Fembot
featuring Calvin Johnson on the cover
Fembot is a zine created by Gary Fembot from San Francisco, CA., U.S.A.
Gary Fembot (AKA Dudley Manlove) released this cut and paste, photocopied zine in the 1990's.
In the introduction to Fembot, Gary writes, "Hi this is Fembot and it's about digging girls who are in bands or bands with girls in them and this is from a queer point of view if ya need to know". Various issues include lists of bands with girls, such as Fizzbombs, Rosehips, Vultures, Cavegurls, and The Pleasure Seekers. Bands from the 1950's to the 1990's are covered here. Also included are record reviews of groups like Cornershop, Heavenly, Marzipan, and Naked Aggression, and reviews of shows by bands such as Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, Fifth Column, Glen Meadmore, Huggy Bear and others. One issue features an article by Jeffery Kennedy entitled "Sophisticated Boom Boom: The Shangri-Las, Gender Maligning and the Thrill of It All". There are articles on other topics as well, such as a piece by Gary called "Shoplifting: the big moral dilemma and the Fembot solution", an editorial against colleges, self defense for women and queers, personal stories from Gary's past and a reprint of a National Enquirer article, "The Pansy From Planet X".
One issue of Fembot was also released as a split zine with Outpunk #2. Featuring Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening on the cover, it also included an interview with the band Tiger Trap.
After the third issue, the title of the zine was changed to Fembot presents Jam While You Cram, named after a 1980's high school locker poster. The range of the zine expanded to include interviews with the band Fagbash, and with Erika, who helps injection-drug-using homeless youth put out the zine The Shity, autographs from Cherie Currie and Sandy West, reviews of books by Valerie Solanis and Liz Renay, contributor Valerie Sutcliffe's "10 Favorite Punk Albums", an account of a Go-Gos concert and an examination of Gary's past as a frat boy, with lots of photos.
Gary Fembot was also a member of the band Sta-Prest. He released three issues of Fembot, and two issues of Fembot presents Jam While You Cram.
External Link
Copies of Fembot are in the collection of the GLBT Historical Society of Northern California.[1]
