in 2004 and 2022, and Billy Karren played in Ghost Mom. Hanna first contributed to an LP called ''Real Fiction'' as a member of the Fakes, and then turned to more dance-based

new wave music New wave is a music genre that encompasses pop music, pop-oriented styles from the 1970s through the 1980s. It is considered a lighter and more melodic "broadening of Punk subculture, punk culture". It was originally used as a catch-all fo ...

(with similar feminist lyrical themes) on her solo debut, '' Julie Ruin''. She then became a member of the political new wave outfit

Le Tigre Le Tigre (, ; French for "The Tiger") is an American art punk and riot grrrl band formed by Kathleen Hanna (of Bikini Kill), Johanna Fateman and Sadie Benning in 1998 in New York City. Benning left in 2000 and was replaced by JD Samson. ...

. After Le Tigre broke up, Hanna became the front woman of a band named after her solo project, The Julie Ruin, for which Wilcox plays bass. In February 2016, a pro-

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

clip utilizing the Bikini Kill song "Rebel Girl" began to go viral, but was taken down by Vail (who supported

Bernie Sanders Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...

in the primary).

2017 – present: Reunion tours

In 2017, Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox and Tobi Vail reunited to play one song at a book-release concert for Jenn Pelly's book about the Raincoats. On January 15, 2019, Bikini Kill announced four U.S. shows, in New York and Los Angeles. The lineup for these shows included Hanna, Wilcox, Tobi Vail and touring guitarist Erica Dawn Lyle, who replaced Billy Karren in the lineup. The first show was April 25 at the

Hollywood Palladium The Hollywood Palladium is a theater (building), theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and ...

with

Alice Bag Alicia "Alice" Armendariz (born 7th November 1958), also known as Alice Bag, is an American punk rock singer and author. She is the lead vocalist and co-founder of Bags (Los Angeles band), the Bags, one of the earliest punk bands to form in Lo ...

as opener. In June the band played two European dates, in

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Lon ...

, supported by Big Joanie, and with the Tuts and Child's Pose opening. On September 15, they headlined the third day of the

Riot Fest Riot Fest is an annual three-day punk rock music festival held at Douglass Park in Chicago, Illinois. It is known for booking reunions, guest performances, and full album performances. Riot Fest is one of the largest independently-owned music fe ...

event in Chicago. On November 6, 2019, Bikini Kill announced a thirteen-date North American Tour for 2020, beginning in

. The lineup for these shows was the same for the previous dates in 2019, and was scheduled to start March 13, 2020 at Olympia's Capitol Theater. The remainder of the West Coast tour included shows in Victoria, B.C., where they were to be supported by Mecca Normal, and in Portland supported by the Lithics. The tour also included some European dates in June and August, including Oslo's Øya Festival. The tour was rescheduled to 2022 in the wake of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. In October 2022 the band announced an Australian tour for March 2023, their first Australian shows in 26 years, touring to

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, the

Golden Plains Festival The Golden Plains Festival is held over three days during the Victorian Labour Day long-weekend on private farmland in Victoria, Australia. The nearest rural town is Meredith, which is between the regional cities of Geelong and Ballarat. The ...

in country

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

and at the

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

. Hanna, Wilcox and Vail were joined by touring guitarist Sara Landeau, who played with both Hanna and Wilcox in The Julie Ruin. Vail also fell ill for part of the tour, leaving the band's Australian drum tech Lauren Hammel (also of

Tropical Fuck Storm Tropical Fuck Storm are an Australian rock band and supergroup from Melbourne, Victoria, formed by Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin from The Drones. Lauren Hammel, from the band High Tension, plays drums, and Erica Dunn, from the bands M ...

) to fill in on drums for the Victorian shows. Early in 2020, in an interview with ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'', Hanna stated that the band had no plans at the time to create new material.

Members

Current members *

– lead vocals (1990–1997, 2017, 2019–present), bass (1990–1991, 2017, occasionally: 1991–1997, 2019–present) *

– drums, occasional lead vocals (1990–1997, 2017, 2019–present) *

– bass, occasional drums (1991–1997, 2017, 2019–present), backing vocals (1990–1997, 2017, 2019–present), guitar (1990–1991, 2017, occasionally: 1991–1997, 2019–present) Current touring musicians * Sara Landeau – guitar, occasional bass (2022–present) Former members *

– guitar, occasional bass (1990–1997) Former touring musicians * Erica Dawn Lyle – guitar, occasional bass (2017, 2019, 2022) * Lauren Hammel – drums (2023)

Timeline

Discography

*'' Revolution Girl Style Now'' cassette (self-released) (1991) *''

'' LP (

) (1993) – Split with Huggy Bear *''

'' (Kill Rock Stars) (1993) *'' Reject All American'' (Kill Rock Stars) (1996) *'' The Singles'' CD (Kill Rock Stars/Bikini Kill) (1998/2018) – Reissue also available as a 12" EP

References

External links

*
Kathleen Hanna's Bikini Kill Archive
at '' WordPress.com''
Bikini Kill
at ''tigerbomb.net''
Bikini Kill
at ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''
Hanna And Her Sisters
at ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

''
Kathleen Hanna Papers
in th
Riot Grrrl Collection
a
Fales Library & Special Collections
at New York University Special Collections {{Authority control Kill Rock Stars Punk rock groups from Washington (state) Musical groups from Olympia, Washington Radical feminism Riot grrrl bands Third-wave feminism Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 1997 Musical groups reestablished in 2019 American musical quartets American feminist musicians American women in electronic music Mixed-gender bands 1990 establishments in Washington (state) Female-fronted musical groups