Jen Smith

In early 1991, Jen Smith and Washington, DC guitarist Christina Billotte of Autoclave joined Pacific Northwest band Bratmobile (Allison Wolfe and Molly Neuman) when they temporarily relocated to Washington, DC. The band released one cassette tape, called Bratmobile DC, with this line-up.{{cite web |url=https://blog.discmakers.com/2018/07/riot-grrrl-and-the-true-spirit-of-rock-n-roll/ |title=Riot Grrrl and the true spirit of rock n' roll |last=Huff |first=Chris |date=July 10, 2018}}{{Cite web |title=Rebel Girls: D.C. Women In Punk |last=Gunnery |first=Mark |publisher=WAMU |date=March 8, 2019 |url=https://thekojonnamdishow.org/2019/03/08/d-c-women-punk }}

The Bratmobile girls were zine writers, and Wolfe and Neuman created Girl Germs to which Smith contributed. It was during this time in Washington, DC that Jen Smith came up with the idea of a "girl riot" and Molly Neuman conceived the riot grrrl mini-zine that gave the movement its name.{{cite web |url=https://pleasekillme.com/riot-grrrl-primer/ |title=A Riot Grrrl Primer: Revolution Girl Style Now |date=April 2, 2020 |last=Hannon |first=Sharon M. |publisher=Please Kill Me}} Writing in Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital, Mark Andersen and Mark Jenkins report that while living in Washington, D.C., Smith reacted to the violence of the Mount Pleasant race riots in spring 1991 by prophetically writing in a letter to Wolfe, "this summer's going to be a girl riot." Other reports say she wrote, "we need to start a girl riot."Anderson, Mark, Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital, Akashic Books, 2003 {{ISBN|1-888451-44-0}} As written about in Bikini Kill zine by Kathleen Hanna, Jen proposed they all collaborate on a zine called Girl Riot, which would serve as a networking forum for young women. Molly Neuman began the zine, released under the title riot grrrl, with contributions from Smith, Wolfe, and the members of Bikini Kill.

By the end of summer 1991, Erin Smith (no relation to Jen) from Bethesda, Maryland replaced Billotte on guitar and Bratmobile returned to Olympia, Washington, with Erin and Jen remaining in DC. Jen Smith stayed behind to edit a zine called Red Rover. A number of issues were released before she began a new zine in 1993, an offshoot of Red Rover, called Another Lo-Fi Xtravanganza.{{Cite web |url=http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/bingham/zines/item/bwzzn01999/ |title=Sarah Wood Zine Collection, Duke University |access-date=2008-11-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520151644/http://library.duke.edu/digitalcollections/bingham/zines/item/bwzzn01999/ |archive-date=2011-05-20 |url-status=dead }} The zine also became a small record label.

At the same time, Jen Smith began a band with Donna Dresch and Nikki Chapman called Rastro! The trio, with Smith on guitar and vocals, Chapman on bass, and Dresch on drums, released two songs on compilations by independent record labels such as Simple Machines. After this band broke up, Smith moved to Olympia, Washington where she recorded Boot Party with Dub Narcotic Sound System, and began the Cha Cha Cabaret, which she hosted under the persona of "Miss Lady Hand Grenade" in 1996 and 1997. Participating artists included Miranda July, Mirah, Flying Tigers, Old Time Relijun, Simplement Jacques, Nikki McClure, The Lookers, The Skirts, and Panties, and all appear together on the K Records compilation Chez Vous.{{Cite web |url=http://www.sfweekly.com/2002-03-20/music/flock-you/ |title=Donaldson, Glenn, "Flock You, SF Weekly, 20 Mar, 2002 |access-date=2008-11-22 |archive-date=2011-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610100628/http://www.sfweekly.com/2002-03-20/music/flock-you/ |url-status=dead }} Cha Cha Cabaret toured the Pacific Northwest, adding musicians such as Sharon Cheslow while in San Francisco.{{Cite web |title=THE CHA CHA CABARET Tour |last= |first= |publisher=Joanie 4 Jackie |accessdate=February 19, 2021 |url=http://www.joanie4jackie.com/event/cha-cha-cabaret/ }}

