Back in the spring of this year when I first heard that Sub Pop was going to compile and release a bunch of material by The Gits…well I was seriously pumped for sure.  I was not part of the Ohio scene where they started or the Seattle scene that they moved to but was of course paying attention to that latter sound as it developed.  At the time the only music that I had heard from them were the two songs they contributed to Bobbing for Pavement (A Seattle Compilation) which I had somehow come across at a record store in Oceanside, CA.   Right away the energy of the music and the voice of Mia Zapata caught my attention and stuck with me.  In the many intervening years since I have heard a few other songs here and there (each of them reinforcing that first impression) but have never been able to land any of the full releases from the band.  I have a vague memory of seeing a copy of The Best of the Gits in a bin around 2012 and not having any spare cash to purchase it.  Oh well at the time but now it is a brand new day with these fresh re-issues coming from Sub Pop.  

I went with purchasing Frenching the Bully first as it was the one I always thought of as “the one to have.”  It was the only album released while Zapata was still alive and also the one most talked about in conversations with others.  It is hard to explain just how blown away I was by the full set of 13 songs but let’s just go with – this is an absolute powerhouse band, operating at a very high level and the true range and versatility of Zapata’s voice is on full display.  Even though they came out of the Seattle scene that also spawned the “popular grunge” sound that we may all roll our eyes at…this is not grunge music in any way.  The Gits manage to blend a few different punk styles with rock and a little metal.  A really furious and glorious combination.  

Musicians on this:  Mia Zapata (vocals), Matt Dresdner (bass), Steve Moriarty (drums) and Andy Kessler (guitar).

Once you check this one there are more out there – all available from the link below.  If you own this or any of them, well, you have a real piece of music history.  

https://thegits.bandcamp.com/music

And if you have the inclination …think about purchasing it if you can as steaming music does not pay well even times a thousand. 

And support your locals – community is powerful!