Hannah, Kathleen

Childhood

Hannah was born in Portland, Oregon and moved with her family to Calvetron, Maryland in 1971. After that, Hannah's father, in connection with the change of work, had to transport his family several times to different cities. Parents divorced when she was in high school.

Hannah first became interested in feminism at the age of nine, after her mother took her with her to a rally in Washington, where feminist icon Gloria Stein spoke .

Despite the fact that a few more years pass before she openly calls herself a feminist, this event made a very serious impression on her. In a 2000 interview with BUST magazine, Hannah recalled:

My mother was a housewife and it was difficult to call her a typical feminist, and when Ms. magazine appeared we were incredibly inspired by it. I cut out pictures from this magazine, made posters and said, “Girls can do anything” and everything like that, and my mother was inspired to work in the basement of the church, doing inhumanly hard work. Then she took me to Solidarity Day and this was the first time that I was in a large crowd of screaming women and at that moment I decided that I want it to be like this always. ^[one]

Original text

My mom was a housewife, and wasn't somebody that people would think of as a feminist, and when Ms. magazine came out we were incredibly inspired by it. I used to cut pictures out of it and make posters that said "Girls can do anything", and stuff like that, and my mom was inspired to work at a basement of a church doing anti-domestic violence work. Then she took me to the Solidarity Day thing, and it was the first time I had ever been in a big crowd of women yelling, and it really made me want to do it forever.

In the documentary “Don't Need You: the Herstory of Riot Grrrl” (2006), Hannah, reflecting on the influence of feminism on her childhood, recalls that her interest in the topic began to grow at the moment when her mother took Betty's book in the library Friedan "The riddle of femininity. Hannah also mentions that their mother and her interest in women's rights and participation in the women's rights movement caused a serious disapproval of her father, so before they divorced their parents, they had to withhold their activities from their father. ^[2] By the way, the film 'Don’t Need You: The Herstory of Riot Grrrl' got its name in honor of the composition of the group Bikini Kill. ^[3] Hannah also starred in the documentary Who's Afraid of Kathy Acker?

College

Hannah attended The Evergreen State College in Olympia , Washington, in the late 1980s. At the same time, she began to work as a stripper to provide for herself while she was studying photography. Together with Aaron Bausch Green, her friend and also student Evergreen, Kathleen prepared a photo exhibition featuring photographs that touched on sexism and HIV.

Be that as it may, the school administration ordered the photo to be taken even before they had a chance to be seen. This act of censorship, as Hannah later recalled, led her to the “first breakthrough in activism”: together with friends Heidi Arbogest and Tammy Ray Carland, she created an independent feminist art gallery, called Reko Muse . A little later, the girls create a group called Amy Carter , which performs at the opening of exhibitions. ^[four]

Hannah also begins a spoken word show on sexism and violence against women; the problems she encountered while working as a volunteer for a domestic violence prevention organization for two years.

In the end, she finishes her spoken word performance and focuses on her musical career, being inspired by one of her favorite writers, the countercultural icon of Katie Acker . Hannah recalls: “Aker asked me why writing is so important to me, and I answered 'Because it seems to me that they never listen to me and I need to say so much,' and she said, 'So why are you doing a spoken word show; no one goes to them! You need to sing in a band. '” ^[5]

Kathleen later creates another group - Viva Knievel and with her goes on a two-month tour in the USA, after which the group breaks up.

Upon returning to Olympia, Hannah appears on The Go Team show and meets her future girlfriend, also student Evergreen and publisher Zina Jigsaw (which Hannah loved very much) Toby Vale .

Bikini Kill

The first joint project of Hannah and Toby Vale was a zine called Revolution Girl Style Now , which later became known as Bikini Kill . The publication was a response to sexism in the punk rock scene. Evergreen State College student and girlfriend, Kathi Wilcox, co-authored the magazine . Soon, the girls decided to create a group to give their ideals a practical form and invited Vale's girlfriend from the previous group to participate as the fourth member of the ensemble. The group was named Bikini Kill , in honor of the name Fengzin.

Bikini Kill immediately became a part of the music scene of Olympia, Washington, which was born then, in the early 1990s, which at the beginning of its existence was distinguished by politicization, a serious attitude to DIY ethics and constant mutual assistance and support at the local level.

The band's first release via Kill Rock Stars , an eponymous EP record, was produced by Fugazi's Jan Mackay . After that, Bikini Kill went on a tour of the UK, where they recorded a long-playing record, together with the English group Huggy Bear . The tour was documented in a video by a girl named Lucy Thain , who also took several interviews with the group. The videos were released in the form of the documentary It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill In The UK . After returning to the United States, the band began working with Joan Jett , who produced their single “New Radio / Rebel Girl”. Following the release of this record, Hannah collaborated with Jett as the songwriter for the latest album.