In the 2000s, Smith returned to San Francisco, where she joined with ex-Circus Lupus member Seth Lorinczi{{cite web

|last=Pletz

|first=George

|title=Circus Lupus Bassist Forms New Band

|publisher=Pitchfork

|date=2001-11-15

|url=http://216.92.252.2/article/news/32301-circus-lupus-bassist-forms-new-band

|format=

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|accessdate=2009-08-05

}}{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and ex-Electrolettes member Julianna Bright to begin the band The Quails.[http://www.sfbg.com/36/52/art_music_quails.html Rapoport, Lynn, "Red Hot Lovers of the People", SFBG", Oct 2002] The band toured with Sleater Kinney, Aislers Set and The No-No's. They released three CDs, as well as zines and projects such as the comic book Bon Soir and a mini-opera CD under the name 'Marzipan Ponce'.{{Cite web |url=http://www.sfweekly.com/2002-03-20/music/flock-you/ |title=Donaldson, Glenn, "Flock You", SF Weekly, 20 Mar, 2002 |access-date=2008-11-22 |archive-date=2011-06-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610100628/http://www.sfweekly.com/2002-03-20/music/flock-you/ |url-status=dead }} The band broke up, Jen Smith devoted herself to her artwork.

In 2008, she appeared in the feature film The Lollipop Generation by G.B. Jones[http://www.evilevil.ca/ EvilEvil "The Lollipop Generation Premiere", 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918061510/http://www.evilevil.ca/ |date=2008-09-18 }}

• Bratmobile DC (self released cassette tape, 1991)

• "Some Things", on Go In The Dark (Mira Records 7", 1992)
• "Kiss Me", on Simple Machines Working Holiday: June (Simple Machines 7", 1993)
• "Kiss Me", on Working Holiday! (Simple Machines CD compilation, 1994)

• Boot Party (K Records, 1995)

• Chez Vous (K Records, 1997)

• "Memo From the Desk of The Quails", on Fields And Streams (Kill Rock Stars compilation CD, 2001)
• We Are The Quails (Inconvenient Records, 2001)
• Atmosphere (Inconvenient Records, 2002)
• The Song Is Love (Mr. Lady Records, 2003)

• "Inkling", on Selector Dub Narcotic (K Records)

• Bon Soir, Jen Smith, Julianna Bright, Seth Lorinczi, ed. 2002
• Quail Hunt, Jen Smith, ed. 2000s
• Another Lo-Fi Xtravanganza, Jen Smith, ed. 1993
• Red Rover, Jen Smith, ed. 1990s
• riot grrrl, Molly Neuman, ed. 1990
• Girl Germs, Molly Neuman and Allison Wolfe, ed, 1990s

• The Lollipop Generation by G.B. Jones, 2008

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• Andersen, Mark and Jenkins, Mark, Dance of Days: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation's Capital, Akashic Books, 2003, {{ISBN|1-888451-44-0}}
• Drake, Jennifer and Haywood, Leslie, Third Wave Agenda: Being Feminist, Doing Feminist. University of Minneapolis Press, 1992. pgs 226–238
• Isaksen, Judy, "Identity and Agency: Riot Grrrls Jouissance", Enculturation, Vol 2, No. 2, Spring 1999
• Kearney, Mary Celeste, Girls Make Media, CRC Press, 2006 {{ISBN|0-415-97278-7}}

{{Refend}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/q/quails-atmosphere.shtml The Quails on Pop Matters]
• D [https://archives.lib.umd.edu/repositories/4/resources/1748 .C. Punk collection at the University of Maryland]

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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:Living people

Category:American women singers

Category:American punk rock musicians

Category:American women punk rock singers

Category:American feminist artists

Category:American feminist musicians

Category:American indie rock musicians

Category:Riot grrrl musicians

Category:Bratmobile members

Category:Dub Narcotic Sound System members

Category:21st-century American women