1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:14,000 Speaker 1: Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. 2 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 2: This is a story about someone who mattered. 3 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: It's about choosing the long way around and about getting 4 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:26,280 Speaker 1: outside your comfort zone. It's a story about basements and 5 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:30,479 Speaker 1: rehearsal spaces, and about the real scene that beats like 6 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:33,760 Speaker 1: a tired heart just out of sight of the manufactured 7 00:00:33,800 --> 00:00:38,240 Speaker 1: scene playing out on national television. It's about rat houses, 8 00:00:38,560 --> 00:00:42,680 Speaker 1: anarchist compounds in the dark end of the street. This 9 00:00:42,760 --> 00:00:46,680 Speaker 1: is a story about misconnections as well, about David Bowie 10 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:51,519 Speaker 1: peeling off in his gold Jaguar and miaz Apata left behind, 11 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:55,320 Speaker 1: watching the star Man slip away and wondering what her 12 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 1: next move was and what she'd have to sacrifice to 13 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:03,120 Speaker 1: get there. And speaking of miaz Apata, this is a 14 00:01:03,200 --> 00:01:07,319 Speaker 1: story about the Gits, one of the most underrated bands 15 00:01:07,319 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: from the so called grunge scene of the nineteen nineties. 16 00:01:10,800 --> 00:01:15,959 Speaker 1: An artist in a band that made great music. Unlike 17 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: that clip I played for you at the top of 18 00:01:17,760 --> 00:01:21,800 Speaker 1: the show that wasn't great music. That was a preset 19 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: loop from my mellotron called Star buckingham Nicks MK. 20 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:26,959 Speaker 2: Two. 21 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:30,720 Speaker 1: I played you that loop because I can't afford the 22 00:01:30,800 --> 00:01:34,120 Speaker 1: rights to That's the Way Love Goes by Janet Jackson, 23 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:38,160 Speaker 1: And why would I play you that specific slice of 24 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:40,000 Speaker 1: pre Nipplegate cheese? 25 00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 2: Could I afford it? 26 00:01:42,120 --> 00:01:45,440 Speaker 1: Because that was the number one song in America on 27 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:49,040 Speaker 1: July seventh, nineteen ninety three, And that was the day 28 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: that Mia Zapata was found brutally murdered on the streets 29 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 1: of Seattle in the early hours of the morning. On 30 00:01:56,520 --> 00:02:02,240 Speaker 1: this episode The Long Way Around, Comfort Songs, rat Houses, misconnections, 31 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: so called grunge, the Dark End of the Street, and 32 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:33,799 Speaker 1: Mia Zapata. I'm Jake Brennan and this is Disgraceland. July seventh, 33 00:02:34,040 --> 00:02:38,919 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety three, Seattle. It was late, around three in 34 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,880 Speaker 1: the morning, but for Charity, the workday was only half over. 35 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:48,240 Speaker 1: This was her time, the nighttime, the right time, the 36 00:02:48,320 --> 00:02:51,120 Speaker 1: time when inhibitions dropped to the floor as quickly as 37 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:54,519 Speaker 1: a pair of loose jeans, the time when the darkness 38 00:02:54,560 --> 00:02:58,959 Speaker 1: and shadows obscured the most primal and ilicit of human interactions. 39 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,440 Speaker 1: And a girl like Charity could use all these things 40 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: to her advantage and make that money hand over fist. 41 00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:10,359 Speaker 1: She just left one John in a haze of stone satisfaction, 42 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: relieving him of his cash on her way out, which 43 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: now lined the soft inside of her lace bra, and 44 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:21,120 Speaker 1: she walked confidently down twenty fourth Avenue, her heels echoing 45 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: as she anticipated the next customer. Charity was street smart, unshakable, unflappable, 46 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 1: unfuck withable. She'd seen it all before, and she didn't 47 00:03:32,600 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: scare easily. However, there was one thing that gave her pause. 48 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:43,680 Speaker 1: The Boogeyman, a serial killer who remained at large. The 49 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:46,960 Speaker 1: Green River Killer had racked up a terrifying body count 50 00:03:47,000 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: around Seattle and Tacoma. He seemed to focus on blue 51 00:03:50,560 --> 00:03:51,600 Speaker 1: collar sex workers. 52 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:52,240 Speaker 2: Like Charity. 53 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: He'd been plying his deadly trade for years, always one 54 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:00,160 Speaker 1: step ahead of the police. Casting this dark cloud the 55 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:04,480 Speaker 1: Pacific Northwest. People said it rained all the time in Seattle, 56 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:07,720 Speaker 1: and that was bullshit peddled by the same East Coast 57 00:04:07,720 --> 00:04:11,200 Speaker 1: intellectuals who said the Chicago was windy. It didn't rain 58 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:14,560 Speaker 1: all the time in Seattle, but it was cloudy, and 59 00:04:14,640 --> 00:04:20,920 Speaker 1: those clouds belonged to the Green River Killer. Charity kept walking, 60 00:04:21,320 --> 00:04:24,360 Speaker 1: keeping her guard up while simultaneously trying not to think 61 00:04:24,400 --> 00:04:29,160 Speaker 1: about the Boogeyman or killers, and that all changed when 62 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:31,880 Speaker 1: she got to the intersection of twenty fourth in Yesler Way, 63 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:35,800 Speaker 1: her self assured, Struck began to slow, and then she 64 00:04:35,839 --> 00:04:36,240 Speaker 1: came to. 65 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 2: A complete stop. 66 00:04:38,680 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: Up ahead, near the curb before twenty fourth dead ended 67 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:44,800 Speaker 1: and gave way to an empty field. There was a 68 00:04:44,839 --> 00:04:48,600 Speaker 1: body lying flat on the pavement. A street light overhead 69 00:04:48,680 --> 00:04:51,920 Speaker 1: shone down the dirty glow of the yellow fluorescent like 70 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:56,280 Speaker 1: spoiled food. The yellow hue gave shape to the body below, 71 00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 1: arms outstretched in either direction her tea or a cross. 72 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:06,040 Speaker 1: Charity immediately thought of the Green River Killer and how 73 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:07,560 Speaker 1: it was said that he posed. 74 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 2: His victim's dead bodies. 