Donna Dresch

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Donna Dresch is a zine editor and musician based in Portland, OR. where she also runs the independent record label Chainsaw.

Donna began her zine Chainsaw in the late 1980s. Four issues were released. It was one of the early queercore zines while, at the same time, a proto-Riot Grrrl zine as well, since one of the concurrent themes of the zine was women in music. The last issue was a music compilation cassette tape, which announced the onset of its existence as a music label. Chainsaw has released recordings by such artists as Sleater Kinney, Team Dresch, Longstocking, The Third Sex, Tracy +the Plastics, The Need, Excuse 17, Heavens to Betsy and many others.

Donna Dresch has been a member of a number of bands, most notably Team Dresch, her namesake band, for which she played guitar and bass. They released two albums in the 1990's and then broke up. However, after reuniting to play a show in 2004, they have since begun to tour and record again. She also been in Davies Vs. Dresch, Screaming Trees and Fifth Column. She has recorded with a number of bands including Dinosaur Jr., The Go Team, Hazel, Lois, Mary Lou Lord, Phranc and Some Velvet Sidewalk.

Team Dresch are featured in interviews and onstage in the film She's Real, Worse Than Queer, directed by Lucy Thane. Donna also appears in the movie The Yo-Yo Gang, directed by G.B. Jones.

Donna has been a contributor to many zines including Jigsaw by Tobi Vail, Outpunk, J.D.s, I *Heart* Amy Carter, and was featured on the cover of issue five of Homocore. An excerpt from an article she wrote for Jigsaw appears in the book Rock She Wrote, edited by Evelyn McDonnell and Ann Powers.