Calling All Freaks and Weirdos: The Doll Brawl is Back!
Review by: Emily D. Schmidt, Writer
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @PlaylistTC
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The Doll Brawl of this past February will be returning for Volume 2 on Sunday, April 28 at 6 p.m. I had the privilege of meeting with the organizers to learn more about how the community-centered event came to be, the impact it had, and what future Doll Brawls may hold.
What You Need To Know
Like the first iteration, the Doll Brawl Volume 2 is a trans women and BIPOC-centered punk show that will be hosted at Seward Cafe on April 28 at 6 p.m. Five groups will be performing: local acts Kyrie Nova & the Defiant, Blue Driver, and Anita Velveeta; Pay Dirt traveling from Milwaukee; and Tower, a group from Kansas City who played a great set at Volume 1. The Autonomous Yurt Union will also return to table at the event, along with Southside Harm Reduction and Southside Foodshare. Masks will be required, and Mask Bloc - Minneapolis/St. Paul will be providing plenty to share with anyone who needs one upon entry.
The second Doll Brawl will again be raising money for a cause, this time for the Black Mesa Solidarity Network (BMSD). BMSD is a decentralized volunteer network with chapter-like pockets of volunteers located around the country. Their purpose is to provide direct support to Diné (Navajo) people in Black Mesa, Navajo County, Arizona. BMSN will steward the funds from the Doll Brawl and ensure the Diné community of Black Mesa receives them directly. It is suggested that attendees donate $5-20 for entry, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
While Black Mesa is about 1,400 miles away from Minneapolis, the forced displacement the community is facing is an issue the Twin Cities has seen firsthand. After a months-long eviction battle with the City of Minneapolis (happening to this day) and a suspicious fire that burned one location to the ground, the first Doll Brawl raised funds to build yurts for our Indigenous neighbors of Camp Nenookaasi. As for Black Mesa, the 1974 Navajo-Hopi Act split the area into two lands, separating the Navajo and Hopi tribes who traditionally cohabitated the area. This colonial practice has forced the Navajo communities, who were then considered to be on the Hopi side, to leave their ancestral lands due to the arbitrary division. Before the 1974 Act, 21 energy companies spent decades researching and making plans to develop the area. Knowing this history, the intentions behind the separation are clearly focused on extracting coal and other minerals from the sacred Indigenous lands.
If you are interested in learning more about the history of Black Mesa, BMSN has great resources in their Linktree.
Photos from Volume 1 courtesy of piggie lynn
Organizing the Doll Brawl
On top of the details about Doll Brawl Volume 2, I had a great conversation with Doll Brawl organizers piggie lynn, Nina (of S.L.O.G.) and E. Regardless (of E.T. and Prison Ruin). After being involved in the punk scene for years, the three friends and co-conspirators all had their own desires for a show and worked together to organize one that combined their ideas. Here are some highlights from the interview.
What were your intentions when planning the Doll Brawl?
Nina: I grew up in a (DC) punk community that had a lot of really cool benefit shows and a lot of history. I really wanted to see something similar happening in Minneapolis.
E: I lived in Chicago for a while. The Chicago scene was hella brown and hella queer. It was something that I was really missing. Seeing the possibilities elsewhere and knowing that it can happen, I wanted to bring that here.
piggie lynn: I was really enamored at the idea that I could go to a hardcore show and it could be a lot of trans people, and sometimes trans majority.
How do you think it went?
piggie lynn: It was really cool to have a venue to host a show like this, and to have a turnout where I didn’t know a lot of the people. It was really cool to see a new-to-me crowd of trans punks or people who weren’t punks but were interested in the idea of going to a show and feel safer and more seen and supported.
Nina: I went to the (Autonomous Yurt Union) build day after the Brawl, and there were so many new people there, so many new people working. It was the loudest, most well-attended thing I had seen for a while. It was really cool to see Doll Brawl have that impact.
What do you hope to see in Future Doll Brawls?
piggie lynn: I just wanted to see all the trans freaks and weirdos play heavy music. The heavier and weirder it is, the more we want you on the bill. If the Brawl gets big enough, I would love to connect with other scenes around the midwest, maybe even across the country. Whether that means hosting more out of town bands for some kind of fest or taking a Minneapolis convoy on the road is not yet decided. But I think there is lots of potential for fruitful collaboration, both in terms of the music produced and the networks of material support that are strengthened, because it's important to me that doll brawl stays a benefit series focused on direct aid. I think of it as pushing back against the emptiness of party punk sloganeering. Don't just talk about it, be about it!
E: I really want to see more Black and Brown folks who are trans holding the mic. I know it’s possible, just not something we’re seeing in Minneapolis.
Nina: There’s definitely a lot to unpack about the whiteness of the scene, and I think if Doll Brawl keeps going, which I’m sure it will, if you are a punk of color reading this, hit us up. We definitely want to have you on the bill.
Be sure to support Seward Cafe, the venue of the Doll Brawl, as they raise funds to pay their property tax so they can keep hosting events like this! See you at the Brawl.
