Bikini Kill

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• Genre: Riot Grrrl
• Hometown: Olympia

About

Bikini Kill will always be remembered as the pioneers of the Riot Grrrl movement. Their loyal fan base started in 1991 like most classic grassroots followings do -- a lot of raucous live shows and tapes for sale in the back. By the time of their first "official" release in '91, a self-titled EP on the Kill Rock Stars label, they were the leading light of the female empowering movement called "riot grrrl." The band continued to record and release regularly over the next eighteen months, splitting an album side with Huggy Bear ("Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah"), releasing a self-titled LP and a three song EP ("New Radio") before releasing their definitive Pussy Whipped LP in '93 at their peak. The next couple of years would see a couple of uneven releases, The Anti-Pleasure Dissertation EP 7" in '95 and Reject All-American in '96, before the band disintegrated into a number of side projects. Bikini Kill's significance in the Indie Rock world will always be as a strong purveyor of raw, heads-up music encouraging women to come to the forefront of not only the stage, but of their own lives.

- Mike Cloward