Excuse 17
Encyclopedia
Excuse 17 was a punk rock
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 band from Olympia, Washington
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...

 that performed and recorded from 1993 to 1995.

Carrie Brownstein
Carrie Brownstein
Carrie Rachel Brownstein , is an American musician, writer, and actress, best known as a guitarist and vocalist in the now-defunct Portland, Oregon-based band Sleater-Kinney...

, Becca Albee and CJ Phillips came together to form Excuse 17, a band that would only last a few years but would prove to be influential. Carrie and Becca both played guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

 and sang and CJ played the drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

. After its inception, the band quickly recorded a demo tape and then began playing and recording for various compilations on independent record labels. Their first full-length recording, Excuse Seventeen
Excuse Seventeen
Excuse Seventeen is the debut full-length album by the Riot grrrl band Excuse 17. It was released in 1994. The album was released on vinyl by the Atlas Records record label and CD by Chainsaw Records.-Track listing:# "Vanishing Act"# "Two Faced"...

, was released jointly on Atlas Records (LP) and queercore
Queercore
Queercore is a cultural and social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of punk. It is distinguished by being discontent with society in general and its rejection of the disapproval of the gay, bisexual, and lesbian communities and their "oppressive agenda"...

 label Chainsaw Records
Chainsaw Records
Chainsaw Records is an independent record label run by Donna Dresch, devoted to Queercore bands and operating out of Portland, Oregon.-History:...

 (CD). They would later release their second and final album Such Friends Are Dangerous
Such Friends Are Dangerous
Such Friends Are Dangerous is the second full-length album by the Riot grrrl/Queercore band Excuse 17. It was released in 1995. It was their first studio album to be released on Kill Rock Stars.-Track listing:# "5 Acres" – 2:03# "forever fired" – 3:14...

on the indie
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...

 label Kill Rock Stars
Kill Rock Stars
Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and based in both Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole as having any one artistic mission...

 in 1995, which displayed a boost in recording quality. They often found themselves playing shows with Heavens to Betsy
Heavens to Betsy
Heavens to Betsy was an American indie-punk band formed in Olympia, Washington in 1991. They were part of the DIY riot grrrl movement in the punk rock underground in the early 1990s, and were the first band of Sleater-Kinney vocalist/guitarist Corin Tucker....

, including touring, not surprisingly since both bands were an active part of the Riot Grrrl
Riot grrrl
Riot grrrl was an underground feminist punk movement based in Washington, DC, Olympia, Washington, Portland, Oregon, and the greater Pacific Northwest which existed in the early to mid-1990s, and it is often associated with third-wave feminism...

 scene; as well, they both appear on the compilation LP/CD Free to Fight
Free to Fight
Free to Fight is a project consisting of a 1995 double album and booklet, and a single later released by Candy Ass Records.The release is subtitled "an interactive self-defense project." The theme of the project is self-defense for women, and it includes records featuring all-women bands and a...

. Corin Tucker
Corin Tucker
Corin Lisa Tucker is a singer and guitarist, best known for her work with rock band Sleater-Kinney.- Early life :In the early 1990s, Tucker attended Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where she studied film, political economy, and social change...

 from Heavens to Betsy struck up a friendship with Carrie Brownstein and they dated each other for a time. The two women decided to form Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...

, a side project that soon evolved into their main focus as their respective groups ended. However, Excuse 17's recordings are still valued by fans of Sleater-Kinney, those interested in Riot Grrrl and queercore
Queercore
Queercore is a cultural and social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of punk. It is distinguished by being discontent with society in general and its rejection of the disapproval of the gay, bisexual, and lesbian communities and their "oppressive agenda"...

 recordings, and record collectors in general. Becca Albee is currently a photography professor at the City College of New York.

Full-length recordings

  • Excuse Seventeen
    Excuse Seventeen
    Excuse Seventeen is the debut full-length album by the Riot grrrl band Excuse 17. It was released in 1994. The album was released on vinyl by the Atlas Records record label and CD by Chainsaw Records.-Track listing:# "Vanishing Act"# "Two Faced"...

    on Chainsaw Records
    Chainsaw Records
    Chainsaw Records is an independent record label run by Donna Dresch, devoted to Queercore bands and operating out of Portland, Oregon.-History:...

     (CD) and Atlas Records (LP) (1994)
  • Such Friends Are Dangerous
    Such Friends Are Dangerous
    Such Friends Are Dangerous is the second full-length album by the Riot grrrl/Queercore band Excuse 17. It was released in 1995. It was their first studio album to be released on Kill Rock Stars.-Track listing:# "5 Acres" – 2:03# "forever fired" – 3:14...

    on Kill Rock Stars
    Kill Rock Stars
    Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in 1991 by Slim Moon and based in both Olympia, Washington and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, making it difficult to pigeonhole as having any one artistic mission...

     (1995)

Compilations

  • "Sevenwhateverteen" on Periscope, Yoyo Recordings (1994)
  • "Forever Fired" on Free to Fight
    Free to Fight
    Free to Fight is a project consisting of a 1995 double album and booklet, and a single later released by Candy Ass Records.The release is subtitled "an interactive self-defense project." The theme of the project is self-defense for women, and it includes records featuring all-women bands and a...

    , Candy Ass - Chainsaw co-release (1995)
  • "Carson" on Yoyo A GoGo, Yoyo Recordings (1996)
  • "I'd Rather Eat Glass" on A Slice Of Lemon, Kill Rock Stars (1996)

External links

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