75 00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 1: And suddenly she felt the skin on the back of 76 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:15,599 Speaker 1: her neck tingle, and despite the mild overnight July temperature, 77 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:19,560 Speaker 1: she scanned the area, looking for someone hiding in seattle shadows, 78 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:22,799 Speaker 1: the same shadows she knew inside and out. 79 00:05:22,680 --> 00:05:23,719 Speaker 2: Like the back of her hand. 80 00:05:24,600 --> 00:05:28,800 Speaker 1: But there was nothing, nobody, just her and this body 81 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:33,040 Speaker 1: in the middle of the road. She called out, her voice, 82 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:37,080 Speaker 1: breaking the silence of the early morning. There was no response, 83 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:40,719 Speaker 1: so she began to walk again, more cautiously this time, 84 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,919 Speaker 1: and as she got closer, she saw that this was 85 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:48,919 Speaker 1: a woman's body. Charity had never seen someone dead before, 86 00:05:49,600 --> 00:05:54,360 Speaker 1: not like this, not up close and personal in the flesh. 87 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:57,760 Speaker 2: Well, she thought, I guess you haven't seen it all before. 88 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:00,839 Speaker 2: She then shifted her from the dead. 89 00:06:00,720 --> 00:06:04,479 Speaker 1: Woman to her bleak surroundings. Think where could she go 90 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 1: for help? There were no signs of life in this 91 00:06:07,279 --> 00:06:10,480 Speaker 1: deserted part of town, especially after three in the morning. 92 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,040 Speaker 1: Quickly she got her bearings, and she remembered a fire 93 00:06:14,160 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 1: station just a few blocks away. She peeled the heels 94 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:23,120 Speaker 1: off her feet and took off in a sprint. Within minutes, 95 00:06:23,240 --> 00:06:25,320 Speaker 1: she was the last thing a couple of firefighters on 96 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:28,760 Speaker 1: the lace shift ever expected to see stumble onto their doorstep, 97 00:06:29,640 --> 00:06:32,200 Speaker 1: and the first responders descended on the intersection of twenty 98 00:06:32,200 --> 00:06:34,280 Speaker 1: fourth Avenue in Yesler Way. 99 00:06:35,000 --> 00:06:36,600 Speaker 2: At a local hospital, the. 100 00:06:36,560 --> 00:06:39,560 Speaker 1: Young woman was tagged as a Jane Doe, and there 101 00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:42,320 Speaker 1: was no identification on the body. She had been so 102 00:06:42,480 --> 00:06:44,599 Speaker 1: badly beaten that it was hard to know where to 103 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:47,720 Speaker 1: even begin when it came to identification. She had been 104 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:50,840 Speaker 1: sexually assaulted and strangled with the draw strings from the 105 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:55,320 Speaker 1: hoodie she was wearing. And there was something else too, 106 00:06:56,279 --> 00:06:59,920 Speaker 1: a chicken tattoo on her right leg. It was an identifying, 107 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: something unique that the cops could use to figure out 108 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,919 Speaker 1: exactly who she was. But the cops didn't even have 109 00:07:06,960 --> 00:07:10,800 Speaker 1: to go public with that particular detail, because the medical 110 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: examiner on duty took one look at that chicken tattoo 111 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:21,520 Speaker 1: and instantly knew the woman's identity. Like many people in town, 112 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:25,120 Speaker 1: the medical examiner was a big fan of Seattle bands. 113 00:07:25,640 --> 00:07:28,200 Speaker 1: The so called grunge scene had only recently turned the 114 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:31,640 Speaker 1: city on its head, and Seattle was still the coolest 115 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:35,080 Speaker 1: town in the country, but the medical Examiner's musical interest 116 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:38,560 Speaker 1: was hyper local. The world could have their Nirvanas and 117 00:07:38,600 --> 00:07:41,440 Speaker 1: their pearl jams and all that. This guy was into 118 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:43,240 Speaker 1: the bands and had yet to be co opted and 119 00:07:43,280 --> 00:07:46,360 Speaker 1: corrupted by any major label. The ones who had been 120 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,400 Speaker 1: battling in the trenches for years, making a name for 121 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,480 Speaker 1: themselves and building up a loyal fan base. And so 122 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: when the medical Examiner saw the chicken tattoo on Jane 123 00:07:56,240 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: Doe here, he knew he'd seen it before, maybe at 124 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:02,520 Speaker 1: a show at the Crocodile Cafe over on First or 125 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:06,600 Speaker 1: the ok Hotel and Pioneer Square. The owner of this 126 00:08:06,720 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: tattoo fronted one of his favorite bands, the Gits. He 127 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,480 Speaker 1: loved that name, He loved the word get ever since 128 00:08:14,480 --> 00:08:16,880 Speaker 1: he heard Beatle John use it to curse Sir Walter 129 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: Raleigh on that one song on the White album. British 130 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 1: Slang for Americans was a real if you know, you 131 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,520 Speaker 1: know kind of thing, just like the band The Gts. 132 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 1: If you knew, you knew, and this guy knew. So 133 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: his heart sank. His moment of joyful recognition shifted painfully 134 00:08:35,760 --> 00:08:40,200 Speaker 1: into one of unknowable sadness and incredible loss. He felt 135 00:08:40,200 --> 00:08:43,120 Speaker 1: his eyes well up. He was looking at the body 136 00:08:43,160 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 1: of one of Seattle's most singular and inspiring voices, one 137 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 1: for whom commercial success had been just about ready to 138 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:55,000 Speaker 1: meet her on her own terms. Twenty seven year old 139 00:08:55,720 --> 00:09:24,920 Speaker 1: Mia Zapata. To those who knew her, Mia Zapata was 140 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:28,640 Speaker 1: many things. She was a fearless artist and a vulnerable 141 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 1: human being. She was incredibly funny and intelligent beyond her years. 142 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 1: She was so approachable and honest that there were many 143 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:38,480 Speaker 1: people who called her their best friend, and who still 144 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: believed that to be. 145 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 2: True to this day. 146 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:43,440 Speaker 1: She could be the shyest person in the room, but 147 00:09:43,800 --> 00:09:46,400 Speaker 1: give her a microphone at a stage, and suddenly she 148 00:09:46,520 --> 00:09:50,680 Speaker 1: was explosive and magnetic. An instant point of focus for 149 00:09:50,760 --> 00:09:53,720 Speaker 1: the hundreds or thousands of people watching from the crowd. 