Team Dresch

History[edit]

In 1993, Donna Dresch formed Team Dresch with herself playing guitar and bass, Jody Bleyle on guitar and vocals, Kaia Wilson on guitar and vocals, and Marcéo Martinez on drums.^[2] Dresch has roots in the queercore movement, contributing to the zines J.D.s and Outpunk, as well as writing her own, called Chainsaw.^[2] Dresch's involvement in queercore influenced the band's style and involvement in the scene from the beginning.


Team Dresch's first release was "Seven" on Rock Stars Kill in 1994, which generated enough attention for them to book multiple shows "all around the country,"^[3] including the first Yoyo a Go Go in 1994.^[4] Today, Donna Dresch admits "people didn’t know who we were... [they] didn’t know what to make of a bunch of ’queer freaks’ onstage."^[1] In 1995 the four released their debut album, Personal Best, co-released by Chainsaw Records and Candy Ass Records, Dresch's and Bleyle's record labels respectively.^[5] The album had sold over 20,000 copies by 2004.^[6]


After the release of Personal Best, drummer Marcéo Martinez was replaced by Melissa York,^[1] and the quartet put out Captain My Captain in 1996, another co-release from Chainsaw and Candy Ass.^[7] Captain is often discussed as a more outwardly queer album than Personal Best, with the former including lyrics such as "I'm a flaming S&M rubber dyke" and "queer sex is great."^[8] The album is also praised for its themes of mental illness and reassurance.^[8] Additionally in the late 90s, Team Dresch performed in and was interviewed for the 1997 documentary film She's Real (Worse Than Queer) by Lucy Thane, which showcased the 90's riot grrrl and queercore scenes.^[9] Team Dresch disbanded in 1998 to work on individual projects.^[1] During this break, Jody Bleyle was interviewed for the 2001 German documentary Step Up and Be Vocal, Interviews zu Queer Punk und Feminismus in San Francisco by Uta Busch and Sandra Ortmann.


In 2004, Team Dresch reunited to headline the Olympia queercore festival Homo-a-Go-Go, put together by the band's friend Ed.^[3] They discuss their activity since 2004 as "taking things day by day and enjoying ourselves."^[10] They performed sporadically, embarking on brief West and East coast tours throughout 2006 and 2007, including at California's Outfest.^[11] They played in Portland and Seattle in September 2009, as well as in Brazil for two Ladyfest shows in May 2010.^[12] They played some shows in the Pacific Northwest in 2014^[10] in addition to some in 2017.^[3] Also in 2017, they appeared in Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution, a documentary by Yony Leyser.


In March 2019, Team Dresch announced they would be reissuing their entire catalogue via Jealous Butcher Records in honor of the band's 25th anniversary.^[13] The reissue allowed Marcéo Martinez, who came out publicly as transmasculine in 2019,^[14] to have his name corrected in credits, which was "so important and necessary" for him to feel seen.^[10] They also released previously unheard music through Jealous Butcher Records with Choices, Chances, Changes: Singles & Comptracks 1994–2000. This all came alongside the release of a new video for the band's classic track "Fagetarian and Dyke." The new visual featured never-before-seen live footage of the group, offering a glimpse into the wild mosh pit-filled shows of their heyday.^[15] Along with the rerelease, they announced a US tour^[16] as well as a release of a new single, "Your Hands in My Pockets," the band's first new music in 19 years.^[13]


Most recently, Team Dresch released the single "Story of the Earth" in July 2020.^[17] The "fast, raw, and simple"^[18] song was written in 2007 in response to a rise in colony collapse cases.^[17] On Bandcamp, the group stated that all proceeds from the single would be donated to the Trans Justice Funding Project.^[18]