Find of the Month

Each month we highlight interesting, important, and odd items from our collection, along with the stories they tell.

Most recent Find of the Month

September 2025 - Ze Whiz Kidz

Records from the first Bumbershoot included a memorandum from a Seattle Center official with the subject line "Questionable Elements/Festival '71." In it, he expressed dismay at the potential inclusion in the festival of groups he considered to be of dubious taste, and doubt in their "ability to abide with the 'Family Fun' idea" of the event. He strongly urged the organizers not to include the groups, saying that "public indignation of city sponsored events with questionable elements would only serve to insure that city funds would never again be available for the greater purpose of exhibitions of worthwhile young artists" (emphasis in original).

Drawing his ire was Ze Whiz Kidz, a drag cabaret collective founded by Tomata du Plenty (other members included Rhina Stone, Gorilla Rose, and Melba Toast). Part of the early LGBT arts and countercultural scene in Seattle, they performed in locales including the Eagles Auditorium, a dive bar called the Submarine Room in the basement of the Smith Tower, and at bus stops. The Kidz opened for Alice Cooper at the Paramount in July 1971, and a member of the group later recalled that Cooper said they were too much even for him. (This performance was specifically cited by the alarmed author of the memo.)

A handwritten note in the festival file shows that a performance by the Kidz had been confirmed on July 6. An invoice from Dennis Weikel (aka Satin Sheets) dated August 11 and marked as paid had line items for paint, glitter, crepe paper, and lumber. And an event tracking sheet showed the group scheduled to perform "Tropicana Holiday" on August 13 from 10 to 11 pm at the bandshell (with Cha Cha Samoa listed as the contact person). However, the page has a giant X marked through it and the note "out," and they were not on the final printed schedule. It’s unclear whether they withdrew or if the memo succeeded in getting them removed from the festival.

Ze Whiz Kids are now seen as an integral part of Seattle’s early glam rock/proto-punk movement. Several members formed the Tupperwares, who opened for the Seattle premiere of John Waters’s film "Pink Flamingos" before moving to LA and becoming The Screamers, an important band in the early LA punk scene. Locally, other Kidz became involved with One Reel, Teatro Zinzanni, and other Seattle arts groups.

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