In 1993, Seattle punk rock band, The Gits and their charismatic
front person Mia Zapata were on the verge of international rock stardom.
July 7, 1993, The Gits had a single day off at home in Seattle
before boarding a plane for New York to begin a third U.S. tour that year. Mia
Zapata, their 27-year-old singer-songwriter, was brutally assaulted and murdered
by a stranger. Zapata's death sent chilling ripples through progressive
communities throughout the United States. She became a cause-celebre for
women's rights activists outraged by the brutal killing and lack of law
enforcement support. This book reclaims Zapata's story to focus on the art she and The Gits created and not her tragic end.
Much has been written and said about her murder, yet
Zapata's life and work remain overshadowed by the circumstances of her death.
Zapata's friend and bandmate, Steve Moriarty, tells her story?and the story of
their band, The Gits?from their first meeting in 1985 to their last goodbye.
Moriarity and Zapata met in 1985 as first-year students at
Antioch College, where they discovered the power of punk rock and found an
outlet for their progressive ideas through music. Zapata, Moriarity, and fellow
students, Matt Dresdner and Andy Kessler, attended a show by San Francisco punk
legends, Dead Kennedys that inspired the friends to start a band fueled by
Mia's provocative lyrics. They quickly gained critical praise and dedicated
fans.
Moriarty details their struggles as newcomers to the then-pre-tech outpost of Seattle music scene. Interspersed are the tales Zapata told
of her legendary ancestor, Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, to entertain
the band as they spent countless hours on the road crammed into a single un-air-conditioned
van touring the US and Europe.
They shared stages with Beck, Nirvana, Mudhoney, Joan Jett, Bikini Kill, L7, and more?all whom expected Mia and The Gits to be the next ?big thing.?
The Gits's story is more than a biography; it's a testament to
the ability of artists and musicians to challenge the status quo and the power
of friendship to change the world. Moriarty reframes the sensationalist
story as he shares his personal narrative and presents, with intimacy, grit,
and humor, the lived experience of The Gits and his dear friend, Mia Zapata.
Included
are never before seen paintings, letters, and pictures.
