The Go Team was the juxtaposition of
Olympia rock icons
Calvin Johnson and
Tobi Vail, better known for their respective work in
Beat Happening and
Bikini Kill. The band was around from 1986-1990 and released only cassettes and
7"s on Calvin's
K Records label, all of which are now scarce. The group also frequently included Bikini Kill guitarist
Billy Karen, and recordings featured a bewildering array of guest appearances, the most notable being a guitar part on the song
Bikini Twilight by Tobi's then-boyfriend "
Kurdt Kobain" (better known for his work in... oh,
nevermind). Other guests include Brit music journo
The Legend!,
David Nichols, and
Louise Olson.
The band's sounds ranged from Beat Happening-esque pop ditties to raggedy garage instrumentals to near-industrial noise (the first Go Team cassette being exactly that: a field recording of the erection of a building across the street from Johnson's apartment). Live shows were known to be powerful, loose, chaotic affairs, where instruments were frequently traded and often discarded for spontaneous bouts of mid-song dancing.
The now-elusive recorded output consists of four cassettes and a series of 9 7"s, released one each month between January 1989 and Spetember 1989. The recordings aren't particularly valuable (though the July single which features the Cobain appearance does fetch between $100 and $300 as an early Nirvana rarity), but they are fairly hard to find. (If you have any Go Team items you'd like to get rid of, please /msg me!) The common consensus is that the Archer Come Sparrow cassette is the band's best work. If we're lucky some day the works of the Go Team will be rereleased, though that seems unlikely.
Discography (all releases on K Records unless otherwise noted):
Cassettes:
Singles:
Compilation Appearances:
Thanks to Electricsound for info about the Display Items For Supermarket comp.