Team Dresch

Ah yes, Team Dresch. I remember the first time I ever heard them. I decided to ride with a local band named Hurst to a show they were playing in Madison, WI at some college cafeteria. The details of the show are beyond foggy to me now, but I think Carbomb from TX was on the bill as well... or maybe that was a different show.

Any way, after the show, we went to visit some friends that were in college in Madison who had recently moved there from Indianapolis. In their un-airconditioned, 1940s, tile-laden apartment we cooked pasta with tons of vegetables. (There was a Co-op just around the corner.) The whole time we were cooking, Personal Best by Team Dresch was playing on the antique record player on the floor. You know, the sort of record player with a built-in speaker that's mono-only and used to be sold in the 30s or so.

The first thing that gripped me was the music and how intense it was. The lushness and abraisiveness of the distorted guitars, the janglieness of the clean tones. The lyrics were beautiful and new -- Team Dresch was the first 'queercore' band I had heard. This caused me to listen more closely to the lyrics and admire the out-of-the-closet-fuck-you attitude that the lyrics propelled. That and the raw emotion, solid song structures, and intensity of the guitars got me hooked. The album cover is also one of my favorite of the era.

Here's a few songs from Personal Best:

Fagetarian and Dyke

Screwing Yer Courage

She's Amazing

Buy the album here.

Also, I just noticed that they're apparently back together and playing a few shows:

1. San Francisco @ slims on August 25th w/ Erase Errata and tba
   
2. SUNDAY August 27 in Los Angeles @ spaceland
   
3. @ estrojam Sept 28th Chicago