The Frumpies were an American

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 ...

punk rock band formed in 1992 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. Europea ...

, United States. The original line-up consisted of singers/guitarists

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 ...

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 ...

, and

Billy Karren William Francis Karren is an American musician, best known as the lead guitarist of the punk/ riot grrrl band Bikini Kill, formed by Kathleen Hanna, with Karren, Tobi Vail and Kathi Wilcox. He was also active in many other music projects, inclu ...

(all of whom were also a part of the legendary

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

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, ...

drummer

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 ...

. Their debut was the 7-inch single ''Alien Summer Nights'' on the

Chainsaw Records Chainsaw Records is an independent record label run by Donna Dresch that is devoted to Queercore bands. The label is in Portland, Oregon. History ''Chainsaw'' began life as a zine published by Donna Dresch in the late 1980s. Musicians and write ...

label. ''Babies and Bunnies'' was recorded in 1993, with future Make-Up and

Weird War Weird War, briefly known as Scene Creamers, is an indie rock band based out of Washington, D.C. The current lineup consists of Ian Svenonius on vocals, Michelle Mae on bass guitar, Alex Minoff on guitar, and Sebastian Thomson on drums. Weird W ...

bassist

Michelle Mae Michelle Mae is an American musician from the state of Washington, who is known for playing in rock 'n' roll groups such as The Make-Up and Weird War. Biography Mae began playing with underground bands in Olympia, Washington in the mid-1990s, in ...

signing on long enough to record "Tommy Slich." After a two-year hiatus, the Frumpies reunited in 1996, releasing the EP ''Eunuch Nights''. The CD collection ''Frumpie One Piece'' assembled all of the band's previous singles. The group's last release was the 2000 EP "Frumpies Forever."

Discography

*''Alien Summer Nights'' (7" EP) CHSW 6, released 1993. *''Babies & Bunnies'' (7" EP) KRS213, released 1993-08. *''Tommy Slich'' (7", EP) Lookout 091, released 1993. *''Safety First'' (7", EP) WIJ31V, released 1994. *''Eunuch Nights'' (7" EP) KRS322, released: 1998-09-23. *''Frumpie One-Piece'' (CD) KRS335, released: 1998-10-23. *''Frumpies Forever'' (7" EP) KRS366, released: 2000-08-01.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Frumpies, The Punk rock groups from Washington (state) Musical groups from Olympia, Washington Riot grrrl bands Garage punk groups