At the same time, Kathleen was soloing several records for the “Wordcore” series released on Kill Rock Stars , in particular the 7-inch single “Rockstar” and the song “I Wish I Was Him” (written by Ben Lee about Evan Dendo (lead singer of The Lemonheads ) and originally performed by his group Noise Addict h ^[6] ) to compile KRS called Rock Stars Kill .

The first two Bikini Kill mini-albums were subsequently released in CD format under the correct name of The CD Version of the First Two Records in 1993. ^[7] The group released two more long-playing albums: Pussy Whipped in 1994 and Reject All American in 1996. In 1998, the label Kill Rock Stars released the album Bikini Kill: The Singles - a collection of songs from the group, which were released as part of collections and singles . Around April 1998, Bikini Kill members made a joint decision to dissolve the group.

Impact on the movement of Riot Grrrl

In 1991, the group spent the summer in Washington, where Hannah began working with members of the Bratmobile group - Alison Wolfe , Jen Smith and Moli Newman . The result was the creation of the fanzine riot grrrl , which became a call to action for the girls of the punk rock scene and very much influenced the increase in feminist moods.

In 2000, Kathleen recalled how they created this zine:

We wanted to make our own magazine, and Alison Wolfe and Molly Nman from the Bratmobile group had just begun work on a little fanzine called riot grrrl and we wrote something for this zine. I always wanted to create some kind of big, serious magazine with really cool, clever articles in it, and I wondered if the other punk girls in Washington that I came across would be interested in. So I made a meeting, found a place to hold it, we got together, and for me it was a moment of realization of something. I quickly realized that the magazine I wanted was not at all the same. People wanted to go to concerts, teach each other how to play music, release fanzines, and this started to happen. This all received some attention from the media and girls from other cities also thought, “I also want to do this!” I want to start doing something like that! ”

Original text

We wanted to start a magazine, and Allison Wolfe and Molly Neuman from the band Bratmobile had started a little fanzine called riot grrrl and we were writing little things for it. I'd always wanted to start a big magazine with really cool, smart writing in it, and I wanted to see if the other punk girls in DC that I was meeting were interested in that. So I called a meeting and found a space for it, and it just turned into this sort of consciousness-raising thing. I realized really quickly that a magazine wasn't the way to go. People wanted to be having shows, and teaching each other how to play music, and writing fanzines, so that started happening. It got some press attention, and girls in other places would be like "I wanna do that. I wanna start one of those."

Le Tigre

In Portland, Oregon, Hannah began preparing a live show for her Julie Ruin project with her friend and zine editor Joanna Fateman. Their collaboration resulted in the creation of a short-term musical project called The Troublemakers , named after the film JB Jones, ^[8] which ended when Fateman went to New York to study at the art school.

Soon, Hannah reunited with Fateman on the East Coast and film director Sadie Benning, they created the group Le Tigre ( French "tiger" ). As part of this group, electronic, sample-based sound was developed, which Kathleen began to use during the Julie Ruin period. The band signed to Mr. Lady Records , their first record was the album of the same name Le Tigre , which included the hit singles "Hot Topic" and "Deceptacon". After recording her first album, Sadie Benning left the band and was replaced by JD Samson just before the release of the next Feminist Sweepstakes album.

When Mr. Lady Records ceased to exist, the group subscribed to the label Universal Records, where they released the album This Island .

Le Tigre is currently on vacation. According to the band's website, during this vacation, Hannah volunteered at The Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, and also taught art at New York University (fall 2007). ^[9]

Kathleen Hannah is married to Adam Horowitz, also known as the Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys . They have been together since 1997 and married in 2006.

Julie Ruin

In 2010, Hannah announced the re-creation of her 1997 project, “ Julie Ruin, ” with Kenny Mallman and Katie Wilcox, as well as a new recording of the project. December 11 in New York hosted the first concert of the updated band Julie Ruin. The program mainly consisted of cover versions. ^{[10] [11]}

Abortion attitude

In an interview, Kathleen Hannah was always ready to honestly discuss her decision to have an abortion in her youth. In one of her interviews, Kathleen said:

This was one of the first things that I did myself; I worked at McDonald's , made money and did it. And I am a very, very ardent supporter of other views, because I would not talk to you now if I had a baby at 15.

Original text

It was one of the first things I did on my own; I worked at McDonald's , raised the money and did it. I'm really, really passionate about pro-choice , because I wouldn't be here talking to you right now if I'd had a kid at 15.

