Featurrre: Rock Archives. Imij, The Gits, Hammerbox at OK Hotel.
July 6th, 1991
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Take a trip back in time to reflect on a show that was a burning fuse of the Seattle Grunge bomb
July 7th, 2024
On July 6th, 1991, three Seattle area rock bands put a bill together at the waterfront OK Hotel, a mixed use cafe/bar/performing arts space in the heart of downtown. Located at 212 Alaskan Way S, the venue was instrumental in regularly hosting local bands of the time. It’s where Nirvana played Smells Like Teen Spirit live for the very first time in April of ‘91 which, yes, was miraculously captured on video. It's linked above and included below. This show, on the other hand, was miraculous for several of its own reasons. One of which is that each of the three bands playing were female fronted. Here’s our collection of accounts and artifacts from that night.
The first group to play was Imij. Not only was this group female fronted, every one of its five members were African American. A band having one person of color within their lineup in Seattle was rare at that time. But Everybody? There are only two recognizable rock bands throughout the country from that relative time period with an all-POC makeup that come to mind, Living Colour and Fishbone (correct us if we’re wrong). Should a group be judged and evaluated on the basis of its cultural composition? No, but representation and perspective are interlinked, meaning that if people of a culture don’t participate in a medium of expression, then that medium probably won’t express the perspectives of that excluded culture very well. All that to say that Imij was a powerfully rocking band. They were surely destined for national attention until their label dropped them in 1994 upon delivery of their debut EP In Gods You Lust. You can speculate about reasons why in this well written KEXP article here. History will have to remember them for the incredible music and moments they were able to put forth, like this home video clip recorded at this very show.
The next band to play was the Gits. Fronted by vocalist Mia Zapata, the Gits spent several years at the dawn of the 90’s living and cultivating a community of artists in the Seattle area. In 1991 alone they played at the OK Hotel at least four times together with groups like The Derelicts, DC Beggars, Poison Idea, and Naked Aggression. They lived and rehearsed in a home on Capitol Hill dubbed the “Rathouse” (cool name), a space they openly shared with several other bands that came to be known together as the Rathouse bands. They even released a few records under their own Rathouse Records label. The Gits also had the energy, potential, and momentum to shine brighter, until Mia was senselessly murdered while walking home on this day, July 7th, 1993. We leave you with this clip of one of their standout performances less than two weeks before her death, and with this message. Viva Zapata!
Hammerbox was the last band of the evening, led by vocalist Carrie Akre. We couldn’t track down much lore about them, other than the fact that they were signed to major label A&M to release their second album. We did find an interview with Carrie where she mentions that two of the key factors that nurtured the Seattle sound, making the Grunge moment possible, were: 1. Affordable living in Seattle 2. A robust music infrastructure ecosystem of venues, rehearsal spaces, labels, press, and broadcasting. Food for thought. They released two albums in their time as a group, 1991’s self titled and 1993’s Numb. There is also no footage of them performing at this show, so below is a set from RKCNDY in 1992.
That was thirty three years ago. Thirty three years later, here we are. Thanks for reading, Rrrat Pack.
