Tobi Vail

Tobi Vail is a musician, founder of fanzine, critical rock'n'roll and feminist theorician born with Olympia (State of Washington, the United States of America).

She officiated in The Go TEAM, with Calvin Johnson, of 1985 to 1989, group with which she will leave 9 individual on the independent label K Records. Billy Karren was musician temporary in The Go TEAM and it is of this experiment that left long collaboration between him and Tobi Vail. The other musicians having appeared in the adventure were Kurt Cobain (with which Tobi Vail have a relation until 1990), Rich Jenson, David Nichols and Donna Dresch.

Tobi Vail also played in the female group Doris between 1986 and 1988, the group turned in the North-West of the United States but never managed to leave disc.

With the separation of The Go TEAM, Tobi Vail took part in multiple musical projects such as Some Velvet Sidewalk and Earth.

Tobi Vail remains nevertheless more known for its big role of threshing-machine/singer of the group Bikini Kill (1990-1997), one of the most outstanding instigators of the movement Punk feminist rock'n'roll. With its three other members: Kathleen Hanna, Kathi Wilcox and Billy Karren, Bikini Kill was very quickly supported by criticism independent of the whole world. With Bratmobile, the group is unanimously credited today for the driving role which he played in the emergence of the movement Riot grrrl. This movement, emerging from the culture C It Yourself (DIY) and there introducing the set of themes of the Feminism, encouraged the girls to create their own group, has to take part in the creation of a culture as has their own media and productions. The group carried out several albums all become of traditional and available on the label Kill Rock Stars. Follower of long rounds and untiring, Bikini Kill contributed largely to the popularity of the movement riot grrrl. Boiling of this time was drawn the film It Changed My Life: Kill bikini In The U.K. , realized in England by Lucy Thane like in other productions recalling the vitality of the scene revolving around the group. Tobi Vail and Kathleen Hannah created the fanzines Bikini Kill and Riot Grrrl ; these publications can be regarded as first proclamations of the movement Riot Grrrl. The fanzine Jigsaw was then creates by Tobi Vail and was one of the first fanzines Western North of the United States to introduce the questions of kind into the scene Punk and it will hold an important role in the emergence of the movement Revolution Girl Style Now.

In 1992, Tobi Vail created The Frumpies with Kathi Wilcox, Billy Karren and Molly Neuman. The group will produce several individual that one can find joined together on Frumpie One Piece, once more left on the label Kill Rock Stars. Always extremely active, Tobi Vail will appear in a multitude of groups during the Nineties: Severed Lethargy, Spray Painted Coils, Listen To The Elephants and The Feebles. One also finds it on the discs of Mary Lou Lord, Phranc, Nation Off Ulysses and Bangs.

In 1994, Tobi Vail continues its activism by creating the label Bumpidee. This any small structure will allow nevertheless the groups Worst Case Scenario, The Corrections, The Bonnot Gang and The Slatternlies to leave their first songs. Distributed on cassettes, these pieces all were joined of a letter contextualisant each one of them.

Since the separation of Kill Bikini in 1997, Tobi Vail played new in various groups like Up All Nighters, Frenchie And The German Girls, Gene Defcon like Davies vs. Dresch. Spider And The Webs and Panic In The Square is its last projects in date.

Tobi Vail is member founder of the initiative Bands Against Bush insistent on the need for a debate citizen and democratic in order to prevent the re-election of George W. Bush to the presidency of the United States and incentive the young people with going to vote. It was also one of the initiators of the Ladyfest: gathering festivals of the feminist artists rock'n'rolls and lesbians and whose organization exceeded the borders of the United States quickly.

Its more recent publications are: Spider Magic , Feminist Against Bush and Pogo For Peace .

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