Hannah admitted that she believes that her ability to speak openly about abortion will support other women and speak openly on this topic, and will also help reduce the level of social condemnation of such topics and will positively support the support of women's rights and other movements. ^[12]

In popular culture

• Mentioned in the series The L Word . In one of the episodes, a group of friends played celebrity guessing at a party, and the character of the series, Shane McCutchen, guessed Kathleen. Most lesbians immediately guessed who they were talking about, only after hearing the listing of "Le Tigre, and Julie Ruin, Bikini Kill", and the heterosexuals present at the party did not have a single version. As a result, Alice joked: “Oh, she started the riot grrrl dash almost all by herself, hey! ..”, to which one of the heterosexual men asked the question “What is riot grrrl dvizhuha?” ^[13]
• Inadvertently, Hannah inspired Kurt Cobain to name their 1991 breakthrough single, “ Smells Like Teen Spirit, ” when she wrote “Kurt Smells Like Teen Spirit” on the wall of his house. At the time of writing the song, Kurt did not suspect that this is the name of the deodorant used by his girlfriend, Kathleen's girlfriend, Toby Vale . ^[14]

Bikini Kill

Albums

• Revolution Girl Style Now! - a self-published cassette (1991)
• Bikini Kill (EP) via Kill Rock Stars (1991)
• Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah long-playing split album with the group

Huggy Bear on Catcall Records in the UK , on Kill Rock Stars in the USA (1993)

• The CD Version of the First Two Records , compilation (1993)
• Pussy Whipped on Kill Rock Stars (1994)
• Reject All American on Kill Rock Stars (1996)

Singles

• Wordcore Volume 1 7 ”on Kill Rock Stars
• New Radio / Rebel Girl 7 "on Kill Rock Stars (1993)
• The Anti-Pleasure Dissertation on Kill Rock Stars (1994)
• I Like Fucking / I Hate Danger 7 "on Kill Rock Stars (1995)

Collections

• Feels Blind on Kill Rock Stars LP / CD (1991)
• Throw: The Yoyo Studio Compilation on Yoyo Records (1991)
• “Daddy's Lil 'Girl” on Give Me Back LP, label [[Ebullition

Records]] (1991)

• “Suck My Left One” on There's A Dyke In The Pit label

Outpunk Records (1992)

• Bikini Kill: The Singles (1998)

Julie Ruin

• Julie Ruin on Kill Rock Stars (1997)

Le Tigre

Long-playing albums

• Le Tigre (1999) Mr. Lady
• Feminist Sweepstakes (2001) Mr. Lady
• This Island (album) (2004) Universal

Singles and EPs

• Hot Topic (1999)
• From the Desk of Mr. Lady EP (2001)
• Remix (2003)
• Standing In The Way Of Control 12 "split EP with The Gossip on

Kill rock stars

• This Island Remixes Volume 1 EP, Chicks On Speed Records
• This Island Remixes Volume 2EP, Chicks On Speed ​​Records

Miscellaneous

• Real Fiction , The Fakes, Kill Rock Stars
• Inside Out , Internal External, K Records
• Featuring ... , Internal External, K Records
• Rock Star / Mean (wordcore v. 1) as Kathleen Hanna and Slim Moon, Kill Rock Stars ^[15]
• Rock Stars Kill , includes Hanna's "I Wish I Was Him", Various Artists, Kill Rock Stars, 1994
• Ball-Hog or Tugboat? LP / CD “Heatbeat” -Mike Watt
• Decomposition 00 , Suture, Kill Rock Stars, 1991
• Suture! , Suture, Kill Rock Stars, 1992
• Home Alive, The Art Of Self Defense , Epic, 1996, includes "Go Home", written and performed with Joan Jett and Evil Stig
• Realistes , Comet Gain, Hanna featured on the track "Ripped-Up Suit"
• Play Pretty For Baby , The Nation of Ulysses , includes backing vocals by Hanna
• American Idiot , Green Day , the song "Letterbomb" begins with vocals by Hanna as Whatsername
• Viva Knieval 7 "single, Ultrasound Records, 1990
• “60 second wipe out” Atari Teenage Riot Hanna featured on lead vocals on the song 'No Success' 1999
• "Playgroup" Playgroup Hanna featured on lead vocals on the song 'Bring it on' 2001
• Wordy Rappinghood Chicks on Speed ​​features Hanna on vocals 2003
• Kiss on the lips from the album 'Naked' from Joan Jett is a duet with Hanna 2004
• “Hey Hey My My Yo Yo” Junior Senior Hanna featured on the song 'Dance, Chance, Romance' 2007

Fanzines

• My life with Evan Dando: Popstar
• The kathleen hanna newsletter
• Le Tigre zine / tour program

• Kathleen Hannah's blog on wordpress.com
• Laurie Weeks interviews Kathleen Hanna
• Salon.com audio "RockStar" mp3
• Kathleen's Herstory from the Le Tigre site
• Two interviews with Hanna on the NPR show Fresh Air : one from 2000 , and one from 2001 .
• Kathleen Hanna on the Internet Movie Database
• Kathleen Hanna article in Ms. Magazine
• Kathleen Interview by Hilary Frey