150 00:09:54,920 --> 00:09:56,760 Speaker 1: The first time one of her future bandmates and the 151 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:59,480 Speaker 1: Gets ever heard her perform, she was singing a cover 152 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:03,400 Speaker 1: of Eggy Pops The Passenger, accompanied only by an acoustic guitar, 153 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:07,160 Speaker 1: and the sound of her voice alone reduced this future bandmate, 154 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:13,199 Speaker 1: Matt Dresder, to tears. Born in Chicago in nineteen sixty 155 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,520 Speaker 1: five and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, from a very early age, 156 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:20,160 Speaker 1: Mia Zapota made her mind up. She was thankful for 157 00:10:20,200 --> 00:10:22,719 Speaker 1: the life of privilege and security that her parents had 158 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:25,959 Speaker 1: provided her, but she didn't need it. She didn't need 159 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:28,440 Speaker 1: the prestige of the all girls' prep school where she 160 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:31,880 Speaker 1: was educated. She didn't need money. She didn't need a 161 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:34,800 Speaker 1: high powered, early morning button down gig like her mother, 162 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,280 Speaker 1: one of the highest paid TV executives in the country, 163 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:40,439 Speaker 1: a woman who had had an apartment overlooking Central Park 164 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:44,800 Speaker 1: now New York City, had its allure. But for Mia, 165 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:48,920 Speaker 1: the allura wasn't a penthouse in the sky. Her platonic 166 00:10:48,960 --> 00:10:52,839 Speaker 1: ideal was rougher around the edges, less Sinatra and more 167 00:10:52,920 --> 00:10:58,240 Speaker 1: Billie Holiday. It was Warhol basquiet, down on the dirty streets. 168 00:10:58,600 --> 00:11:03,040 Speaker 1: It was the Ramones, Jim Carol, Patti Smith, Louie like 169 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:06,720 Speaker 1: Graham Parsons, and Towns van Zant, fellow singers from wealthy 170 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:10,320 Speaker 1: families who'd made their mark years before her. Miyaz Apata 171 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:13,280 Speaker 1: wasn't interested in the charmed life she was born into. 172 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:14,800 Speaker 2: She heard the call of. 173 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:18,360 Speaker 1: Discomfort and risk, and she answered him. But let me 174 00:11:18,400 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: be clear, miyaz Apata was not escaping something. She was 175 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:27,360 Speaker 1: pursuing something, and that's something fell far beyond the cozy confines. 176 00:11:26,880 --> 00:11:28,400 Speaker 2: Of Louisville or New York. 177 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:33,559 Speaker 1: First, it was in the Midwest, at Antioch College in Ohio, 178 00:11:33,800 --> 00:11:36,600 Speaker 1: a place that had no sports teams and no letter grades, 179 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,920 Speaker 1: a place where defiance of an otherwise typical higher education 180 00:11:40,040 --> 00:11:45,040 Speaker 1: experience was undeniably seductive for someone like Mia. At Antioch, 181 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:49,040 Speaker 1: Mia had her mind blown not so much by her classes, 182 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:53,000 Speaker 1: but by witnessing performances by bands like The Dead Kennedys, 183 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 1: who played the college as part of a US tour. 184 00:11:56,440 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 1: Watching Jellybyafras stalk around stage like a madman was liberating 185 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:01,960 Speaker 1: who was also accessible. 186 00:12:02,640 --> 00:12:03,440 Speaker 2: She could do that. 187 00:12:04,120 --> 00:12:06,719 Speaker 1: It didn't matter that her creative inspiration came less from 188 00:12:06,720 --> 00:12:09,440 Speaker 1: punk and more from the likes of blues singer Bessie Smith. 189 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:13,200 Speaker 1: She could be both at the same time. This was 190 00:12:13,240 --> 00:12:17,720 Speaker 1: the brilliance of Miyazapata. As a journalist, Martin Douglas once wrote, 191 00:12:17,920 --> 00:12:21,240 Speaker 1: to hear Mia sing was to hear her puking the 192 00:12:21,240 --> 00:12:26,160 Speaker 1: blues at Antioch. She puked the blues as the lead 193 00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: singer for a loud and fast band called the Sniveling 194 00:12:29,160 --> 00:12:32,400 Speaker 1: Little rat Face Gits. They took their name from Ammani 195 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:35,920 Speaker 1: Python Sketch, but soon shortened it simply to the Gits 196 00:12:36,520 --> 00:12:39,200 Speaker 1: since Sniveling Little rat Face Gits was just too long 197 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:41,800 Speaker 1: to fit on the spine of their demo tape. Along 198 00:12:41,840 --> 00:12:44,920 Speaker 1: with Matt Dresner on bass, Steve Moriarty on drums, and 199 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:49,160 Speaker 1: Andrew Kessler aka Joe Spleen on guitar, Mia and the 200 00:12:49,160 --> 00:12:52,680 Speaker 1: Gits caught wind of an exciting music scene brewing out 201 00:12:52,679 --> 00:12:56,200 Speaker 1: in Seattle in nineteen eighty nine. They pulled up Stakes 202 00:12:56,200 --> 00:13:00,160 Speaker 1: in Ohio and headed west. But when they arrived and 203 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,840 Speaker 1: the guys discovered that the Seattle scene, while exciting as advertised, 204 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,520 Speaker 1: was closed off to outsiders. Bands such as Mud Hunt, 205 00:13:07,720 --> 00:13:11,000 Speaker 1: Mother Lovebone, and Soundgarden had all known each other for years, 206 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:13,480 Speaker 1: and they had developed a brotherhood that was not only 207 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,080 Speaker 1: suspicious of others, it was an actual brotherhood, meaning it 208 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:21,440 Speaker 1: was comprised entirely of dudes. Women were rarely in a band, 209 00:13:21,440 --> 00:13:23,480 Speaker 1: and if they were, they definitely weren't. 210 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:23,920 Speaker 2: The lead singer. 211 00:13:25,800 --> 00:13:28,400 Speaker 1: So the Gits, Down and Out and low on cash, 212 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,479 Speaker 1: rented a four bedroom house in the Capitol Hill neighborhood, 213 00:13:32,040 --> 00:13:35,640 Speaker 1: which at the time was cheap but dangerous. The place 214 00:13:35,760 --> 00:13:40,520 Speaker 1: was crawling with junkies, dealers, thieves. Not unlike the clientele. 215 00:13:40,679 --> 00:13:43,480 Speaker 1: Mia served at her day job waiting cables at a 216 00:13:43,520 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 1: dive bar called the Frontier Room. The band kept their 217 00:13:47,440 --> 00:13:50,559 Speaker 1: heads down, blocked up the CD bullshit passing them by, 218 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,920 Speaker 1: and focused on their songs. Joe Spleen wrote the music 219 00:13:53,960 --> 00:13:57,720 Speaker 1: and Mia wrote the lyrics. They worked tirelessly and soon 220 00:13:57,800 --> 00:14:01,080 Speaker 1: they found their people. Not the band with long beards 221 00:14:01,080 --> 00:14:04,320 Speaker 1: and longer hair, those already entrenched on the scene, but 222 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:08,959 Speaker 1: upstarts like the Gits themselves, bands like DC Beggars and 223 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,000 Speaker 1: Seven Year Bitch, who shared the rehearsal space that gets 224 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,160 Speaker 1: it carved out in the basement of their rental house, 225 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:18,040 Speaker 1: and they called the place the rat House, and for 226 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,080 Speaker 1: good reason. It was a dilapidated abode owned by an 227 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:24,080 Speaker 1: odd man, and the neighbors swore he was either a 228 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: warlock or a demon. He said he once rid the 229 00:14:27,040 --> 00:14:29,880 Speaker 1: place of cockroaches by capturing a bunch of them, making 230 00:14:29,880 --> 00:14:34,120 Speaker 1: a stew from their carcasses, and then ceremoniously eating that stew. 231 00:14:35,280 --> 00:14:38,480 Speaker 1: The rat House was a shithole with a gnarly backstory 232 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:42,040 Speaker 1: and a super whose own sanity was in question. In 233 00:14:42,080 --> 00:14:46,360 Speaker 1: other words, it was punk as fuck. The Gits perform 234 00:14:46,440 --> 00:14:49,560 Speaker 1: marathon rehearsals in the basement, becoming thicke as these with 235 00:14:49,640 --> 00:14:53,880 Speaker 1: DC Beggars and Seven Year Bitch. In particular, Seven Year 236 00:14:53,920 --> 00:14:56,840 Speaker 1: Bitch's lead guitar as Stephanie Sargent, became one of me 237 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:00,480 Speaker 1: as close as confidants. Stephanie was trying to stay dope 238 00:15:00,520 --> 00:15:04,120 Speaker 1: and goes straight. Emiya, being a few years older, took 239 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:09,000 Speaker 1: Stephanie under her wing, just as Kurt Cobaine and Nirvana 240 00:15:09,160 --> 00:15:13,560 Speaker 1: soon took the Gits under their wing. Kurt knew a 241 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 1: good thing when he saw it. To Kurt, the Gits 242 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 1: were everything he loved about music. 