Team Dresch 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 originally formed in 1993 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 ...
.
History
In 1993,
Donna Dresch 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 has roots in the queercore movement, contributing to the zines ''
J.D.s'' and ''
Outpunk'', 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
''Rock Stars Kill'' is a compilation of various artists released by Kill Rock Stars on September 1, 1994. The compilation was released simultaneously as a vinyl LP with accompanying 7″ single, cassette, and CD.
Track listing LP
;Side one
# T ...
'' in 1994, which generated enough attention for them to book multiple shows "all around the country,"
including the first
Yoyo a Go Go in 1994. Today, Donna Dresch admits "people didn’t know who we were...
heydidn’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 and
Candy Ass Records, Dresch's and Bleyle's record labels respectively.
The album had sold over 20,000 copies by 2004.
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'' 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, 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. A subcultural movement ...
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
Outfest is an LGBTQ-oriented nonprofit that produces two film festivals, operates a movie streaming platform, and runs educational services for filmmakers in Los Angeles. Outfest is one of the key partners, alongside the Frameline Film Festival ...
. 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 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 music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...
, the group stated that all proceeds from the single would be donated to the Trans Justice Funding Project.
Discography
Albums
*''
Personal Best'' (1995,
Chainsaw Records /
Candy Ass Records)
*''
Captain My Captain'' (1996,
Chainsaw Records /
Candy Ass Records)
*''
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 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 ...
)
*"The New Team Dresch V 6.0 Beta" 7-inch (1998,
Outpunk Records)
*"Your Hands in My Pockets" digital (2019,
Jealous Butcher Records)
*"Story of the Earth" digital (2020,
Jealous Butcher Records)
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 originally consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail.
The band pio ...
(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 (1998,
Sub Pop
Sub Pop is an independent 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 (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...
)
*''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
''Rock Stars Kill'' is a compilation of various artists released by Kill Rock Stars on September 1, 1994. The compilation was released simultaneously as a vinyl LP with accompanying 7″ single, cassette, and CD.
Track listing LP
;Side one
# T ...
'' (1994,
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 ...
)
*"Song for Anne Bannon" on ''
Free to Fight'' (1995,
Candy Ass Records / 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)
See also
*
List of all-female bands
References
External links
*
A fansite
{{Authority control
All-female punk bands
Punk rock groups from Washington (state)
Queercore groups
Riot grrrl bands
Musical groups from Portland, Oregon
LGBTQ-themed musical groups
LGBTQ 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
Kill Rock Stars artists
Chainsaw Records artists
Candy Ass Records artists
Female-fronted musical groups