The Go Team was a 1980s band from

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 ...

, consisting of

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 ...

and

Calvin Johnson Calvin Johnson Jr., (born September 29, 1985) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons with the Detroit Lions. He played college football at Georgia Tech, where he twice ...

of Beat Happening.

Career

The Go Team was founded in 1985. As Vail described: The Go Team released several cassettes and 9 singles on the independent label

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent music ...

. The records were often collaborations with other musicians and the musical style varied from single to single. Kurt Cobain of

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.' ...

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 ...

The Legend! Everett True (born Jeremy Andrew Thackray on 21 April 1961) is an English music journalist and musician. He became interested in rock music after hearing The Residents, and formed a band with school friends. He has written and recorded as The ...

, David Nichols of The Cannanes,

Donna Dresch Donna Dresch is an American punk rock musician, perhaps best known as founder, guitarist and bass guitarist of Team Dresch. Dresch has been actively involved in the queercore scene since the 1980s, as the creator of the fanzine ''Chainsaw'' an ...

Team Dresch Team Dresch is an American punk rock band originally formed in 1993 in Olympia, Washington. The band made a significant impression on the DIY punk movement queercore, which gave voice through zines and music to the passions and concerns of LGBT p ...

Lois Maffeo Lois Maffeo (professionally known for much of her career as Lois) is an American musician and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. She has been closely involved with and influenced many independent musicians, especially in the 1990s-era Oly ...

, Rich Jensen, and Jeffery Kennedy were some of the artists the duo worked with. Billy "Boredom" Karren was one of the rotating musicians who played with The Go Team, and it was in this band that he and Vail played together for the first time, later collaborating in several other bands like Bikini Kill, The Frumpies, the upallnighters, and Spray Painted Love. They toured the West Coast as a two piece, adding Billy Karren for two U.S. tours. Tobi Vail went on to form

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 ...

with

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 ...

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 occasional Go Team member, Billy Karren. Presently, she plays with the band Spider and the Webs. Calvin Johnson currently records as a solo artist and with The Hive Dwellers, and continues to operate K Records.

Discography

Singles

*"Sand"/"Jigsaw" (January 1989) *"Outside"/"Stay Ready" (February 1989) with

, Louise Olsen, David Nichols *"Breakfast in Bed"/"Safe Little Circles" (March 1989) with

*"Milquetoast Brigade"/"She Was Sad" (April 1989) with Jeffery Kennedy *"Ribeye"/"935 Patterson" (May 1989) *"Go Team Call"/"Three Ways to Sunday" (June 1989) with Quang H., Billy Karren, Brad Clemmons *"Scratch It Out"/"Bikini Twilight" (July 1989) with Tamra Ohrmund, Louise Olsen,

, Kurt Cobain *"Tummy Hop"/"Maverick Summer" (August 1989) with Brad Clemmons *"The Pines of Rome" (September 1989) with Brad Clemmons

Cassettes

*''Recorded Live at the Washington Center for the Performing Arts'' *''Your Pretty Guitar'' (with Steve Peters) *''Archer Come Sparrow'' *''Donna Parker Pop''

References

External links

The Go Team Story
* K Records artists Musical groups from Olympia, Washington Punk rock groups from Washington (state) Beat Happening Musical groups established in 1985 1985 establishments in Washington (state) Musical groups disestablished in 1989 1989 disestablishments in Washington (state) {{US-rock-band-stub