243 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:20,760 Speaker 2: They had vigor for days, They. 244 00:15:20,720 --> 00:15:23,440 Speaker 1: Had punk energy, pop hooks, just like his band did, 245 00:15:24,080 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 1: and watching them perform was like running headfirst into an 246 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:29,520 Speaker 1: oncoming locomotive. And at the center of it all was 247 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:34,000 Speaker 1: Mia and now Seattle's most enigmatic and charismatic lead singer, 248 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:36,960 Speaker 1: her trademark Dread swirling around her head. 249 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:38,360 Speaker 2: As she puked the blues. 250 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:42,960 Speaker 1: Kurt handpicked the Gits to open a now legendary show 251 00:15:43,080 --> 00:15:47,000 Speaker 1: in January nineteen ninety where the two bands, along with Tad, 252 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:49,920 Speaker 1: the third band on the bill, were permanently banned from 253 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 1: the University of Washington her trashing a makeshift dressing room 254 00:15:53,560 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 1: which happened to be one of the university professors classrooms. 255 00:15:57,880 --> 00:16:06,240 Speaker 1: And then everything changed. In nineteen ninety one, Nirvana signed 256 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,520 Speaker 1: to Geffen Records. They released their major label debut, never Mind. 257 00:16:10,440 --> 00:16:13,920 Speaker 1: It was as if tectonic plates had shifted. The musical 258 00:16:14,000 --> 00:16:17,360 Speaker 1: landscape not only of Seattle, but of the world was 259 00:16:17,400 --> 00:16:22,840 Speaker 1: completely rearranged. Nirvana, Pearl Jams, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains. They 260 00:16:22,880 --> 00:16:26,240 Speaker 1: all strapped in for an upwards trajectory of G four's strength, 261 00:16:26,320 --> 00:16:29,720 Speaker 1: while the Gits stayed put as one of Seattle's best 262 00:16:29,800 --> 00:16:33,360 Speaker 1: kept secrets, and as never Mind was on its way 263 00:16:33,440 --> 00:16:37,280 Speaker 1: to the first of thirteen platinum certifications. The Gids were 264 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:42,400 Speaker 1: getting on a plane en route to Amsterdam. Kurt's face 265 00:16:42,560 --> 00:16:45,160 Speaker 1: was all over MTV while Me and the boys embarked 266 00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:49,080 Speaker 1: on their little European tour. The tour had been booked 267 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 1: for them not by an agent or a manager, neither 268 00:16:52,240 --> 00:16:54,320 Speaker 1: of which they had, but by a couple of Dutch 269 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:57,760 Speaker 1: squatters who happened to be big fans. And so while 270 00:16:57,880 --> 00:17:01,320 Speaker 1: Nirvana played Axis in Boston, Tower Records in New York, 271 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:04,639 Speaker 1: the nine thirty Club in DC, and First Avenue in Minneapolis, 272 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:09,160 Speaker 1: the Guts were playing barely attended shows at European youth centers, 273 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:12,280 Speaker 1: government buildings, and even in an anarchist compound. 274 00:17:12,320 --> 00:17:13,399 Speaker 2: Whatever the hell that was? 275 00:17:14,160 --> 00:17:17,360 Speaker 1: The Gits drummer Steve Moriarty later wrote in his memoir 276 00:17:17,400 --> 00:17:20,160 Speaker 1: that it felt as if our peers were flying by 277 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:22,000 Speaker 1: us in the fast land and we were stuck in 278 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:25,760 Speaker 1: first gear without gas money, and Mia tried hard to 279 00:17:25,800 --> 00:17:28,639 Speaker 1: push through, and she encouraged the others to do the same. 280 00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:32,080 Speaker 1: After all, she was in pursuit of this life, she 281 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:36,240 Speaker 1: was driving it, and that drive, that pursuit, it wasn't easy, 282 00:17:36,680 --> 00:17:39,760 Speaker 1: That wasn't meant to be. What was that stupid cliche. 283 00:17:39,840 --> 00:17:43,159 Speaker 1: If it was easy, everyone would do it the rat house. 284 00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:45,440 Speaker 1: It wasn't in an apartment overlooking Central Park. 285 00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:48,439 Speaker 3: And that was the whole point, to push through the 286 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:51,240 Speaker 3: hard stuff so that you could grasp what was waiting 287 00:17:51,359 --> 00:17:54,359 Speaker 3: on the other side, something that very few in this 288 00:17:54,480 --> 00:17:55,600 Speaker 3: life had access to. 289 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,920 Speaker 1: So Mia and the Gits pressed on into nineteen ninety two, 290 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:02,720 Speaker 1: preparing songs for what would become their. 291 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:04,119 Speaker 2: Debut studio album. 292 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:10,080 Speaker 1: But before the album was even released, tragedy struck this drive, 293 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:14,720 Speaker 1: this pursuit, this life. It took the life of Stephanie's Sargant, 294 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:19,720 Speaker 1: MIA's close friend from seven year Bitch. In June of 295 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:23,760 Speaker 1: that year ninety two. Stephanie had fallen back into old habits, 296 00:18:24,240 --> 00:18:27,159 Speaker 1: using again and drinking on top of it, and the 297 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:31,400 Speaker 1: combination caused her to asphyxiate on her own vomit. Stephanie 298 00:18:31,480 --> 00:18:35,159 Speaker 1: Sargent was dead at the age of twenty four, and 299 00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:39,560 Speaker 1: Mia Sapata suddenly felt the pain of her chosen life, 300 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:42,959 Speaker 1: the pain of losing a good friend, the pain of 301 00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:46,680 Speaker 1: losing the Seattle rock band lottery. She began to miss 302 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:50,200 Speaker 1: band rehearsals, and she fought often with her boyfriend, and 303 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:52,840 Speaker 1: she began to rely a little too much on alcohol, 304 00:18:53,720 --> 00:18:55,919 Speaker 1: and she did the things she never intended to do 305 00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 1: when she first chose to pursue this life. She looked 306 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:04,920 Speaker 1: for an escape. 