Suture was an American punk rock and

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

trio based in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

affiliated with early

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 ...

. Suture consisted of

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 ...

(electric bass guitar, drums, vocals),

Sharon Cheslow Sharon Cheslow (born October 5, 1961) is an American musician, composer, artist, writer, photographer, educator, and archivist. In 1981, she formed Chalk Circle, Washington, D.C.'s first all-female punk band. She has since become an accomplishe ...

(electric guitar, electric bass guitar, vocals), and Dug E. Bird aka Doug Birdzell (electric guitar, drums).

History

Suture formed in summer 1991 while Hanna was in Washington, D.C. with her band

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 ...

, and

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 ...

was on vacation in Europe. Hanna was previously in Viva Knievel 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 ...

. Cheslow had been in D.C. bands Chalk Circle and

Bloody Mannequin Orchestra Bloody Mannequin Orchestra were an influential early 1980s punk band from Bethesda, MD. They formed around a small, but active, scene at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School and were part of the larger D.C hardcore community.Andersen & Jenkins 2001 p. ...

, while Birdzell had been in D.C. bands Beefeater and Fidelity Jones. Cheslow had moved to

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 ...

in 1990 where she'd met Hanna during Bikini Kill's spring 1991 tour with

Nation of Ulysses The Nation of Ulysses was an American punk rock band from Washington, D.C., formed in spring 1988 with four members. Originally known as simply "Ulysses," the first mark of the group consisted of Ian Svenonius on vocals and trumpet, Steve Kroner ...

, and while Cheslow and Hanna were both living in D.C. during summer 1991 they collaborated with Birdzell. Jennifer Ballard and

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 early-t ...

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, ...

also played briefly in Suture. The group rehearsed at the Embassy House in Washington, D.C. where Nation of Ulysses lived. Hanna, Cheslow, and Birdzell performed as Suture on "Girl Night" at the

International Pop Underground Convention The International Pop Underground Convention (or IPU) was a 1991 punk and alternative rock music festival in Olympia, Washington. The six-day convention centered on a series of performances at the Capitol Theater. Throughout August 20–25, ...

in Olympia in August 1991. While there, they released the compilation cassette ''A Wonderful Treat'', which included two other Bikini Kill side projects (Spray Painted Love and Wondertwins) and Bratmobile as a duo of Neuman and

Allison Wolfe Allison Wolfe (born November 9, 1969) is a Los Angeles-based singer, songwriter, writer, and podcaster. As a founding member and lead singer of the punk rock band Bratmobile, she became one of the leading voices of the riot grrl movement. Wolfe ...

. Cheslow later said, "That summer felt like an amazing confluence of people, ideas, energy, support and enthusiasm."

Evelyn McDonnell Evelyn McDonnell is an American writer and academic. Writing primarily about popular culture, music, and society, she "helped to forge a new kind of feminism for her generation." She is associate professor of journalism and new media at Loyola Ma ...

and

Elisabeth Vincentelli Elisabeth Vincentelli is a French-born, New York-based arts and culture journalist. She is a regular contributor to ''The New York Times’ Arts section''. She served as the chief drama critic for the ''New York Post'' from 2009 until 2016, havin ...

, writing for the ''New York Times'' in 2019, considered Suture's "Pretty Is" from their first and only single essential listening of the riot grrrl era, describing it as a "slow dose of melancholia". The song was released on Suture's 1992 7" EP on

Dischord Records Dischord Records is a Washington, D.C.-based independent record label specializing in punk rock. The label is co-owned by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, who founded Dischord in 1980 to release ''Minor Disturbance'' by their band The Teen Idle ...

and Cheslow's label Decomposition. The EP was recorded at WGNS studios in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

. "Pretty Is" had previously been released on ''A Wonderful Treat''.

Discography

EPs

* ''Suture!'' (1992) 7" EP ( Dischord Records 76½/Decomposition 1): "Good Girl," "Falling," "Pretty Is"

Compilations

* ''A Wonderful Treat'' (1991) compilation cassette: including Suture songs "Good Girl," "Falling," "Secret Language," "Pretty Is"

References

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 1991 Dischord Records artists Punk rock groups from Washington, D.C. Riot grrrl bands