Girls Get Busy
Bratmobile is an American punk band.  Growing from the rich  NW and DC underground and influenced by indie pop in the US as well as  Britpop, girl groups, grunge, and punk rock, Bratmobile was a first-generation  Riot Grrrl band. Formed when University of Oregon students Allison Wolfe and  Molly Neuman collaborated on a noted feminist fanzine, Girl Germs, Bratmobile  played its first show as a two-woman act at Olympia's North Shore Surf Club on  Valentine's Day, 1991 with Molly and Allison sharing duties on guitar, drums, and  vocals. During spring break 1991, Allison and Molly went to DC to follow Beat  Happening and Nation Of Ulysses on tour and try to work on a new form of  Bratmobile. Beat Happening's Calvin Johnson had previously introduced Molly to  nascent guitarist Erin Smith from Bethesda, MD during the Christmas holiday in  December, 1990 at a Nation Of Ulysses show in Washington, DC. Smith was the  author of the much-revered TV pop culture fanzine Teenage Gang Debs  when  Allison and Molly asked her to jam with them.  It clicked, and in July 1991 the trio  played their first show as a 3-piece with Molly Neuman on drums, Erin Smith on  guitar, and Allison Wolfe on vocals.  They were just in time to play at the historic  International Pop Underground Convention in Olympia Washington, becoming  the only band to appear twice.From their first shows, Bratmobile was considered an exciting and  important addition to the fertile early 90's NW scene. "We were incredibly lucky to  feel support and encouragement from our favorite bands like Bikini Kill, Nation Of  Ulysses, Beat Happening, and Fugazi" says Neuman. From 1991-1994  Bratmobile released a classic album,"Pottymouth,"  and an EP, "The Real  Janelle," on Kill Rock Stars Records, as well as a Peel Session recording before  the intense media scrutiny and inner pressures of the Riot Grrrl movement  hastened the band's breakup in 1994. "We were young, inexperienced, and  highly opinionated. I think people often expected too much from us, and we  expected a lot from ourselves and each other. We just couldn't be all the different  things that people expected us to be." says Wolfe.For five years, the Brats honed their skills in other bands and developed  their lives with other pursuits. Neuman moved to the SF Bay Area and began  working at East Bay punk record label Lookout! Records, for which she now acts  as general manager and co-owns. She also played in The PeeChees and The  Frumpies and continued to perfect her stylish, powerful drumming; Allison Wolfe  moved to DC, and she and MD-based Erin Smith started a new band together  called Cold Cold Hearts. Allison's feminism and activism found many significant  outlets and Erin's guitar playing grew more accomplished and technical while  always staying true to her minimalist pop leanings. Then in 1999, the three  women decided to reunite for a low-key show in Oakland's Stork Club. "I didn't  know what we'd had until it was gone.  When we got back together, we realized  that we had always missed playing together and nothing else was ever quite as  special as playing in Bratmobile," says Smith.  The chemistry was right, and the  band was relaunched.In 2000, Bratmobile released their second full length studio album,  "Ladies, Women and Girls," to an audience who had never forgotten them and  never found a replacement for their poppy, sassy, smart, bratty, sexy punk. The  album delighted critics and earned Bratmobile new fans as they toured with  Sleater - Kinney, The Donnas, The Locust, and more. "Our approach to this  record was totally different. We knew we had something to prove, and we wanted  to do it right." says Molly. "Ladies, Women and Girls" was released on Neuman's  Lookout! Records and produced by Tim Green of Nation of Ulysses and The  Fucking Champs. Jon Nikki (Prima Donnas, Gene Defcon, Sarah Dougher)  added guitar, bass and keyboard parts to flesh out the famously minimal Brat  sound. "With 'Ladies, Women, and Girls,' we were going for a sound that would  feel reminiscent of the earlier Bratmobile records and retain our classic, minimal  sound while still showing our growth as artists," says Smith.On May 7, 2002, Bratmobile releases their third album, "Girls Get Busy."   The album is an expression of a band with a storied history and a boundless  future. Says Allison, "We are older now, and (hopefully!) wiser and more mature  in our music and in our business dealings, while staying true to punk. I think we  have more control now over our music and lives, and we're just trying to enjoy  things we may have missed the first time around. But ultimately, we'll always be  a punk rock band."  On "Girls Get Busy," Bratmobile's best lady friend, Audrey  Marrs, (Mocket, Gene Defcon) adds keyboards that help give the album its  distinctive new sound. Roadie extraordinaire Marty Violence (Young Pioneers)  also contributed bass, a Bratmobile first.  Allison's lyrics are timely and critical of  the current political climate with songs such as the ironic "Shop For America" and  "United We Don't,"  plus "Shut Your Face," which touches on the Chandra Levy  disappearance.   Molly steps up to the mic to sing lead on the heartfelt and  lovelorn "Pagan Baby," and Erin really breaks out and goes to the next level with  her incredible guitar style throughout.  The record sounds like just what it is;  "Girls Get Busy" is the product of an important and influential American punk  band in its 11th year. It is accomplished, compelling, sexy, and important.