307 00:19:06,640 --> 00:19:09,800 Speaker 2: We'll be right back after this. We're we're, we're. 308 00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:20,480 Speaker 1: The voice coming from the gold Jaguar convertible parked alongside 309 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 1: the West Hollywood, Texico gas pump was very English and 310 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:27,879 Speaker 1: very posh. Excuse me, Love, would you mind getting my 311 00:19:27,960 --> 00:19:30,919 Speaker 1: window next me as a pot to stop what she 312 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:34,080 Speaker 1: was doing, which at the moment was squeegeeing the windshield 313 00:19:34,119 --> 00:19:36,639 Speaker 1: of the geits tor van, and turned to face the 314 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:40,240 Speaker 1: owner of the condescending request get. 315 00:19:40,040 --> 00:19:41,280 Speaker 2: His window next? 316 00:19:41,720 --> 00:19:44,119 Speaker 1: Fuck did he think she was Just because she was 317 00:19:44,119 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 1: wearing some old gas jockey jacket didn't mean she was 318 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:50,000 Speaker 1: a gas jockey. She decided to take the high road, 319 00:19:50,359 --> 00:19:52,479 Speaker 1: so she turned around to walk away and forget all 320 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:56,240 Speaker 1: about it. As she did so, however, she heard the 321 00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:58,920 Speaker 1: English voice call out to her again. Oh and Love, 322 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:01,880 Speaker 1: how about a pack fags as well? 323 00:20:02,040 --> 00:20:04,160 Speaker 2: That did it the balls on this guy. 324 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:08,080 Speaker 1: Mia spun around, Get your own damn fags, your British prick, 325 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:10,400 Speaker 1: and fuck you for thinking I work here. Get fucked. 326 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 1: Mia jumped back into the tour van, slamming the door 327 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:18,120 Speaker 1: behind her in anger and frustration. There was an awkward 328 00:20:18,200 --> 00:20:21,679 Speaker 1: silence among the rest of her bandmates outside, the sound 329 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:24,280 Speaker 1: of the Jaguar purring as the engine came to life, 330 00:20:24,640 --> 00:20:29,760 Speaker 1: and finally one of MIA's bandmates spoke up, Mia, do 331 00:20:29,800 --> 00:20:30,560 Speaker 1: you know who that was? 332 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:33,439 Speaker 2: The guy you just told to get fucked? That was 333 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:35,399 Speaker 2: David Bowie. 334 00:20:37,400 --> 00:20:39,919 Speaker 1: It was like the weight of MIA's jaw dropping to 335 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:43,400 Speaker 1: the floor pulled her eyes wide open, and she looked 336 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:47,080 Speaker 1: out the van's window, really looked this time, and there 337 00:20:47,080 --> 00:20:52,160 Speaker 1: he was, the Starman, sitting behind the wheel of the Jags, slowly. 338 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:53,280 Speaker 2: Pulling away from the pump. 339 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 1: Fuck. Mia grabbed a handful of to get seven inch 340 00:20:57,560 --> 00:20:59,600 Speaker 1: records from a box on the floor, through the door 341 00:20:59,600 --> 00:20:59,720 Speaker 1: of the. 342 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:01,200 Speaker 2: Van and wide open, and jumped out. 343 00:21:01,440 --> 00:21:04,680 Speaker 1: She chased after Bowie, but it was too late. He 344 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 1: was now peeling off onto the main road, far away 345 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:10,080 Speaker 1: from the crazy American woman who refused to wash his 346 00:21:10,119 --> 00:21:13,760 Speaker 1: windshield or get him a pack of smokes. But as 347 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:20,720 Speaker 1: they say, well, one door closes and all that soon. 348 00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:23,440 Speaker 1: The missed opportunity with David Bowie was something to look 349 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:27,080 Speaker 1: back at and laugh about, because Just months later, in 350 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:30,160 Speaker 1: the summer of nineteen ninety three, the Gits were at 351 00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:33,680 Speaker 1: long last picking up speed. After a period in which 352 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,320 Speaker 1: she spiraled in the alcohol addiction in self destruction, Mia 353 00:21:37,359 --> 00:21:39,400 Speaker 1: had gotten her shit together and was back to her 354 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,480 Speaker 1: original goal to pursue a life unlike any other. She 355 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:46,399 Speaker 1: didn't quit drinking altogether, but enough so that she was 356 00:21:46,440 --> 00:21:48,359 Speaker 1: no longer dropping her pants in the middle of the 357 00:21:48,359 --> 00:21:52,080 Speaker 1: street to moon passing cops who were harassing her. She 358 00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:56,120 Speaker 1: cut her dread short to signify a moment of real change. 359 00:21:56,359 --> 00:22:00,480 Speaker 1: The Gits DEBUTLP Frenching the Bully, released by Cia indie 360 00:22:00,520 --> 00:22:04,040 Speaker 1: label CZ Records, was getting good reviews and they were 361 00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:06,920 Speaker 1: already working on album number two. And they were doing 362 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:09,960 Speaker 1: so while talking not with David Bowie but the next 363 00:22:10,000 --> 00:22:13,960 Speaker 1: best thing. I guess, Atlantic Records and the iconic label 364 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: was keen to sign the Gits, as they were told 365 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:18,320 Speaker 1: at a launch in La where they were wined and 366 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:22,639 Speaker 1: dined by an Atlantic exec. Next up was a meeting 367 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:25,720 Speaker 1: with the legal team that represented not only Nirvana, but 368 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:29,679 Speaker 1: some of MIA's heroes, such as lou Reed. Mia was 369 00:22:29,720 --> 00:22:34,240 Speaker 1: on cloud nine, but she remained grounded when Atlantic asked 370 00:22:34,240 --> 00:22:36,440 Speaker 1: her what she wanted out of the deal. She said 371 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 1: all she needed was a cabin in the woods, an 372 00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:42,040 Speaker 1: English sheepdog, a jeep, and the freedom to write and 373 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:46,239 Speaker 1: record music. Days later, after the band wrapped up their 374 00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:49,560 Speaker 1: West Coast tour to show in Washington State, Mia didn't 375 00:22:49,640 --> 00:22:52,560 Speaker 1: let these latest developments go to her head. She didn't 376 00:22:52,560 --> 00:22:55,360 Speaker 1: book a fancy room at a five star hotel. She 377 00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:57,560 Speaker 1: crashed on a couch the house of some kid right 378 00:22:57,560 --> 00:23:02,080 Speaker 1: there in the Tri Cities. Next day, July fourth, she 379 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:04,720 Speaker 1: was back in Seattle. She had a few days to 380 00:23:04,760 --> 00:23:06,919 Speaker 1: lay down some vocals for the Getz second album, and 381 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:08,639 Speaker 1: then it was off to the East Coast, where the 382 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:12,359 Speaker 1: band's tour would resume. The tour and the new album, 383 00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:15,760 Speaker 1: the overtures by Atlantic the Ace legal team. It was 384 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:19,000 Speaker 1: almost too much. It was happening fast, all at once, 385 00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:22,240 Speaker 1: but Mia being Mia, she didn't allow herself to get 386 00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:25,480 Speaker 1: swept up by