Thursday, Jan 28

Thrillhouse 20th Anniversary (Day 4)

with

FIFTEEN

All Girl Summer Fun Band

Grassface

7pm doors

$20 advance / $25 at door

all ages

*A benefit for Michaela’s cancer treatment*

Formed in 1988 after the demise of the Bay Area punk band Crimpshine from day one Fifteen forged punk-pop songs with strong social messages. Singer/guitarist Jeff Ott's lyrics focus on social justice and issues such as homelessness, drug abuse, environmental destruction, and government strong-arm tactics. Many of the themes that his songs deal with seem to be pulled from his own experience; sexually abused as a child, he left home at 13 and lived the life of a gutter punk on the streets for 11 years. Other band members had their own struggles; their 1999 album Lucky was named after a former bassist who killed himself after suffering from an amphetamine addiction. Other albums included three apiece for Grass and Lookout Records, as well as their self-produced album, Extra Medium Kickball All-Star. In the summer of 2000, the band released an EP with Sub City Records, Hush. Fifteen followed up several months later with the full-length Survivor. Kickball All-Star was reissued in fall 2003 with appended tracks as a benefit for the organization Any Positive Change, which worked to prevent the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C through needles.

~ Stacia Proefrock

Portland’s All Girl Summer Fun Band has been in existence now for 28 years! Pretty impressive considering the original plan was to only be a band for the summer of 1998. They decided it was too much fun to stop then and have decided that it’s still way too much fun to stop now! While the original member lineup did change a bit (bassist, Ari Douangpanya, left in 2005 to focus on raising her son), the band has continued on as a three-piece consisting of Jen Sbragia, Kathy Foster and Kim Baxter. The remaining members released their third full length album, Looking Into It, on their own label in 2008. They played a few shows in support of the album but then their lives got busy, causing them to put AGSFB on hold. Since then Foster has been focused on her other music projects (The Thermals, Roseblood, Hurry Up, Slang). Baxter has been recording solo music, running a film production company with her husband, and raising her son. Sbragia has been working as a graphic designer, playing music with her other band, The Softies, and raising her two children. The three always knew, however, that when they had time, they would return to playing AGSFB shows and perhaps even record and release more music together. As long as it’s still fun, AGSFB will always be around!

Grassface - Creeps from IL-WI-IN making songs about other creeps and creepy things.