User:Hrsmith2/Allison Wolfe

Wolfe and Molly Neuman wrote about rock music's pervasive sexism in their influential punkzines, Girl Germs and Riot Grrrl. They took those themes to music when they joined with Washington, DC guitarist Erin Smith to form their own band, Bratmobile, in 1991. Wolfe met Neuman, the guitarist of Bratmobile, in college at Evergreen State. Her friendship with Neuman was the basis for the band. Wolfe introduced Neuman to lo-fi pop music of her hometown bands, while Neuman emphasized the importance of feminism to Wolfe. Neuman found her passion for feminism from her commitment to racial justice, stemming from her father, who worked for the Democratic National Committee. The pair attended activist groups together and took women's studies courses in college. Their friendship was also centered around music, as they frequently explored Eugene, Oregon's music scene and made trips to Olympia, Washington to listen to bands. Wolfe enjoyed these Olympia area bands because the music was available for everyone to make and did not have strict rules. After encouragement from friends and others in the Olympia music scene, Wolfe and Neuman decided to start their own fanzine, Girl Germs. After the creation of their zine, they sought out to start their own band. Neuman began taking guitar lessons and Wolfe learned some block chords. They came up with a name for their band, "Bratmobile," inspired by the release of Tim Burton's Batman and Prince's song Batdance. They thought of themselves as the younger, female superhero pair from Batman. Months after forming the band, they had still written no songs. Once, they were invited to play a show with Bikini Kill, but were concerned due to their lack of songs and their status as a "fake band." They approached Robert Christie, a fellow musician and member of Some Velvet Sidewalk and Oswald 5-0 in Eugene, for help. He loaned them keys to his practice space and allowed them to borrow his gear. He encouraged the pair to listen to The Ramones for songwriting inspiration. In rebellion, they did not take his advice. Wolfe said, "Like, okay, if most boy punk rock bands just listen to the Ramones and that's how they write their songs, then we'll do the opposite and I won't listen to any Ramones, and that way we'll sound different." They wrote five songs for the day of the show. Tobi Vail of Bikini Kill published a photo of Bratmobile in her own fanzine, Jigsaw, and described them as the "most exciting thing that has happened in the Pacific Northwest in years." The guitarist of the band, Erin Smith, was on a college visit to Evergreen State from Washington, DC when she met Neuman and Wolfe. The group eventually got together in Washington, DC and were able to come up with multiple songs with the help of Christina, Billotte, a musician who played in the DC based punk band Autoclave. Bratmobile performed at the International Pop Underground Convention in Olympia, Washington in August 1991. Maura Johnston later wrote in Rolling Stone that Wolfe's distinctive "disaffected drawl" became "one of the most prominent voices of the early-Nineties riot grrrl movement".

Bratmobile recorded for Kill Rock Stars, an Olympia-based independent label, and released their first full-length album, Pottymouth, in 1992. The band ended in a rancorous onstage breakup in New York City in 1994.

Criticism
Bratmobile has been subject to criticism and backlash throughout the years. The release of their album Pottymouth in 1993 was described as noisy, energetic, and frequently about violence and inequalities. It was adored in many circles but the subject of controversy in many others. Greil Marcus listed the album on his top ten list, which was very prestigious praise. In 1994, he stated that "it's not individual tunes that stick in the mind but the thrill of making they all carry." The positive feedback for this band is defined by the appreciation for the activism and ideas that it carries. Critics of Bratmobile often tried to minimize the power of the music by highlighting its weaknesses. In 1993, S.S. argued that songs on Pottymouth "often lack the requisite focus to make this "garagey" style work." Critics denounced Pottymouth for it's perceived immaturity and unseriousness. They criticized their lack of musical training and technique. However, amateurism was common in the underground scene. Marl Kemp in Kill Rock Stars regarded Bratmobile as representative of the "incompetent-punk aesthetic" that riot grrrr embodied. Matt Votel implied that Bratmobile's sound was derivative, dismissing Wolfe as a "singer who just graduated from the Kim Gordon school of vocal training," referring to the bassist of Sonic Youth.

Riot Grrrl DC
Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill had started weekly Riot Grrrl meetings, forming the Riot Grrrl Olympia chapter. Fellow young musicians and activists with similar political views would attend these meetings. Riot Grrrl DC was formed by Allison Wolfe and others and kept in touch with the Olympia chapter. The community held a national convention in the summer of 1992 to discuss important issues in their movement. There were several workshops and discussions which inspired many women to create riot grrrl chapters in their own towns.

Girl Germs
Wolfe and Neuman's fanzine, Girl Germs, was in print from 1990-1992. They decided to create their own fanzine and band from the encouragement of Tobi Vail. With the idea in their heads, they were able to write their first issue by the winter break of their sophomore year in college with the help of their editor, Jen Smith. They continued to write articles throughout the 1990s, often covering topics such as feminism and music. Girl Germs was created before their more famous pursuit, the band Bratmobile.