Overview

Michelle Cruz Gonzales played drums and wrote lyrics in the influential 1990s female hardcore band Spitboy, and now she's written a book-a punk rock herstory. Though not a riot grrl band, Spitboy blazed trails for women musicians in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond, but it wasn't easy. Misogyny, sexism, abusive fans, class and color blindness, and all-out racism were foes, especially for Gonzales, a Xicana and the only person of color in the band. Unlike touring rock bands before them, the unapologetically feminist Spitboy preferred Scrabble games between shows rather than sex and drugs, and they were not the angry manhaters that many expected them to be. Serious about women's issues and being the band that they themselves wanted to hear, a band that rocked as hard as men but sounded like women, Spitboy released several records and toured internationally. The memoir details these travels while chronicling Spitboy's successes and failures, and for Gonzales, discovering her own identity along the way. Fully illustrated with rare photos and flyers from the punk rock underground, this fast-paced, first-person recollection is populated by scenesters and musical allies from the time including Econochrist, Paxston Quiggly, Neurosis, Los Crudos, Aaron Cometbus, Pete the Roadie, Green Day, Fugazi, and Kamala and the Karnivores.

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9781629631400

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Reviews

The Spitboy Rule follows the difficult and courageous journey of a young woman who wasn t afraid to venture into a mostly white underground scene, to hold mirrors up to the faces of her worst critics. Charlie Vazquez, Huffington Post

<i>The Spitboy Rule</i> is a compelling and insightful journey into the world of 90s punk as seen through the eyes of a Xicana drummer who goes by the nickname Todd. Todd stirs the pot by insisting that she plays hardcore punk, not Riot Grrrl music, and inviting males to share the dance floor with women in a respectful way. This drummer never misses a beat. Read it! Alice Bag, singer for The Bags, author of <i>Violence Girl: East L.A. Rage to Hollywood Stage, a Chicana Punk Story</i> In this book Michelle Cruz Gonzales tells the history of the influential all-female hardcore punk band Spitboy while at the same time, revealing the story of her own search for identity. Anke Kalau, <i>OX Fanzine</i> <i>The Spitboy Rule </i>is a highly recommended read for anyone interested in gender/ethnic studies, Spitboy, the punk scene in which it existed, the often contradictory and landmine-ridden political climate of that scene, or simply a memoir about living an extraordinary life. Jimmy Alvarado, <i>Razorcake</i>

The Spitboy Rule is a compelling and insightful journey into the world of 90s punk as seen through the eyes of a Xicana drummer who goes by the nickname Todd. Todd stirs the pot by insisting that she plays hardcore punk, not Riot Grrrl music, and inviting males to share the dance floor with women in a respectful way. This drummer never misses a beat. Read it! Alice Bag, singer for The Bags, author of Violence Girl: East L.A. Rage to Hollywood Stage, a Chicana Punk Story

Author Information

Michelle Cruz Gonzales played drums and wrote lyrics for several bands during the 1980s and 1990s. Her writing has been published in anthologies, literary journals, and Hip Mama magazine. Michelle teaches English and creative writing at Las Positas College. She lives in Oakland, CA. Mimi Thi Nguyen is associate professor of gender and women's studies and Asian American studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She is the author of The Gift of Freedom: War, Debt, and Other Refugee Passages. For the last fifteen years, Martín Sorrondeguy has been the singer of the openly queer punk band Limp Wrist. Sorrondeguy recently completed his third photography book, En Busca De Algo Mas.

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