I'll Keep Breathing, I Keep Breathing
Gits L-R: Steve Moriarty, Matt Dresdner, Andy Kessler (aka Joe Spleen) & Mia Zapata (Rest In Power)
"Do you ever think that when you're dealing with the worst
The outcome is the best thing for you?
And by the good of evil is in the knowledge that you face it
One day you're gonna fucking have to"
–Mia Zapata, "Absynthe"
In 1992, The Gits released Frenching The Bully, the only album released during lead singer/songwriter Mia Zapata's lifetime. It’s deceptively ambitious and not all of it works, but the best songs have melodic hooks and guitar breaks that are well beyond 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 punk rock. "Absynthe" sounds like Bad Religion, but with a cool instrumental breakdown where guitarist Andy Kessler (aka Joe Spleen), bassist Matt Dresdner, and drummer Steve Moriarty each drop out and then come back in one at a time. "Another Shot Of Whiskey" is dare I say Cobainish? It should've been a single. "Second Skin" starts out like Social Distortion and ends up as one of The Gits' greatest songs. This version was actually released as a single the previous year, so for my playlists I'm including it with '91. "Wingo Lamo" was written mostly by Kessler, and lyrics are Zapata's, but Moriarty owns the song. Dude plays all the fills. "Slaughter Of Bruce" and "Kings And Queens" are particular highlights because they sound like templates for A Giant Dog, easily my favorite band of the 2010s. Intentional or not, AGD lead singer Sabrina Ellis has a lot of Mia Zapata in her. It's great to see the lineage continue.
“Mia ended up a victim, she didn’t live as a victim. She was a kickass singer, songwriter, and performer and that needs to be remembered and celebrated, too. The loss of this band is a secondary tragedy, but a tragedy nonetheless.”
Look for the 2003 Frenching The Bully reissue from Broken Rekids because it includes eight songs from the band's June 1993 appearance at X-Ray Records in Portland, less than 2 weeks before Mia's death. Given that horrifying fact, it's easy to overlook or ignore how good The Gits were as an actual, working band. Maybe people feel like if you're not focusing on her death it's disrespectful to her memory, but I feel the opposite is true. Mia ended up a victim, she didn't live as a victim. She was a kickass singer, songwriter, and performer and that needs to be remembered and celebrated, too. The loss of this band is a secondary tragedy, but a tragedy nonetheless.
“Second Skin” sounds like an old school Orange County punk song (Social Distortion, Agent Orange, Adolescents, etc.), except Mia Zapata is singing, so I like it better lol.
“Take us to the water
Launch us out to sea
And may the drunken mad ones follow me!”
Performance on Seattle public access showcases the deft power trio beneath Mia’s powerful vocals, including a faux-jazz breakdown followed by a bitchin Kessler solo (1:32-1:47).
