Tobi Vail
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Tobi Vail is an alternative rock musician, fanzine writer, rock critic and feminist theorist from Olympia, Washington, USA.
Her first band was The Go Team with Calvin Johnson. The group released many singles, as well as a full-length cassette, on independent label K Records. Billy Karren was one of the rotating musicians who played with The Go Team and it was in this band that he and Tobi played together for the first time. It was also at this time that she met Kurt Cobain (who later formed Nirvana), who also played on one of The Go Team's singles, and the two were together in the early 90's. As well, she is the ex-girlfriend of Tim Armstrong, who wrote "Olympia, WA." about their relationship.
She is best known as the drummer of Bikini Kill, one of the most important bands of the riot grrl movement. Along with Bratmobile, the two bands produced influential fanzines; Tobi and Kathleen Hanna of Bikini Kill producing Revolution Girl Style Now, Molly and Allison of Bratmobile creating Girl Germs; propagating ideas that paved the way for both bands and the movement that came to be known as "Riot Grrrl". The band released several LPs and singles on the label Kill Rock Stars, which were considered fundamental testaments of the ideals of Riot Grrrl, and toured extensively, which helped make the movement a popular one. In England, they were filmed for the movie It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill In the U.K. by Lucy Thane and appeared in other small independent films, all of which helped carry their message further afield.
Together with Bikini Kill bandmates Kathi Wilcox and Billy Karren, as well as Molly Neuman of Bratmobile, Tobi is now in the band The Frumpies. She is also one of the founders of Bands Against Bush.