Tribe 8

Biography

Tribe 8 is an all-women outspoken punk band from San Francisco, California. Considered one of the first queercore groups, they take their name from the practice of tribadism. Tribe 8 has had some turnover of personnel, but Lynn Breedlove, Flipper (Silas Howard), and Leslie Mah (formerly of Anti Scrunti Faction), and Slade Bellum were consistent members. In concert, lead singer Lynn frequently performed shirtless, wearing a strap-on dildo, and encouraged audience members to interact with it. The...

Tribe 8 is an all-women outspoken punk band from San Francisco, California. Considered one of the first queercore groups, they take their name from the practice of tribadism.

Tribe 8 has had some turnover of personnel, but Lynn Breedlove, Flipper (Silas Howard), and Leslie Mah (formerly of Anti Scrunti Faction), and Slade Bellum were consistent members. In concert, lead singer Lynn frequently performed shirtless, wearing a strap-on dildo, and encouraged audience members to interact with it. Their songs often deal with subjects such as S/M and the band was the subject of controversy because of this, nudity, fellation, and transgender issues.

Tribe 8 toured throughout the U.S., playing at venues such as DUMBA and 924 Gilman Street; they also played in Europe and Canada, and released a number of recordings on independent record labels.

Outside of the band, Lynn Breedlove is also the author of a novel, Godspeed, published in 2002, now tranlated into German "Goetterspeed". Leslie Mah has appeared in various films including The Yo-Yo Gang by G.B. Jones; Shut Up White Boy, co-directed by Vu T. and Thu Ha; and produced her own film, Estrofemme, in 1998, as well as appearing in movies with Tribe 8.

In 1996, the band made its screen debut in A Gun For Jennifer, directed by Todd Morris. The band performs live in the documentary film She's Real, Worse Than Queer by Lucy Thane, released in 1997. As well, members of the band are interviewed, speaking about a range of topics including the development of the queercore music scene. In 2003 the film Rise Above: A Tribe 8 Documentary, by director Tracy Flannigan, was released, documenting not only performances by the band but, as well, the motivations and reasons behind the band and the part it plays in their lives. The movie has won many awards at film festivals throughout the U.S. and created a new audience for Tribe 8.

Lynn Breedlove wrote, co-directed, co-produced, and starred in a short film "Godspeed" based on his novel by the same name debuting in festivals in 2007 to garner attention for the feature length screenplay, now looking for a producer. It features Jillian Lauren, Adam Horowitz, and Leslie Mah. His comedy solo show, 'Lynnee Breedlove's One freak Show", continues to tour. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.