Tobi Vail
Tobi Vail is an underground musician, fanzine writer, rock critic and feminist theorist from Olympia, Washington, USA.Her first band was The Go Team with Calvin Johnson. (1985-1989). The group released 9 singles, as well as several cassettes, on independent label K Records. Billy Karren was one of the rotating musicians who played with The Go Team and it was in this band that he and Tobi played together for the first time. Other guest musicians included the Legend!, Rich Jenson, David Nichols, Kurt Cobain and Donna Dresch. The Go Team toured the west coast as a two piece, adding Billy Karren for two U.S. tours.Tobi was also in an all teenage girl band called Doris at this time. (1986-1988). Doris played shows around the northwest with Beat Happening, Spook and the Zombies, Rich Jenson, Oklahoma Scramble and Snake Pit. They made a demo tape, which was recorded by Steve Ross. (Cactus Love, the Briefs), but never released. After the Go Team Tobi played in various project bands and made a record as the drummer for Some Velvet Sidewalk. She was present at early Earth practices but never played a show with them.She is best known as the drummer/sometimes singer of Bikini Kill, (1990-1997) one of the key instigators of punk rock feminism. Widely scorned by critics and show go-er's around the globe , Bikini Kill persevered and today are largely credited with starting Riot Grrl, a young feminist movement that enouraged girls to start bands, participate in the making of culture and create their own self-produced media. The band released several classic LPs and singles on the label Kill Rock Stars and toured extensively, which helped make the movement a popular one. In England, they were filmed for the movie ''It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill In the U.K.'' by Lucy Thane and appeared in other small independent films, all of which helped carry their message further afield.
Members of Bikini Kill and Bratmobile made fanzines ; Tobi and Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill producing "Bikini Kill", Molly and Allison of Bratmobile creating ''Girl Germs''. The word grrl was coined in Tobi's seminal girl journal, "Jigsaw". (1988-present). Along with Chainsaw and Sister Nobody, Jigsaw was one of the first northwest punk zines to address gender issues explicitly and is widely considered to be one of the major catalysts of the Revolution Girl Style Now. Other inspirations often cited are Mecca Normal, Donna Dresch, Calamity Jane, Babes in Toland, G.B. Jones and Homocore.In 1992 Tobi started the Frumpies with Kathi Wilcox, Billy Karren and Molly Neuman. The Frumpies wrote and recorded several singles, most of which are compiled on the Kill Rock Stars release "Frumpie One Piece". The Frumpies toured the U.S. with Huggy Bear in 1993 and Italy with Dada Swing in 2000. Project bands Tobi was in in the 90's include Severed Lethargy, Spray Painted Love, Listen to the Elephants and the Feebles. She appeared as a guest on records made by Mary Lou Lord, Phranc, Nation of Ulysses and Bangs.
Tobi started a cassette label called Bumpidee in 1994 and released music by Worst Case Scenario, the Corrections, the Bonnot Gang and the Slatternlies. Each tape came with a newsletter called "the Bumpidee Times", which contextualized each release.Since Bikini Kill broke up Tobi has played in several groups, including the Up All Nighters, Frenchie and the German Girls, Gene Defcon and Davies vs. Dresch. She currently plays in Spider and the Webs and Panic of the Square. She is also one of the founders of Bands Against Bush and Ladyfest. Tobi does solo work using the names Chopped Liver, Sabrina, and Tobi Celeste. Her most recent publications are Spider Magic, Feminists Against Bush and Pogo for Peace.