Cypher in the Snow
Encyclopedia
Cypher in the Snow were an all women
queercore
band from San Francisco.
One of the band's first appearances was at the Dirtybird Queercore Festival in San Francisco in 1996. This historic festival also featured Tribe 8
, Sta-Prest
, Behead the Prophet, No Lord Shall Live, The Need
and many others. Cypher in the Snow was made up of between six and seven members, and the line-up changed a number of times during the band's history. The original members included Anna Joy, formerly the singer for punk
bands Blatz
and Gr'ups on vocals; Daniela Sea
(as Dan-yella Dyslexia), also from the Gr'ups, played guitar; Shari Lambchop was the drummer; Ulla Imd on vocals; Margaret Hitchcock was the trumpet player; Chloe Sherman (as Chloe Little Hope) played bass; and Lala Hulse on banjo and lap steel. Juliana Snapper joined as vocalist on the song "Rock Opera". When Shari left the band to play with The Third Sex, Paula Cronan, who also played with Death Card 13 and The Dodge Brothers, became the new drummer. Other members include Dorothy Wang, Elitrea Frye, Carmen White, and Toni Gogin of Sleater-Kinney
who played guest guitar with the band on tour, after the release of their first CD. The band featured a wide range of instruments including accordion
, lap steel guitar
, banjo
and trumpet
, as well as the standard drums, guitar and bass.
Cypher in the Snow released several recordings including a single with Outpunk
, the first independent record label
devoted to queer
punk; an album on Candy Ass Records
; and a split single with Sleater-Kinney, the Free to Fight
single, dedicated to self defense for women. They also performed live and were interviewed in the film She's Real, Worse Than Queer by Lucy Thane
.
After the group parted ways Anna Joy, now Anna Joy Springer, devoted herself to writing and toured with Sister Spit
, the all-women writers and poets touring company. Juliana Snapper and Paula Cronan began collaborations on intermedia art projects including video
and installations, and regularly show work; as well, in 2005 Juliana toured with Ron Athey
performing their operatic collaboration, The Judas Cradle. Lala Hulse joined the band The Whoreshoes
. Margaret Hitchcock started the all dyke/genderqueer band Dyspecific in San Francisco. Daniela Sea became an actress, appearing on the television show The L Word
, as the transgender
character introduced as "Moira Sweeney", now "Max Sweeney". Shari played in several punk bands, including the all female Harum-Scarum.
All-women band
An all-female band is a musical group composed of female musicians exclusively. A distinction is made here with a girl group, in which the members are solely vocalists, though this terminology is not universally followed.-1920s-1940s:In the Jazz Age and during the 1930s, "all-girl" bands such as...
queercore
Queercore
Queercore is a cultural and social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of punk. It is distinguished by being discontent with society in general and its rejection of the disapproval of the gay, bisexual, and lesbian communities and their "oppressive agenda"...
band from San Francisco.
One of the band's first appearances was at the Dirtybird Queercore Festival in San Francisco in 1996. This historic festival also featured Tribe 8
Tribe 8
This article is about the San Francisco based lesbian punk band Tribe 8. See Tribe 8 for Dream Pod 9s post-apocalyptic fantasy role-playing game.Tribe 8 was an all-women outspoken dyke punk band from San Francisco...
, Sta-Prest
Sta-Prest (band)
-Biography:The band first made its appearance on the queercore record label Outpunk Records, on its compilation Outpunk Dance Party. Soon afterwards they released their first EP, Vespa Sex, also on Outpunk, followed later by a 7" single...
, Behead the Prophet, No Lord Shall Live, The Need
The Need
The Need was a queercore band that originated in Olympia, Washington in the late 1990s. It was formed by Rachel Carns and Radio Sloan ; both were veterans of other indie rock bands...
and many others. Cypher in the Snow was made up of between six and seven members, and the line-up changed a number of times during the band's history. The original members included Anna Joy, formerly the singer for punk
Punk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
bands Blatz
Blatz (band)
Blatz was a punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California. Blatz came out of the 924 Gilman Street Project scene during the late '80s, and early '90s along with bands like Operation Ivy, Filth, and Green Day.-History:...
and Gr'ups on vocals; Daniela Sea
Daniela Sea
Daniela Sea is an American filmmaker musician, performance artist, former circus juggler, and actress. She is most widely known for her role as Max/Moira on Showtime's The L Word.-History:...
(as Dan-yella Dyslexia), also from the Gr'ups, played guitar; Shari Lambchop was the drummer; Ulla Imd on vocals; Margaret Hitchcock was the trumpet player; Chloe Sherman (as Chloe Little Hope) played bass; and Lala Hulse on banjo and lap steel. Juliana Snapper joined as vocalist on the song "Rock Opera". When Shari left the band to play with The Third Sex, Paula Cronan, who also played with Death Card 13 and The Dodge Brothers, became the new drummer. Other members include Dorothy Wang, Elitrea Frye, Carmen White, and Toni Gogin of Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney
Sleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...
who played guest guitar with the band on tour, after the release of their first CD. The band featured a wide range of instruments including accordion
Accordion
The accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, lap steel guitar
Lap steel guitar
The lap steel guitar is a type of steel guitar, an instrument derived from and similar to the guitar. The player changes pitch by pressing a metal or glass bar against the strings instead of by pressing strings against the fingerboard....
, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
and trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, as well as the standard drums, guitar and bass.
Cypher in the Snow released several recordings including a single with Outpunk
Outpunk
Outpunk enjoys the distinction of being the first record label entirely devoted to queer punk bands.The label was run out of San Francisco and began as an extension of Matt Wobensmith's fanzine, Outpunk. Outpunk ran for seven issues, from 1992 till 1997, with contributions from queer punks such as...
, the first independent record label
Independent record label
An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:...
devoted to queer
Queer
Queer is an umbrella term for sexual minorities that are not heterosexual, heteronormative, or gender-binary. In the context of Western identity politics the term also acts as a label setting queer-identifying people apart from discourse, ideologies, and lifestyles that typify mainstream LGBT ...
punk; an album on Candy Ass Records
Candy Ass Records
Candy Ass Records is an independent record label run out of Portland, Oregon by Jody Bleyle, a member of the band Team Dresch as well as member of Hazel and formerly of the queercore bands Family Outing and Infinite Xs....
; and a split single with Sleater-Kinney, the Free to Fight
Free to Fight
Free to Fight is a project consisting of a 1995 double album and booklet, and a single later released by Candy Ass Records.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...
single, dedicated to self defense for women. They also performed live and were interviewed in the film She's Real, Worse Than Queer by Lucy Thane
Lucy Thane
Lucy Thane is a documentary filmmaker.One of her most notable works is It Changed My Life: Bikini Kill In The UK in which she followed the 1990s riot grrrl band Bikini Kill while they were on tour in the UK with Huggy Bear....
.
After the group parted ways Anna Joy, now Anna Joy Springer, devoted herself to writing and toured with Sister Spit
Sister Spit
Sister Spit is a lesbian-feminist spoken word and performance art collective based in San Francisco, signed to Mr. Lady Records. They formed in 1994 and disbanded in 2006. Founding members included Michelle Tea and Sini Anderson, Other members included Jane LeCroy and poet Eileen Myles...
, the all-women writers and poets touring company. Juliana Snapper and Paula Cronan began collaborations on intermedia art projects including video
Video art
Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data. . Video art came into existence during the 1960s and 1970s, is still widely practiced and has given rise to the widespread use of video installations...
and installations, and regularly show work; as well, in 2005 Juliana toured with Ron Athey
Ron Athey
Ron Athey is an American performance artist associated with body art and with extreme performance art. He has performed in the U.S. and internationally . Athey's work explores challenging subjects like the relationships between desire, sexuality, and traumatic experience...
performing their operatic collaboration, The Judas Cradle. Lala Hulse joined the band The Whoreshoes
The Whoreshoes
The Whoreshoes was an all-female, honky tonk/bluegrass/country band based in the San Francisco Bay area. The group's name is primarily a pun based on horseshoes. They have played internationally in countries such as Belgium and The Netherlands. In addition they performed at the 2007 Hardly...
. Margaret Hitchcock started the all dyke/genderqueer band Dyspecific in San Francisco. Daniela Sea became an actress, appearing on the television show The L Word
The L Word
The L Word is an American co-production television drama series originally shown on Showtime portraying the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people and their friends, family and lovers in the trendy Greater Los Angeles, California city of West Hollywood...
, as the transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
character introduced as "Moira Sweeney", now "Max Sweeney". Shari played in several punk bands, including the all female Harum-Scarum.
Discography
- Badass and Free 7" single, OutpunkOutpunkOutpunk enjoys the distinction of being the first record label entirely devoted to queer punk bands.The label was run out of San Francisco and began as an extension of Matt Wobensmith's fanzine, Outpunk. Outpunk ran for seven issues, from 1992 till 1997, with contributions from queer punks such as...
, 1996 - Blow Away the Glitter Diamonds From the Crown, CD Candy Ass RecordsCandy Ass RecordsCandy Ass Records is an independent record label run out of Portland, Oregon by Jody Bleyle, a member of the band Team Dresch as well as member of Hazel and formerly of the queercore bands Family Outing and Infinite Xs....
, 1997 (entire CD available to listen to at http://smartyboots.net/sounds/). - Free to FightFree to FightFree to Fight is a project consisting of a 1995 double album and booklet, and a single later released by Candy Ass Records.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...
, split single with Sleater-KinneySleater-KinneySleater-Kinney was an alternative rock band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 1994. Originally formed in Olympia, Washington, the group's name is derived from Sleater-Kinney Road, Interstate 5 off ramp #108 in Lacey, Washington, the location of one of their early practice spaces. They were a...
, Candy Ass, 1998 - So You Have an STD, Bad Monkey Records, 1998