In 1986, a group of punks, including Tim Yohannan of MAXIMUMROCKNROLL Magazine, started an all-ages punk club in a warehouse on Gilman Street in Berkeley, California.
The club rules stated there would be no tolerance of racism, sexism, homophobia, violence, drugs or alcohol. Monthly membership meetings were held to discuss issues and make decisions by consensus.
Many bands were formed out of friendships started at the club, and the Yeastie Girlz was one of them. The group’s initial lineup featured Cammie Toloui, Joyce Jimenez, and Jane Guskin. In December 1987, Kate (Rosenberger) Razo stepped in when Guskin left to travel to Central America.
The Yeastie Girlz were regulars at Gilman Street, attending shows every weekend and volunteering to work the door, the store, security or cleanup.
Most bands in the Gilman scene were made up of young men, with a smattering of women. So, although one of the club’s stated missions was to combat sexism, there was still much of it. During some shows, there were pits of aggressive males shoving and circling in front of the stage, and many women found themselves in the back of the club, excluded from the fun of the mosh pit due to overly aggressive behaviour.
In this episode, all four Yeastie Girlz speak about the impetus for getting up on the Gilman stage to start rapping, the elation and the terror of performing, and standing up to the violent misogyny of bands like The Mentors.
However, as you can hear in this interview, there is also a lot of exuberance and joy when Yeastie Girlz gather, so the conversation has a lot of laughter and positivity. Please listen, enjoy, and return for part two soon.
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Other links related to this episode.
Lookout! Records folded in 2012; however, the Facebook group LOOKOUT RECORDS – Turn-On, Tune-In… CommUnity is a great place to reminisce with fans, band members and some of the people who put out the records on the label. https://www.facebook.com/groups/642148675925832
Many more Yeastie Girlz recordings, including the Ovary Action 7.”
To learn more about what Cammie, Jane, Joyce and Kate are up to now, check out Woodstein Media Podcst episode 20, coming soon.
Write the Yeastie Girlz actual mail:
PO Box 40788
San Francisco, CA
94140
USA
Photos contributed by Yeastie Girlz: The image used as the cover for Part One was used for the artwork accompanying the Turn It Around compilation released by MAXIMUMROCKNROLL. At that point, the lineup was Cammie, Joyce and Jane. Kate had not joined the Yeastie Girlz yet.
Cover photo: Cammie and Kate encouraging audience interaction at Gilman Street.
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