Emily's Sassy Lime (a palindrome) was an American punk rock group from

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

. The group was formed in 1993 by three Asian American teenagers: sisters Wendy Yao and

Amy Yao Amy Yao (born June 1977, Los Angeles, California) is a musician, curator, and contemporary visual artist making work in many different mediums informed by ideas of waste, consumption, and identity. She is represented by 47 Canal in New York City. ...

, and their friend Emily Ryan.

History

Emily's Sassy Lime formed in 1993 after the teen girls sneaked out of their homes one night to see a

Bikini Kill Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail. The band pioneered th ...

and

Bratmobile Bratmobile was an American punk band from Olympia, Washington, active from 1991 to 2003, and known for being one of the first-generation "riot grrrl" bands. The band was influenced by several eclectic musical styles, including elements of pop, ...

show, striking up a correspondence with

Molly Neuman Molly Neuman (born June 18, 1972) is an American drummer, writer and publisher, originally from the Washington, D.C. area who has performed in such influential bands as Bratmobile, the Frumpies, and the PeeChees. She was a pioneer of the ear ...

, the drummer of the latter band. As first generation Asian American girls in a punk band, they faced contradictions in expectations. They did not live very close to each other and did not own cars, so they often had to write their songs over the phone, sometimes leaving seminal ideas for tunes, jingles, and melodies on each other's

answering machines An answering machine, answerphone or message machine, also known as telephone messaging machine (or TAM) in the UK and some Commonwealth countries, ansaphone or ansafone (from a trade name), or telephone answering device (TAD), was used for a ...

. When they finally did have a chance to record, they did so on a 'singalodeon', a cheap off-the-shelf

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

tape recorder An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present ...

. They barely ever practiced (often forbidden from doing so by their parents who considered their studies a bigger priority), making their sound a random, spontaneous

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

noise Noise is unwanted sound considered unpleasant, loud or disruptive to hearing. From a physics standpoint, there is no distinction between noise and desired sound, as both are vibrations through a medium, such as air or water. The difference aris ...

collage of "Whatever, just play." They didn't have their own

instruments Instrument may refer to: Science and technology * Flight instruments, the devices used to measure the speed, altitude, and pertinent flight angles of various kinds of aircraft * Laboratory equipment, the measuring tools used in a scientific lab ...

for years, so with every show they played, they had to borrow someone else's in the DIY punk spirit of sharing, often swapping with each other carelessly and making every show sound totally different. In 1995, they all appeared as dancers in the

Kathi Wilcox Kathi Lynn Wilcox (born November 19, 1969) is an American musician. She is the bass player in the Julie Ruin and has been in bands such as Bikini Kill, the Casual Dots, and the Frumpies. Music Wilcox attended The Evergreen State College where s ...

-directed "Mad Doctor" video for

The PeeChees The PeeChees (aka The PeeChee All-Season Sensations) were an American punk band formed in 1994 by Lookout! Records co-owners Christopher Appelgren ( The Pattern, Bumblescrump, The Lefties), Molly Neuman (Bratmobile, The Frumpies, Love or Pe ...

. Emily's Sassy Lime broke up in 1997, not long after they graduated from high school and attended separate colleges. Amy Yao went to

Art Center College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred ...

, Wendy Yao headed off to Stanford University, and Emily Ryan attended

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

. The group are often considered an essential early riot grrrl band.

Later activities

In 2000, they all participated in the very first

Ladyfest Ladyfest is a Community organization, community-based, not-for-profit global music and arts festival for feminist and women artists. Individual Ladyfests differ, but usually feature a combination of band (music), bands, musical groups, performa ...

in Olympia, the Yao sisters collaborating with Sharon Cheslow in the

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs when a ...

sound installation Sound art is an artistic activity in which sound is utilized as a primary medium or material. Like many genres of contemporary art, sound art may be interdisciplinary in nature, or be used in hybrid forms. According to Brandon LaBelle, sound art ...

performance art Performance art is an artwork or art exhibition created through actions executed by the artist or other participants. It may be witnessed live or through documentation, spontaneously developed or written, and is traditionally presented to a pu ...

project of Coterie Exchange, during an art exhibit curated by

Audrey Marrs Audrey Marie Marrs (born June 25, 1970) is an American film producer, the Chief Operating Officer of Representational Pictures, Inc. She is a former punk rock musician and co-founder of Ladyfest. Biography Marrs is also half-Japanese. Her mothe ...

. In 2003, Emily Ryan starred in one of

Jon Moritsugu Jon Moritsugu (born February 15, 1965) is an American cult- underground filmmaker. His movies are satiric, protopunk deconstructions of popular genres and formats with scabrous and pointedly garish results. The ''New York Times'' describes them ...

's critically acclaimed no budget guerrilla

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

punk film The punk subculture includes a diverse and widely known array of ideologies, fashion, and other forms of expression, visual art, dance, literature, and film. Largely characterised by anti-establishment views, the promotion of individual freedom ...

s called ''Scumrock''.

has been involved over the years with several different bands, frequently collaborating with

Tobi Vail Tobi Celeste Vail (born July 20, 1969) is an American independent musician, music critic and feminist activist from Olympia, Washington. She was a central figure in the riot grrl scene—she coined the spelling of "grrl"—and she started the zi ...

, co-founded China Art Objects Galleries, and completed her MFA in

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

at the

Yale School of Art The Yale School of Art is the art school of Yale University. Founded in 1869 as the first professional fine arts school in the United States, it grants Masters of Fine Arts degrees to students completing a two-year course in graphic design, painti ...

. Wendy Yao owned and ran a shop and DIY indie-punk artist space in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

's downtown Chinatown neighborhood called ''Ooga Booga'' for 15 years. The Yao sisters later played in a band with Layla Gibbon of Skinned Teen named Shady Ladies.

Discography

LPs

*''Desperate, Scared But Social'', LP, KRS Records, 1995

Singles

*"Summer Vacation", 7", Xmas Records, 1994 *"Dippity Do-nut", 7", KRS Records, 1996

Compilations

*"''Right Is Here''", LP/CD, Xmas Records, 1995

Compilation appearances

*''A Slice of Lemon'', LP,

Lookout Records Lookout Records (stylized as Lookout! Records) was an independent record label, initially based in Laytonville, California and later in Berkeley, California, Berkeley, focusing on punk rock. Established in 1987, the label is best known for having ...

/KRS, 1995

References

External links

Emily Ryan interview, 2009Wendy Yao interview, 2012Wendy Yao and Amy Yao interview, 2013

Art Papers ''ART PAPERS'' is an Atlanta-based bimonthly art magazine and non-profit organization dedicated to the examination of art and culture in the world today. Its mission is to provide an independent and accessible forum for the exchange of perspectiv ...

{{Authority control 1993 establishments in California All-female punk bands Garage rock groups from California American musicians of Asian descent American noise rock music groups Garage punk groups Kill Rock Stars Indie rock musical groups from California Musical groups established in 1993 Musical groups from Los Angeles Punk rock groups from California Riot grrrl bands