Team Dresch
| Company type | Punk rock band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1993 in Olympia, Washington, United States |
| Founder | Donna Dresch |
| Headquarters | Olympia, Washington , United States |
| Products | Music albums and singles |
Number of employees | 4 (initial lineup) |
Team Dresch is a punk rock group from the United States, established in 1993 in Olympia, Washington.
History
Team Dresch was formed in 1993 by Donna Dresch, who played guitar and bass. The lineup also included Jody Bleyle and Kaia Wilson on guitar and vocals, with Marcéo Martinez handling drums. Dresch, deeply involved in the queercore movement through influential zines such as J.D.s, Outpunk, and her own publication Chainsaw, significantly influenced the band's musical direction and engagement within the scene.
Their initial release, the track "Seven," appeared on the 1994 compilation Rock Stars Kill, which led to nationwide performances including the debut Yoyo a Go Go festival. In 1995, they launched their first full-length album, Personal Best, jointly released by Dresch’s Chainsaw Records and Bleyle’s Candy Ass Records. By 2004, this album had achieved sales exceeding 20,000 copies. Subsequently, Melissa York took over drumming duties from Martinez, and in 1996 the band issued Captain My Captain, again through Chainsaw and Candy Ass. This sophomore album delved further into overt queer narratives and explored themes related to mental health. Team Dresch also featured in the 1997 documentary She's Real (Worse Than Queer), which documented the riot grrrl and queercore movements of the 1990s. The group disbanded in 1998 to focus on separate endeavors.
In 2004, Team Dresch reunited to headline Homo-a-Go-Go, a queercore festival held in Olympia, adopting a more flexible approach to their activities. They performed intermittently along both coasts until 2007, including an appearance at California's Outfest, followed by shows in Portland and Seattle in 2009, and participation in Brazil’s Ladyfest in 2010. Additional concerts took place in the Pacific Northwest during 2014 and 2017. The band was also featured in Yony Leyser’s documentary Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution.
March 2019 marked the announcement of a comprehensive reissue of Team Dresch’s entire discography via Jealous Butcher Records to celebrate their 25th anniversary. This re-release provided an opportunity to update Marcéo Martinez’s name in the credits following his public coming out as transmasculine that same year. Alongside previously unreleased tracks, they unveiled Choices, Chances, Changes: Singles & Comptracks 1994–2000 accompanied by a new video for "Fagetarian and Dyke," featuring archival live footage. The reissue coincided with a U.S. tour and introduced their first new single in nearly two decades, "Your Hands in My Pockets."
In July 2020, Team Dresch released "Story of the Earth," a single characterized as "fast, raw, and simple." Written originally in 2007 as a response to colony collapse disorder, all proceeds from this track were donated to the Trans Justice Funding Project.
Albums
- Personal Best (1995, Chainsaw Records / Candy Ass Records)
- Captain My Captain (1996, Chainsaw Records / Candy Ass Records)
- Choices, Chances, Changes: Singles & Comptracks 1994–2000 (2019, Jealous Butcher Records)
Singles
- 7-inch release featuring "Hand Grenade," "Endtime Relay," and "Molasses In January" (1994, Kill Rock Stars)
- 7-inch titled "The New Team Dresch V 6.0 Beta" (1998, Outpunk Records)
- Digital single "Your Hands in My Pockets" (2019, Jealous Butcher Records)
- Digital release of "Story of the Earth" (2020, Jealous Butcher Records)
Split singles
- Split tour 7-inch "Take On Me" with Bikini Kill (1996, Banda Bonnet)
- Split 7-inch "What Can a Lover Do?" alongside F-80, Shove, and Dahlia Seed (1996, Marigold Records)
- Split 7-inch "It's a Conversation" with Longstocking (1998, Sub Pop)
- Split 7-inch "Temporary Insurance" paired with The Automaticons (2000, Mental Monkey Records)
Compilation appearances
- "Fake Fight" included on Periscope compilation (1994, Yoyo Recordings)
- "Seven" featured on Rock Stars Kill (1994, Kill Rock Stars)
- "Song for Anne Bannon" appearing on Free to Fight (1995, Candy Ass Records / Chainsaw Records)
- Live version of "She's Amazing" and "The Lesbionic Story" on Yoyo A Go Go (1996, Yoyo Recordings)
- "Hand Grenade" included on Some Songs compilation (1997, Kill Rock Stars)
- Remix titled "Deattached (A Maximum Volume Interpretation)" by Christoph de Babalon on Join the Queercorps (1998, Queercorps)
- "Fake Fight" and "My Voice" featured on The Shiner Cassette (Slo-Mo Records)
See also
External links
- All-female punk bands
- Punk rock groups from Washington (state)
- Queercore groups
- Riot grrrl bands
- Musical groups from Portland, Oregon
- LGBTQ-themed musical groups
- LGBTQ people from Oregon
- 1993 establishments in Washington (state)
- Musical groups established in 1993
- Musical groups disestablished in 1998
- Musical groups reestablished in 2004
- 2004 establishments in Oregon
- Kill Rock Stars artists
- Chainsaw Records artists
- Candy Ass Records artists
- Female-fronted musical groups