it, because there are other things on 387 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:28,119 Speaker 1: her mind, keeping her tethered to planet Earth, to the 388 00:23:28,200 --> 00:23:30,760 Speaker 1: here and the now. And one of those things was 389 00:23:30,800 --> 00:23:33,919 Speaker 1: the memory of Stephanie's sargent, who had passed away just 390 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:37,080 Speaker 1: one year ago around this time, and it only seemed 391 00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:40,840 Speaker 1: right to memorialize the occasion to commit to never forgetting 392 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:45,359 Speaker 1: the sacrifices of this life. So on the evening of 393 00:23:45,440 --> 00:23:48,119 Speaker 1: July sixth, the night before she was set to hit 394 00:23:48,160 --> 00:23:51,159 Speaker 1: the road again, Mia Zapata headed over to the Comet 395 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:52,680 Speaker 1: Tavern in Capitol Hill. 396 00:23:52,880 --> 00:23:53,800 Speaker 2: To do just that. 397 00:23:55,600 --> 00:23:59,000 Speaker 1: Her boots hit the pavement directly above them. Her jeans 398 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 1: were rolled up at the ankle. Her black hoodie with 399 00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:05,120 Speaker 1: Gits printed on the back was pulled up over her head, 400 00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:09,520 Speaker 1: obscuring the pair of headphones strapped around her ears. The 401 00:24:09,600 --> 00:24:12,200 Speaker 1: walkman bobbed in her pocket each time her foot came 402 00:24:12,240 --> 00:24:15,480 Speaker 1: down on the sidewalk, and the cassette tape playing inside 403 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:16,919 Speaker 1: warbled every single time. 404 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:19,080 Speaker 2: She enjoyed the music. 405 00:24:19,119 --> 00:24:22,879 Speaker 1: Nonetheless, he propelled her forward and kept her moving. 406 00:24:23,400 --> 00:24:24,200 Speaker 2: Gave her purpose. 407 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:29,200 Speaker 1: Mia didn't have a driver's license. Often she took taxis, 408 00:24:29,880 --> 00:24:31,840 Speaker 1: but tonight it felt good to walk all over the 409 00:24:31,840 --> 00:24:34,640 Speaker 1: streets of her adopted home and take it all in 410 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 1: before leaving again in the morning. The sights and smells 411 00:24:38,520 --> 00:24:40,920 Speaker 1: of East Pike Street washed over her until at last 412 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:45,920 Speaker 1: she reached number nine two too the Comet. Mia stepped inside, 413 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:48,560 Speaker 1: pulling the hoodie from her head and the soft headphones. 414 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:52,200 Speaker 1: From her ears, she could see the girls from Seven 415 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:54,840 Speaker 1: Year Bitch waiting for her at the bar. It was 416 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:57,760 Speaker 1: loud and smoky, exactly the way a bar should be. 417 00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:02,000 Speaker 1: Mia bellied up all around, and they ordered a round 418 00:25:02,040 --> 00:25:05,840 Speaker 1: of drinks that held them high in the air. To Stephanie, 419 00:25:05,920 --> 00:25:09,480 Speaker 1: they said, may her memory be a blessing. Then the 420 00:25:09,520 --> 00:25:12,479 Speaker 1: clinking of glasses and the knocking back of ice cold pints. 421 00:25:13,400 --> 00:25:14,400 Speaker 2: They told stories. 422 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:18,679 Speaker 1: They laughed and cried, and drank some more. It was 423 00:25:18,720 --> 00:25:21,400 Speaker 1: around midnight when Mia stumbled out the Comet's front door 424 00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,760 Speaker 1: and back onto East Pike Street. She put her headphones 425 00:25:24,760 --> 00:25:27,520 Speaker 1: on once again and hit play on the Walkman. She 426 00:25:27,600 --> 00:25:29,760 Speaker 1: pulled the hoodie over her head and began to walk. 427 00:25:30,880 --> 00:25:33,160 Speaker 1: This time, she went to a three story building about 428 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:36,680 Speaker 1: a block away called Winston Apartments, where her boyfriend's band, 429 00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:42,560 Speaker 1: hell Smells, had a rehearsal space. She found the space empty, 430 00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,959 Speaker 1: so instead she ascended the central staircase to the second 431 00:25:45,960 --> 00:25:48,879 Speaker 1: floor and knocked on the apartment door of another friend. 432 00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:51,919 Speaker 1: The singer in her boyfriend's band, a woman named Tracy 433 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:57,560 Speaker 1: Victoria Kenley. Everyone called Tracy TV and the door opened, 434 00:25:57,760 --> 00:26:00,920 Speaker 1: and TV was happy to see her. Pulled the headphones 435 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:06,159 Speaker 1: off as TV welcomed her inside. In TV's apartment, the 436 00:26:06,440 --> 00:26:10,920 Speaker 1: actual television played, and nearly two hours later, an old 437 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:13,200 Speaker 1: rerun of Get Smart was about to start. When Mia 438 00:26:13,240 --> 00:26:16,000 Speaker 1: decided it was time to push on. She said good 439 00:26:16,040 --> 00:26:19,240 Speaker 1: night to TV, threw her headphones back on, and made 440 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:24,399 Speaker 1: her way back down the central staircase and outside. Seattle slept, 441 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:29,920 Speaker 1: Seattle breathed, Seattle tossed and turned, and Mia kept walking, 442 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:35,480 Speaker 1: tired but wired, thinking about the impending tour, thinking about 443 00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:39,959 Speaker 1: the new record, thinking about Atlantic Records, and thinking about Stephanie. 444 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:42,920 Speaker 2: She reached into her pocket and put. 445 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:45,200 Speaker 1: Her thumb on the Walkman's volume wheel and turned it up. 446 00:26:45,960 --> 00:26:49,159 Speaker 1: The music made the long walk worth it. The music 447 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:53,760 Speaker 1: made the night. The music was the night. The music 448 00:26:54,440 --> 00:26:58,760 Speaker 1: was the life. She kept walking. She thought about the 449 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:02,680 Speaker 1: name of the device. Was listening to the Walkman as 450 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:07,919 Speaker 1: an walk man. It made her laugh. She was aimless, 451 00:27:08,560 --> 00:27:12,240 Speaker 1: She had a purpose, which was it? Did it matter? 452 00:27:13,200 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 1: Her heart rate was getting higher, her own breathing getting louder, 453 00:27:17,359 --> 00:27:20,080 Speaker 1: now nearly as loud as the music in her headphones. 454 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:24,679 Speaker 1: Each breath louder now than the last. And then the 455 00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:28,840 Speaker 1: breathing was suddenly rhythmic. It was offbeat, off rhythm, not 456 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:32,199 Speaker 1: in sync with how she was inhaling and exhiling, and 457 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:34,720 Speaker 1: by the time she realized that the heavy breathing was 458 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:37,920 Speaker 1: coming from behind her, it was too late. 459 00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:51,520 Speaker 2: Hey guys. 460 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:53,800 Speaker 1: Earlier in this episode, I mentioned a wacky European tour 461 00:27:53,840 --> 00:27:56,119 Speaker 1: in which the Gets played a lot of unorthodox venues. 