The Gits Celebrates a Band and Life Abbreviated
At the same time that major-label releases from Nirvana and Pearl Jam were drawing international attention to Seattle's rock scene, the Gits were building an underground following with their raucous, blues-infused punk sound, their 1992 debut album, Frenching the Bully, and their singer's versatile, vibrant pipes.
Cobain had cadence and a smooth/sandpaper rasp. Vedder had a deep-welled baritone croon. Mia Zapata had a sweet, soulful, explosive growl that should have been just as famous. Her delivery, paired with the Gits' unique, genre-bending rock, had the band poised to make a national splash with their second album, Enter: The Conquering Chicken.
But in July 1993, while the band was recording the album, Zapata was raped and murdered.
Director Kerri O'Kane's documentary The Gits, opening tomorrow night at Northwest Film Forum, relates the power of Zapata's voice, the tragedy of the crime, and the influence of the band on fellow musicians and friends in Seattle.
At a lean 80 minutes, the film is split between the rise of the Gits (and their influence on other bands like Seven Year Bitch) and the fallout of Zapata's murder. Both halves incorporate footage of the band's live performances, which morph cleverly into studio-recorded versions of each song.
The Gits, while a love-letter to Zapata, bassist Matt Dresdner, guitarist Andy Kessler (aka Joe Spleen), and drummer Steve Moriarty, doesn't use voiceovers, graphics, or other tools of persuasion to convince you that the band was great. It doesn't smash you over the head with a message. The doc simply states—through the words of friends, band members, Zapata's father, Gits fan Joan Jett, and an SPD detective—that the loss of this singer and, subsequently, this band, was truly terrible. That Seattle might have borne more than grunge in the 90s had this group of musicians been allowed to make more music.
If you've read that the film is "one part The Filth and the Fury, one part CSI: Seattle" (as press materials tout), don't be worried; The Gits is intimate and authentic, a heartfelt, far cry from chilly investigate TV fare.
Near the film's end, Zapata's father states, "[Mia] was on loan to me. She now belongs to all of you." He's right. Her life and her band's music are a significant part of Seattle's aural lore. Go see The Gits and learn—or be reminded—why that is.
The Gits plays Friday through Thursday at NWFF. Producer Jessica Bender will appear for a Q&A on July 10. The film will also be released on DVD July 8.
Photo of Mia with The Gits from Flickr user dan10things.
