Riot grrrl pioneers Bratmobile are back, performing some of their first shows in 20 years, including a Saturday set at Pitchfork Music Festival. Earlier in the day, vocalist Allison Wolfe and drummer Molly Neuman chatted with the Sun-Times about their memories of Chicago, a pair of album re-issues due out in October and if there may be any new music on the way.
Q: You just reunited with some of your first shows in 20 years. Tell us about your set today …
Allison Wolfe: I’m nervous, but no, I’m excited, we haven’t been in Chicago in a long time.
Molly Neuman: I think what’s also interesting and fun about playing together after so long is that … we are trying to approach it in terms of having fun, so even though we get nervous and need to remember the lines and beats, I think we also give ourselves a bit more of a break, you know, it’s not the end of the world. … We’ve been through the end of the world already, right?
Q: What are your memories of Chicago over the years?
MN: It’s been an important spot for us. We were here on our very first tour, we spent a few days here and there was a heatwave … and we met some of our lifelong friends and others who came and hang out with us.
AW: I used to have a boyfriend here in the early ‘90s so I came here a lot and it was really fun. But I remember I often needed some girl time and Liz Phair would invite me over to get away from [the male-heavy music crowd] Guyville, so that was very cool and generous of her to help me escape a bit.
MN: Said boyfriend also, on one of my other trips to Chicago, it was one of the most memorable moments of my life. We had just seen “What’s Love Got To Do With It?” and we were in a car and I had a super piping hot tea and it spilled on me and I was sitting on his lap or something and he said, “Take the pain and use it.” And I was like, “That is ridiculous, I want to punch you in the face.” But then Allison put that in one of our songs eventually.”
Q: You just announced two reissues: 2000’s “Ladies, Women and Girls” and 2002’s “Girls Get Busy,” coming out Oct. 25 on Kill Rock Stars. But are there any plans for new music?
MN: Not yet, I think we’ve been very focused on trying to play, as well as we possibly could, all of these old songs. And so that’s been the priority and we’ll see. … Maybe that can happen but it’s not a plan right now. … Even for us, the way we made those records was kind of quick and so I think us revisiting them … it’s nice to hear them in a new way. … I think there’s a lot to be proud of so I’m excited for them to be heard in a new way.”
Q: As such feminist punk riot grrrl icons, reuniting at this time in American history is very interesting — was the timing of what’s going on in the world part of the motivation?
MN: You mean the abject horror of what we are enduring in terms of the political and global events? That wasn’t necessarily a driver. But I do find, and I’m sure Allison has a lot to say too … that having the chance to do something that is a relief and fun and joyful I think is something we could all use, and I’m glad in our lives we are able to find that. And certainly I think for Allison as the frontperson and vocalist it’s to express things that are themes that are painfully still relevant. …”
AW: Yeah, that’s the thing. A lot of the old songs are still relevant. Why write new ones? [laughs] No I’m kidding. I think that there’s a lot going on right now … and we need diversity of voices. I definitely believe in revolution and the downfall of capitalism, I hope. And I think that you need dancing at the revolution, right?