Sta-Prest was a multi-racial

queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifical ...

and

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcultur ...

band from

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

that was active in the 1990s. The group members included Aloofah (Iraya Robles) and D.M. Feelings (Gary Fembot).

Musical career

The band first made its appearance on the queercore record label

Outpunk Records Outpunk enjoys the distinction of being the first record label entirely devoted to queer punk bands. The label was run out of San Francisco and began as an extension of Matt Wobensmith's fanzine, ''Outpunk''. ''Outpunk'' ran for seven issues, from ...

in 1994, on its compilation ''

Outpunk Dance Party Outpunk enjoys the distinction of being the first record label entirely devoted to queer punk bands. The label was run out of San Francisco and began as an extension of Matt Wobensmith's fanzine, ''Outpunk''. ''Outpunk'' ran for seven issues, fr ...

''. Soon afterwards they released their first EP, ''Vespa Sex'', also on Outpunk, followed in 1996 by the 7" single "Let's Be Friendly With Our Friends/You Are The Company Spy". Like other bands influenced by the nascent

scene in

Olympia, Washington Olympia is the capital of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat and largest city of Thurston County. It is southwest of the state's most populous city, Seattle, and is a cultural center of the southern Puget Sound region. European ...

, New York no wave, and European

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

, core members of Sta-Prest - Aloofah (Iraya Robles), Dudley Manlove a.k.a. D.M. Feelings (Gary Fembot), and Professor Swish (Mark Bishop) - adopted

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s, swapped instruments between songs, and practiced a consensus-based approach to song composition. A revolving membership included Tetley, Twi Tybat, Clutch-y-Spun, and Scout. Their avant-pop sound and combination of male and female vocals were unique in the Queercore scene. After

ceased to exist, the band recorded for the label

Kill Rock Stars Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but was originally known ...

, releasing their final 7" single "Form Fitting/Diffy Peeps". In 2002, Aloofah, (Iraya Robles) and Dudley Manlove, (Gary Fembot), appeared in

Maximum Rocknroll ''Maximumrocknroll'', often written as ''Maximum Rocknroll'' and usually abbreviated as ''MRR'', is a not-for-profit monthly zine of punk subculture. Based in San Francisco, ''MRR'' focuses on punk rock and hardcore music, and primarily featur ...

's "Queer Punk" issue, featured in a discussion with the queer-identified musicians

Martin Sorrondeguy Martin Sorrondeguy (born December 3, 1967) is the singer of American hardcore punk bands Los Crudos and Limp Wrist, the founder of the DIY record label Lengua Armada Discos, and a prominent figure in both the straight edge scene and the queerc ...

of both

Los Crudos Los Crudos is an American hardcore punk band from Chicago, Illinois active from 1991 to 1998 and from 2006 onward. Comprising all Latino members, the band paved the way for later Spanish-speaking punk bands in the United States and helped to i ...

and

Limp Wrist Limp Wrist is an American punk rock band, who formed in 1998. Featuring members of Los Crudos, Hail Mary, Devoid of Faith, By the Throat, and Kill the Man Who Questions, the band plays short, fast hardcore music, and covers themes concerning t ...

and Aaron Detroit of The Little Deaths. Spin-off bands from Sta-Prest include

Feelings On A Grid Feelings are Subjectivity, subjective self-contained phenomenal experiences. According to the ''APA Dictionary of Psychology'', a feeling is "a self-contained phenomenal experience"; and feelings are "subjective, evaluative, and independent of t ...

, with Dudley Manlove a.k.a. D.M. Feelings (Gary Fembot) and Le Grid, a.k.a. Stanley Lamontagne, both heavily influenced by the sounds and aesthetics of the

electropunk Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrume ...

bands

Suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

and

The Screamers The Screamers were an American electropunk group founded in 1975. They were among the first wave of the L.A. punk rock scene. The Los Angeles Times applied the label "techno-punk" to the band in 1978. In the documentary '' Punk: Attitude'' ( ...

. Professor Swish, now Mmothra, privately released a recording of ambient digital loopscapes after the style of Nurse with Wound and :zoviet*France, entitled ''Neurotic Styles''. Gary Fembot played keyboards and sang with the band Puce Moment. The band's name was taken from

Kenneth Anger Kenneth Anger (born Kenneth Wilbur Anglemyer, February 3, 1927) is an American underground experimental filmmaker, actor, and author. Working exclusively in short films, he has produced almost 40 works since 1937, nine of which have been grouped ...

's film Puce Moment. Dudley Manlove (Gary Fembot) and Professor Swish (Mark Bishop) recorded as The Swishin' Duds, and are included on the soundtrack of the 2008 movie ''

The Lollipop Generation ''The Lollipop Generation'' is a 2008 Canadian underground experimental film written, produced, and directed by G. B. Jones, whose previous films include ''The Troublemakers'' and ''The Yo-Yo Gang''. It premiered as the Gala Feature presentation ...

'' by

G.B. Jones G. B. Jones (born 1965) is a Canadian artist, filmmaker, musician, and publisher of zines born in Bowmanville, Canada. She is known for producing J.D.s with her acclaimed''Tom Girls'' drawings before going on to create more musically, cinematica ...

, in which Gary Fembot appears in a cameo role.

Films

In the mid-1990s, Robles co-wrote the script for Jill Reiter's film ''In Search of Margo-Go'', which co-starred Reiter and

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 the ...

Kathleen Hanna Kathleen Hanna (born November 12, 1968) is an American singer, musician, artist, feminist activist, pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. In the early-to-mid-1990s she was the lead singer of feminist punk band B ...

. The film was considered a lost riot grrrl film for many years, until it screened in 2014. In 1997, Sta-Prest appeared in performance in the seminal documentary film ''

She's Real, Worse Than Queer Lucy Thane (born 1967) is a British documentary filmmaker, event producer and performer, living in Folkestone. Her films include ''It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill in the UK'' (1993) and ''She's Real (Worse than Queer)'' (1997). Life and work Thane ...

'' by

Lucy Thane Lucy Thane (born 1967) is a British documentary filmmaker, event producer and performer, living in Folkestone. Her films include ''It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill in the UK'' (1993) and ''She's Real (Worse than Queer)'' (1997). Life and work Thane ...

. As well, they produced a video for one of their songs for the Kill Rock Stars video compilation, ''Kill Rock Stars Video Fanzine'', which also included a short movie by member Gary Fembot, called ''The Oners''.

Discography

*"Nelly Strut/Suspiria" on ''

'',

OUT12CD, 1994 *'' Vespa Sex'' 7" EP on Outpunk Records OUT15, 1995 *"Let's Be Friendly With Our Friends/You Are The Company Spy" 7" single on Outpunk Records OUT19, 1996 *"Form Fitting/Diffy Peeps" on

Mailorder Freaks Singles Club 7" single, 1998 *Kill Rock Stars Video Fanzine No. 2

References

External links

Kill Rock Stars Sta-Prest pageGary Fembot at ZineWiki
at

Fales Library New York University's Fales Library and Special Collections is located on the third floor of the Elmer Holmes Bobst Library at 70 Washington Square South between LaGuardia Place and the Schwartz Plaza, in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhat ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

{{Authority control Punk rock groups from California Musical groups from San Francisco Riot grrrl bands Queercore groups