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 75-page booklet with writings, comics, and graphics by Cynthia Star, Rachel Hanes, Julia Toews, Robin V. Bowser, Nina Landey, Maria Mercedes, bell hooks, Roberta Gregory, Penny Van Horn, Kirsten Ostherr, Laura Sister Nobody, Rachel, Jeannie La France, Alice Stagg, Moira Bowman, Alicia Cohen, Christine Denkewalter, Margaret Denkelwalter, Ellen Crofts, Shannon, Jo, Sara Stout, Lisa Addario, Lake, Bridget Irish, Nikki McClure, Stella Marrs, Staci Colter, Jody Bleyle and Anna LoBianco. The recordings also include self-defense instructions and personal testimonies.
It was released as a double album, on two 12" vinyl records, and also released simultaneously as a CD.
The recording was spotlighted in the 1997 documentary filmShe's Real by Lucy Thane, which featured interviews with Candy Ass Records owner Jody Bleyle about the inspiration behind Free To Fight, as well as the practical aspects of releasing it.
This project was continued as a 7-inch split single with Sleater-Kinney and Cypher in the Snow, also on Candy Ass Records, released in 1998.
Queercore is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifically society's disapproval of the LGBT community. Queercore expresses itself in a DIY style through magazines, music, writing and film.
Team Dresch is an American punk rock band originally formed in 1993 in Olympia, Washington.
Chainsaw Records is an independent record label run by Donna Dresch that is devoted to Queercore bands. The label is in Portland, Oregon.
Candy Ass Records was an independent record label in Portland, Oregon that was run by Jody Bleyle, a member of the bands Team Dresch and Hazel and of the queercore bands Family Outing and Infinite Xs.
Lois Maffeo is an American musician and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. She has been closely involved with and influenced many independent musicians, especially in the 1990s-era Olympia, Seattle and Washington, D.C. music scenes.
Magic Eight Ball is a power pop band formed in Old Windsor, England. They are now based in Egham, England.
Chad Everett Gilbert is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band New Found Glory, for whom he plays lead guitar, sings backing vocals, and composes music. He was also the lead vocalist for the band's now-defunct side-project, International Superheroes of Hardcore. Additionally, Gilbert was the vocalist for the hardcore punk band Shai Hulud between 1995 and 1998, and from 2012 to 2013.
Lesbians on Ecstasy is a Canadian electronic band formed in 2003 in Montreal, Quebec.
Excuse 17 was a punk rock band from Olympia, Washington, US, that performed and recorded from 1993 to 1995. The band consisted of Becca Albee, Carrie Brownstein, and Curtis James (drums). The band recorded two full-length albums and a single, and contributed to several compilation albums.
Hazel was an American alternative rock band based in Portland, Oregon. The band was a quartet, consisting of Jody Bleyle, Pete Krebs, Brady Smith (bass), and Fred Nemo (dancer). It lasted from 1992 to 1997.
Paul Kevin Masterson is a Northern Irish DJ and record producer, originally from Belfast and now living in London. He is best known for recording as Yomanda. He is also part of the dance music duo Hi-Gate, along with BBC Radio 1 DJ Judge Jules.
Personal Best is the first studio album by the American queercore band Team Dresch. It was released on January 23, 1995 by both Candy Ass Records and Chainsaw Records. It was reissued on Jealous Butcher Records in May 2019. The label reissued their entire back catalog in order to help reaffirm the band's legacy as queercore icons.
Kenneth Stuart Stringfellow is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. Best known for his work with The Posies, R.E.M., and the re-formed Big Star, Stringfellow's discography includes more than 200 albums.
Donna Dresch is an American punk rock musician, perhaps best known as founder, guitarist and bass guitarist of Team Dresch.
Longstocking were an American, Los Angeles–based queercore-punk band.
Rachel Carns is an American musician, composer, artist and performer living in Olympia, Washington, U.S. Raised in small-town Wisconsin, she went on to study painting and drawing at Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in New York City, where she completed her B.F.A. in 1991. Carns began her career as drummer for Kicking Giant, later collaborating with several bands, including The Need. She is a celebrated graphic designer, working under the name System Lux, and plays drums and percussion with experimental performance art group Cloud Eye Control.
Cypher in the Snow were an American all women queercore band from San Francisco, California, United States.
Lucy Thane is a British documentary filmmaker, event producer and performer, living in Folkestone. Her films include It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill in the UK (1993) and She's Real (1997).
Captain My Captain is the second and final studio album by the pioneering American queercore band Team Dresch. The album was released on June 4, 1996, by Chainsaw Records and Candy Ass Records. It was reissued in 2019 by Jealous Butcher Records, to coincide with a 25th anniversary reunion tour.
Choices, Chances, Changes: Singles & Comptracks 1994–2000 is a 2019 compilation album from American riot grrrl band Team Dresch.
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