Rock for Choice (or Rock 4 Choice) was a series of

benefit concert A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...

s held over the ten-year period between 1991 and 2001. The concerts were designed to allow musicians to show their support for the abortion rights movement in the United States and Canada.

Background

The first Rock for Choice concert was organized by L7 and music editor Sue Cummings of the '' LA Weekly'', who brought their idea for a pro-abortion rights benefit concert modeled on Bob Geldof's Live Aid. Rock for Choice's first concert was held at the Palace on Vine Street in Hollywood, California on October 25, 1991, and featured

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

Hole A hole is an opening in or through a particular medium, usually a solid body. Holes occur through natural and artificial processes, and may be useful for various purposes, or may represent a problem needing to be addressed in many fields of en ...

, L7, and Sister Double Happiness. Concert attendees were encouraged to speak out about women's issues from a politically progressive angle, especially

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...

, and

voter registration In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote. The r ...

. Rock for Choice L7/

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

concert footage and politics are featured on the rockumentary ''

Not Bad for a Girl ''Not Bad for a Girl'' is a documentary on women musicians of the 90s from the indie rock music genre grunge and riot grrrl and celebrates madness, creativity, and gender play. It was written, directed, produced and shot by rock phenomenologist fe ...

''. An after-party that followed the initial concert led Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl and members of L7 to encourage artist Jim Evans to do a poster for a future Rock For Choice show, leading to the creation of the poster group TAZ. The TAZ collective, creating work in the style of

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

, went on to do posters for some of the biggest Rock For Choice shows. L7 performed at the September 27, 1992 Rock for Choice benefit concert at the

Hollywood Palladium The Hollywood Palladium is a theater located at 6215 Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, California. It was built in a Streamline Moderne, Art Deco style and includes an dance floor including a mezzanine and a floor level with room for up to 4,000 ...

along with

Exene Cervenka Exene Cervenka (born Christene Lee Cervenka; February 1, 1956) is an American singer, artist, and poet. She is best known for her work as a singer in the California punk rock band X. Music career The 21-year-old Cervenka met 23-year-old ...

, the

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

, and Mudhoney. In October 1993, seven bands played a sold out Rock for Choice benefit including bands X, Firehose, with headliner

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to simply Rage) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commer ...

. Later Rock for Choice concerts included the Foo Fighters,

Ween Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band a ...

, Pearl Jam,

and other prominent bands of the era. The genesis for Rock for Choice came from an interview that Sue Cummings did with L7 for the ''LA Weekly'', in which the band said they were planning to advertise one of their upcoming local shows as "Rock Against Coat Hangers" and donate the proceeds to a pro-abortion rights group. Sue encouraged the band to consider expanding their gig to a larger scale, contending that since there had been many benefit concerts performed in the past in the United States to help resolve famine abroad, it would be appropriate to have similar concerts raising funds for abortion access (which she saw as a more pressing and relevant issue to Americans). Cummings asked the band if they would be willing to invite other artists to play the show, contacted several feminist organizations to find a sponsor, and arranged a meeting with the Feminist Majority Foundation when they agreed to participate. The Rock for Choice concert series originated at about the same time as the Riot Grrrl movement, made up of a new generation of feminists and rock bands originating in Olympia, Washington. Both Rock for Choice and Riot Grrrl were reacting to the early 1990s bombing of abortion clinics by certain fringe elements of the pro-life movement, and were often associated in the public's mind as a single movement, although few Riot Grrrl bands, with the exception of

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 ...

, ever played Rock for Choice shows. But Rock for Choice formed an important cultural bridge between the

baby boomer Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the Western demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom. ...

feminists of the 1970s, who had organized the Feminist Majority, and the

generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s a ...

feminists of the 1990s music scene. The concert series evolved into an organization managed by the Feminist Majority Foundation, which released a number of compilation albums featuring artists that supported Rock for Choice. The album '' Spirit of '73: Rock for Choice'' included fourteen female artists of the 90s singing hits from the 70s and was named based on the ''

Roe v. Wade ''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. The decision struck down many federal and s ...

'' Supreme Court decision in 1973. The final Rock for Choice concert was held in 2001 and was emceed by actress

Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film '' The House of Mirt ...

Featured artists

Artists featured in the Rock for Choice concerts included: 1990s in music 2000s in music Benefit concerts Musical advocacy groups Abortion-rights movement Abortion-rights organizations in Canada Abortion-rights organizations in the United States Recurring events disestablished in 2001 Recurring events established in 1991

References

{{reflist

External links

Feminist Majority Foundation: What Is Rock For Choice?Rock for Choice