Kathleen Hanna with Bikini Kill in the 90s

Kathleen Hannah will be celebrated on December 11th at Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, as a host of bands she has influenced will team up to perform songs from across her career. The show is a benefit for a forthcoming documentary on the Bikini Kill/Le Tigre member:

Kathleen is currently the subject of a documentary tentatively titled The Kathleen Hanna Project, a.k.a. Who Told You Christmas Wasn't Cool?, directed by Sister Spit alumni, Sini Anderson. ...The documentary explores exactly what makes people react so strongly to Kathleen Hanna's work... her personal motives and perspective on the scene she's been a part of for 20 years, "there's also a lot of context: the history, the musicians, the other people who were part of that movement." The film is also about perseverance in the face of personal attacks, even from those within one's own marginalized community. "Kathleen took an enormous amount of shit. She ate a lot of dirt along the way." And Anderson wants to know, "when people are so busy trying to take you down, how do you keep on creating?" -[The Feminist Guide To Hollywood]

Sini Anderson will also be filming the show for the documentary. Tickets are on sale.

Bands playing include Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, Kaia Wilson, MEN (aka JD Samson of Le Tigre's new band), Bridget Everett, Care Bears on Fire, Hilly Eye, She Murders (featuring Kim Gordon's daughter Coco), Toshi Reagon, Making Friendz, Christy & Emily, and many many others including video performances by Caroline Polachek (Chairlift) and a dance performance by Emily Wexler. Full lineup is below.

Kathleen Hanna DJed the sold-out Raincoats show at MoMa on 11/20. Some videos below...

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photos by Lori Baily

Christy and Emily...

The viBe SongMakers is an advanced music/song creation program that accepts 4-6 underserved Brooklyn teenagers every year and gives them the tools they need to be tomorrow's artistic and cultural leaders and revolutionaries. Writing, recording, and performing orginal songs with professional musicians helps empower these girls to communicate through music. Instruction in piano, songwriting, drum machine, music theory, and digital production helps the girls make the music; an introduction to business and entrepreneurial skills helps the girls market and distribute their CDs; then, the girls learn basic video and editing skills and create their own music videos. [Issue Project Room]

viBE SongMakers were accompanied by Christy & Emily, who also mentor the project, at Issue Project Room on Saturday, January 23rd. Other acts at the show were DJ Marcelle and psych-punk trio Pterodactyl. Some pictures from that event are in this post.

Christy & Emily are currently touring Europe. That's where Pterodactyl travel this March, but not before playing a Febraury 28th show at Union Pool. More dates with the pictures, below...

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