We are collecting stories of how people got into the band/shows they saw/memories/testimonials etc.
It would be awesome if you wanted to contribute. It doesn’t have to be fancy or well-worded, we’d just like you to leave a record of your experience and get an idea of what Bikini Kill means to you. Maybe it’s your reaction to a song we wrote, something weird that happened at one of our shows, a personal anecdote or just WHATEVER. Send yr story to bkillarchive@gmail.com and we will post it or just leave a comment somewhere on the site. You can also send us images to post.
Please help us spread the word. To document the history (or herstory) of the band it is necessary to include an oral history from “the fans”. We say fans for lack of a better word—a more expansive term would be inclusive of friends, peers, comrades, co-conspirators and imply participation rather than an audience separate from the band—which is what we hope to achieve with this interactive approach.
Also, if you have video/film footage of the band, please contact us, Thanks!
I remember I was dating this guy when I was 13 in like, 1995, and we got really competitive over who knew more about music. Then I bought the first Kill Rock Stars compilation and was like, ‘fuck it, I’ll take my own music for myself.’ I’d discovered Bikini Kill and he couldn’t have them. I bought every 7″ and album I could find, as well as anything else the band members were in (The Frumpies, Suture, The Fakes, etc.). The songs validated every twisted, sticky teenage girl experience I went through and anti-pleasure dissertation was the only thing I needed when said guy betrayed me in the most high school possible way. When I was 15 I wrote a letter thanking Kathleen Hanna, and she sent me back all her fanzines and ‘The Most Beautiful Girl is a Dead Girl’ and a bunch of stickers and a note that said “Don’t let them get you down.” That year I formed my own all girl band, and now I treat adolescent girls who are trauma survivors. It’s always extremely hard for me to stop myself from making them mix CDs starting with White Boy. It’s 15 years later and I still tell people that Bikini Kill is my all-time favorite band. Particularly my clients.