462 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:58,240 Speaker 1: I guess that's what you could call them. This is 463 00:27:58,240 --> 00:28:01,880 Speaker 1: the tour they embarked on, still unknown outside of Seattle, 464 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:04,639 Speaker 1: while a bunch of their contemporaries like Nirvana were blowing up. 465 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,520 Speaker 1: I don't get into much detail about the tour because 466 00:28:07,520 --> 00:28:09,680 Speaker 1: we just didn't have the time here in the full episode, 467 00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:13,080 Speaker 1: but there is a crazy story from this tour about 468 00:28:13,080 --> 00:28:15,760 Speaker 1: how a late, late, late night meal at a Swiss 469 00:28:15,800 --> 00:28:20,200 Speaker 1: restaurant nearly got the band busted and the tour canceled. 470 00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:22,280 Speaker 1: And you can hear this wild story in a brand 471 00:28:22,280 --> 00:28:25,480 Speaker 1: new mini episode of Disgraceland available right now. Become a 472 00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:27,920 Speaker 1: member at disgracelandpod dot com. All right, back to this 473 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:32,800 Speaker 1: story now about Miya Zapata and the Gifts Rock rolla 474 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:40,680 Speaker 1: from two am on the morning of July seventh, nineteen 475 00:28:40,760 --> 00:28:43,320 Speaker 1: ninety three, when she left the Eastpike Street apartment of 476 00:28:43,360 --> 00:28:47,640 Speaker 1: her friend Tracy Victoria Kenley AKATV to three twenty am, 477 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:50,520 Speaker 1: when her body was discovered a little over a mile 478 00:28:50,560 --> 00:28:53,080 Speaker 1: and a half away at the intersection of twenty fourth 479 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:58,680 Speaker 1: in Yesler. Miya Zapada's whereabouts were unknown For eighty minutes 480 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:01,760 Speaker 1: no one saw. It was like she was a ghost 481 00:29:02,080 --> 00:29:06,040 Speaker 1: wandering the city. Had she been walking that entire time? 482 00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:08,840 Speaker 1: Did she hail a cab? How long was she on 483 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 1: her own before her killer got hold of her? And 484 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:14,400 Speaker 1: just who could have sexually assaulted her, strangled her and 485 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:18,600 Speaker 1: then taken her life in cold blood? The suspect list 486 00:29:18,680 --> 00:29:23,240 Speaker 1: was endless. In fact, there was an entire music scene 487 00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:26,560 Speaker 1: of suspects, not only me A's boyfriend, the one she 488 00:29:26,600 --> 00:29:29,080 Speaker 1: had tried to see earlier in the evening, and not 489 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:31,760 Speaker 1: only every single guy in MIA's band, but every single 490 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:36,720 Speaker 1: guy in every band in Seattle. There was potential motive too. 491 00:29:37,160 --> 00:29:39,840 Speaker 1: Just one year prior, one of me As coworkers at 492 00:29:39,840 --> 00:29:43,000 Speaker 1: the Frontier Room bar had privately confided to Mia that 493 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:45,800 Speaker 1: a guy from a local band had sexually assaulted her 494 00:29:45,960 --> 00:29:48,840 Speaker 1: in an alley. It turned out that the gits were 495 00:29:48,840 --> 00:29:51,200 Speaker 1: supposed to record a split seven inch with this guy 496 00:29:51,280 --> 00:29:54,000 Speaker 1: in his band, and so Mia immediately wrote a new 497 00:29:54,040 --> 00:29:58,560 Speaker 1: song specifically for this single, called Spear and Magic Helmet. 498 00:29:58,840 --> 00:30:01,600 Speaker 1: In the song, he described the assault and then laid 499 00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:04,959 Speaker 1: out very clearly how she was. Her friend's rage filled 500 00:30:05,040 --> 00:30:08,760 Speaker 1: retribution a song, and MIA's take no shit approach to 501 00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:12,440 Speaker 1: defending her people scared the guy off. His band dropped 502 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:16,440 Speaker 1: from the seven inch project, and he skipped down. But 503 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:20,040 Speaker 1: for Seattle PD, the motive didn't have to be so complicated. 504 00:30:20,480 --> 00:30:23,239 Speaker 1: The killer could be hiding in plain sight, someone who 505 00:30:23,280 --> 00:30:25,760 Speaker 1: maybe didn't hold a grudge against Mia. They could be 506 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:28,479 Speaker 1: playing a gig that very night in town. So the 507 00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:31,640 Speaker 1: cops hauled every man from every band that had shared 508 00:30:31,680 --> 00:30:36,560 Speaker 1: a stage with the gits into the station. Musicians, roadies, promoters. 509 00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:41,840 Speaker 1: Paranoia was high, a subtext of suspicion undercut every sound check. 510 00:30:42,560 --> 00:30:47,480 Speaker 1: Some bands stopped rehearsing, others broke up entirely. But after 511 00:30:47,520 --> 00:30:50,200 Speaker 1: the police had collected an abundance of interviews, fingerprints, and 512 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:53,440 Speaker 1: DNA samples, they were no closer to finding me as 513 00:30:53,480 --> 00:30:56,600 Speaker 1: a pot as killer than they bent on day one. 514 00:30:56,800 --> 00:30:59,360 Speaker 1: All they had to go on was some saliva found 515 00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:03,320 Speaker 1: on MIA's bossy, but the sample was tiny, too small 516 00:31:03,360 --> 00:31:06,000 Speaker 1: for the DNA testing methods available to law enforcement in 517 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:10,120 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety three, so the King County Medical Examiner filed 518 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:13,720 Speaker 1: the saliva sample in storage as was protocol, and hopes 519 00:31:13,760 --> 00:31:15,440 Speaker 1: that it could be used in the future when the 520 00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:20,480 Speaker 1: technology caught up. The remaining members of the Gits, meanwhile, 521 00:31:20,600 --> 00:31:24,160 Speaker 1: were getting frustrated with the cops sit around in wait strategy. 522 00:31:24,400 --> 00:31:27,200 Speaker 1: Mia was all anyone was talking about. Posters of her 523 00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:30,160 Speaker 1: face were plastered all over town, but the case was 524 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:34,200 Speaker 1: quickly growing cold. So just weeks after her murder, MIA's 525 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:37,720 Speaker 1: bandmates hired a private investigator on their own, and they 526 00:31:37,800 --> 00:31:40,000 Speaker 1: organized a benefit concert in early August at the King 527 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:43,400 Speaker 1: Performance Center to pay the PIS fee, a show headlined 528 00:31:43,440 --> 00:31:45,680 Speaker 1: at the last minute by none other than one of 529 00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:48,640 Speaker 1: MIA's earliest advocates in town and one of the biggest 530 00:31:48,640 --> 00:31:53,280 Speaker 1: bands on the planet, Nirvana. Future benefit shows and compilation 531 00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:56,680 Speaker 1: albums featuring Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and Joan Jett helped fund 532 00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:01,520 Speaker 1: the private investigator for three years. Despite all this, there 533 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:03,920 Speaker 1: were few leads to go on, and there were no 534 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:11,280 Speaker 1: easy answers, and soon there was no money left either. Still, 535 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:14,600 Speaker 1: Mia was remembered every single day by the thousands who 536 00:32:14,640 --> 00:32:17,560 Speaker 1: loved her, from her family and her closest friends and 537 00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:21,560 Speaker 1: bandmates to the diehard fans of the Gets. But as 538 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:25,200 Speaker 1: the years dragged on, the deaths of more famous Seattle 539 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:29,280 Speaker 1: artists like Kurt Cobain and Lane Staley, they seized control 540 00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:33,360 Speaker 1: of the global narrative, while MIA's still unsolved story threatened 541 00:32:33,360 --> 00:32:35,959 Speaker 1: to shrink to a footnote in the annals of history. 542 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:40,640 Speaker 1: But Steve Moriarty, Matt Dresder, Joe Spleen, seven Year Bitch, 543 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:43,280 Speaker 1: d C. Beggars, they all refused to allow Mia to 544 00:32:43,320 --> 00:32:46,080 Speaker 1: be reduced in that way. They kept her memory and 545 00:32:46,160 --> 00:32:47,360 Speaker 1: their mission alive. 546 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:48,680 Speaker 3: All the while. 547 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:53,480 Speaker 1: The laborious processes of law enforcement continued to evolve, however slowly, 548 00:32:55,280 --> 00:32:59,920 Speaker 1: and so, eight long years after her murder, with advance 549 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:03,840 Speaker 1: this is in forensic science, now making the once impossible possible, 550 00:33:04,480 --> 00:33:07,800 Speaker 1: SEATTLEBD was finally able to send that salava sample they 551 00:33:07,920 --> 00:33:11,800 Speaker 1: kept to the Washington State Crime Lab for analysis. The 552 00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:16,040 Speaker 1: results were two DNA profiles, One was MIA's and the 553 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:19,560 Speaker 1: other was an unidentified man. In two thousand and two, 554 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:23,040 Speaker 1: the male profile was added to the FBI's database of 555 00:33:23,080 --> 00:33:26,920 Speaker 1: two million DNA profiles, and just six months later, in 556 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:29,720 Speaker 1: January of two thousand and three, they got a hit. 557 00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:34,400 Speaker 1: But the suspect at the end of that hit came 558 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:40,560 Speaker 1: as a complete shock. MIA's killer, it turns out, wasn't 559 00:33:40,600 --> 00:33:44,200 Speaker 1: someone she knew. It wasn't a member of a Seattle band, 560 00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:47,280 Speaker 1: someone embedded in the so called grunge scene, as the 561 00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:50,520 Speaker 1: cops had been so sure about it first. In fact, 562 00:33:50,560 --> 00:33:54,360 Speaker 1: it was the exact opposite. It was a transient who 563 00:33:54,400 --> 00:33:56,640 Speaker 1: had been in town at the time, temporarily shocked up 564 00:33:56,680 --> 00:33:59,080 Speaker 1: a mile and a half from where MIA's body was found, 565 00:33:59,440 --> 00:34:01,840 Speaker 1: and since it's been living thousands of miles. 566 00:34:01,560 --> 00:34:03,040 Speaker 2: Away in Florida. 567 00:34:04,240 --> 00:34:07,320 Speaker 1: Forty eight year old Hay sus Mesquilla was arrested in 568 00:34:07,360 --> 00:34:10,360 Speaker 1: Miami Dade County, where he was out on probation for 569 00:34:10,400 --> 00:34:14,840 Speaker 1: a recent felony conviction. One of his parole conditions involved 570 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:18,480 Speaker 1: routine cheek swab samples which had been checked against the 571 00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:24,280 Speaker 1: FBI's database and that yielded the match. This career criminal 572 00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:29,279 Speaker 1: had a long rap sheet across multiple states, aggravated battery, kidnapping, 573 00:34:29,520 --> 00:34:35,000 Speaker 1: false imprisonment, robbery, indecent exposure, battery, and now first degree murder. 574 00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:37,839 Speaker 1: Which he was found guilty of the following year two 575 00:34:37,840 --> 00:34:41,720 Speaker 1: thousand and four and sentenced to thirty six years in prison. 576 00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:48,120 Speaker 1: Hayesus Mesquilla could run from justice no longer. Mia Zapata, 577 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:53,000 Speaker 1: on the other hand, was never running from anything, not Louisville, 578 00:34:53,080 --> 00:34:58,680 Speaker 1: not privilege, not comfort, and certainly not from fear. Instead, 579 00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:04,200 Speaker 1: she was running towards something, a life lived loudly, honestly, 580 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:07,600 Speaker 1: and on her own terms. And that walk through the 581 00:35:07,680 --> 00:35:10,360 Speaker 1: dark streets of Seattle in the early morning hours of 582 00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:14,960 Speaker 1: July seventh wasn't an escape, It was another step forward. 583 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:19,960 Speaker 1: Her killer was eventually named, cataloged and filed away by 584 00:35:19,960 --> 00:35:22,280 Speaker 1: the system, where he spent the rest of his days 585 00:35:22,280 --> 00:35:26,560 Speaker 1: in a cell. But MIA's story doesn't end, not in 586 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:30,520 Speaker 1: nineteen ninety three, and not in twenty twenty one, when 587 00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:35,960 Speaker 1: Jesus Misquia died behind bars. MIA's story rings out every 588 00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:40,920 Speaker 1: time someone chooses risk over safety or truth over comfort. 589 00:35:41,719 --> 00:35:44,440 Speaker 1: It's there in every voice that refuses to be silent, 590 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:46,960 Speaker 1: and every artist who isn't going to wait their turn. 591 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:52,840 Speaker 1: Mia Zapota kept walking, kept pursuing, and that motion carries on, 592 00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:58,680 Speaker 1: carrying everyone who falls it towards something that feels like grace. 593 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:05,880 Speaker 2: I'm Jay Brennan in this this Disgraceland. 594 00:36:18,320 --> 00:36:21,719 Speaker 1: All right, guys, thanks for listening to another episode of Disgraceland. 595 00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:23,440 Speaker 1: This one on Me as a Potter and the gets 596 00:36:23,520 --> 00:36:26,000 Speaker 1: appreciate you all. Question of the week this week? Which 597 00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:30,160 Speaker 1: artists are you aware of? Which musicians who died before 598 00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:33,560 Speaker 1: they got their due, died before their time, died before 599 00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:37,720 Speaker 1: their career really took off? There are tons of examples. 600 00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:40,000 Speaker 1: Six one, seven, nine oh six sixty sixty three eight. 601 00:36:40,360 --> 00:36:42,200 Speaker 1: Leave me a voicemail, send me a text, Hit me 602 00:36:42,280 --> 00:36:45,400 Speaker 1: up at Disgrace lampod on thesocials, Disgrace Lampod at gmail 603 00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:47,920 Speaker 1: dot com. Make sure you guys got auto downloads turned on. 604 00:36:47,960 --> 00:36:50,200 Speaker 1: If you're an Apple podcast listener, leave a review for 605 00:36:50,239 --> 00:36:52,520 Speaker 1: the show on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and you might 606 00:36:52,520 --> 00:36:53,440 Speaker 1: win some free merch. 607 00:36:53,760 --> 00:36:55,040 Speaker 2: Here comes some credits. 608 00:36:57,200 --> 00:36:59,880 Speaker 1: Disgraceland was created by Yours Truly and is produced in 609 00:37:00,080 --> 00:37:03,440 Speaker 1: partnership with Double Elvis. Credits for this episode can be 610 00:37:03,440 --> 00:37:06,760 Speaker 1: found on the show notes page at disgracelampod dot com. 611 00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:10,040 Speaker 1: Rate and review the show and follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, 612 00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:14,320 Speaker 1: and Facebook at disgracelampod and on YouTube at YouTube dot com, 613 00:37:14,360 --> 00:37:17,880 Speaker 1: slash at disgracelampod, Rock a Roller. 614 00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:23,600 Speaker 2: He's a bad don man.