Mia Zapata and The Gits: A Story of Art, Rock, and Revolution

by Steve Moriarty

Just Kids for the grunge era. Seattle band, The Gits and their charismatic front person Mia Zapata were on the verge of international rock stardom but on July 7, 1993, days before their third US tour, Mia Zapata, The Gits 27-year-old singer-songwriter, was brutally assaulted and murdered by a stranger. Zapata’s death sent chilling ripples through progressive communities throughout the United States. She became a cause-celebre for women’s rights activists outraged by the brutal killing and lack of law enforcement support. This book reclaims Zapata's story to focus on the art she and The Gits created and not her tragic end. Much has been written and said about her murder, yet Zapata’s life and work remain overshadowed by the circumstances of her death. Zapata’s friend and bandmate, Steve Moriarty, tells her story―and the story of their band, The Gits―from their first meeting in 1985 to their last goodbye. Moriarity and Zapata met in 1985 as first-year students at Antioch College, where they discovered the power of punk rock and found an outlet for their progressive ideas through music. Zapata, Moriarity, and fellow students Matt Dresdner and Andy Kessler attended a show by San Francisco punk legends Dead Kennedys that inspired the friends to start a band fueled by Mia’s provocative lyrics. They quickly gained critical praise and dedicated fans. Moriarty details their struggles as newcomers to the then-pre-tech outpost of the Seattle music scene. Interspersed are the tales Zapata told of her legendary ancestor, Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, to entertain the band as they spen't countless hours on the road crammed into a single un-air-conditioned van touring the US and Europe. They shared stages with Beck, Nirvana, Mudhoney, Joan Jett, Bikini Kill, L7, and more―all who expected Mia and The Gits to be the next "big thing." The Gits’s story is more than a biography; it’s a testament to the ability of artists and musicians to challenge the status quo and the power of friendship to change the world. Moriarty reframes the sensationalist story as he shares his personal narrative and presents, with intimacy, grit, and humor, the lived experience of The Gits and his dear friend, Mia Zapata. Included are never before seen paintings, letters, and pictures.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music, Audiobook, Punk

260 pages, Paperback

Published August 13, 2024

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

i was very into the gits and into the heartbreak of mia zapata as a teenager so i read this entire book as soon as i saw it. jfc so depressing but also i am really glad to see her honored as a full person, not just someone who was tragically killed.

[Sam Lille · Rating 5 out of 5]

For Seattle, Mia’s death has become a local ghost story that overshadows her accomplishments and humanity. Having lived here for well over a decade now, nearly everything I’ve heard anecdotally about Mia and The Gits was framed around her tragic ending. It was so nice to get to know her and her community, completely detached from how she died. This was a really lovely read and I feel grateful to have this new insight of our local legend.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I didn’t much care for the narrator of this audiobook and there was something about the author’s tone that bugged me a little, but all in all I thought it provided a good picture of what life in the band was like. Extra credit for shout outs to Portland’s own Poison Idea and Dead Moon.

[Ken French · Rating 3 out of 5]

The point of this book, I think, was to focus attention on Mia Zapata's art and personality. And in that, it succeeds. I finished it wishing I had known Mia, or at least had seen the Gits perform (being an East Coast punk, there weren't many opportunities). Mia comes across as a vibrant, extremely talented performer and I still ache at her loss.

That said, the book itself was a bit of a chore. While Moriarty was as close as anyone could have been to Mia, he's not a particularly good writer. He repeats himself constantly, sometimes from one paragraph to the next (as in when he describes the fanzine Maximum Rocknroll twice in a row). And he veers off topic too often. In a book about Mia Zapata and the Gits, do we really need an entire chapter about him traveling around Europe with his girlfriend? The book could have used some serious editing and polishing.

Still, a great story of a gifted singer and a band cut short. It made me pull out my old Gits records & CDs and appreciate Mia's gift.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5, A fascinating history, lovingly told by of one of the members of an amazing 90s band.

[Lissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Mia Zapata and The Gits, drummer Steve Moriarty delivers a visceral and heartfelt ode to one of punk rock's most poignant—and often overlooked—legacies. This book is more than a biography; it’s a love letter to the irrepressible spirit of The Gits, their iconic singer Mia Zapata, and the transformative era they embodied. With Moriarty as both historian and witness, readers are transported back to the gritty clubs and sweat-soaked dives of the Seattle music scene and beyond—a backdrop that shaped both the band and the city as a whole.

Zapata possessed a rare ability to fuse vulnerability with unyielding strength—a quality Moriarty captures with the precision of someone who truly lived it. His firsthand perspective brings a depth of intimacy that few music biographies achieve. Through this sensitive and electrifying lens, Mia emerges not just as an icon but as a deeply human figure—brimming with passion, conviction, and complexity.

What stands out most in Mia Zapata and The Gits is its honesty. Moriarty does not shy away from the triumphs and challenges that define their journey. The book resonates with the highs of creative breakthroughs and the camaraderie of a punk-rock family. This balance of reverence, raw truth, and moments of humor makes the narrative compelling—a powerful testament to the enduring impact of music and the chosen families it creates.

For lovers of punk rock, Seattle’s grunge-era ethos, or stories of indomitable spirit, Mia Zapata and The Gits is a must-read. It’s not just a story about a band or a music scene—it’s the story of a woman who redefined what it means to live for your art and whose voice continues to echo across generations.

Moriarty has given us a gift: a chance to meet Mia Zapata anew, her vibrant and deeply human personality pulsing through every page, and to feel her presence as if The Gits were back on stage, ready to rock once more.

[Mike Sweeney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fast read because I’m a similar age to the author and the band so it was intriguing to read details about college aged kids maneuvering through life in IN and OH, but with plenty of adventures throughout Europe and the West Coast that surprised me.

There was a lot I didn’t know about The Gits, their personalities and how they worked together to make some of the best and most underrated loud rock music of that era. The punk rock ethos and lifestyle was still in full force in the late 80’s. Interesting to read about Seattle in 1989. How times have changed.

I greatly appreciated Moriarty’s passion, vulnerability and incredible discipline as a drummer and bandmate through some wild times. It’s nice to see The Gits just had their catalog picked up by Sub Pop, which seems like an impossible feat given the lack of a Seattle welcome wagon for The Gits in ‘89, highlighted brilliantly in the book by that scene at the offices of The Rocket.

[Polly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really loved hearing these stories of a group of scrappy, goofy, artist kids coming together and creating an amazing band. There are funny, passionate stories of Steve and his bandmates making their way through the Seattle music scene, and fiercely committing to their music, and what it meant to them. I have loved the Gits for a long time, but the music has often been overshadowed by the story of Mia's tragic murder. I really appreciated the chance to get to know her better as a wise, damaged, loving, and insightful person.

[Adria · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and heartbreaking story. I loved reading about the formation of The Gits (embarrassed to say I didn’t know their music well in the 90s). I loved reading about their migration to Seattle and their adventures in the early days of the burgeoning music scene there. I hated knowing all along that their singer, Mia Zapata, had been raped and murdered just as the band was starting to bloom, in 1993.

I heard an interview with the author on NPR and applaud his decision to celebrate Ms. Zapata’s life and to remember her accomplishments rather than rake over her death.

[Mariah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a huge fan of The Gits and especially Mia, I really appreciated reading this. Not a single element of “true crime” about it, nothing about her death - just her life and how she was as a person to those around her. No treading water about what happened after, we’ve all seen it and it didn’t need to be in here. Made the emotional mistake of reading this at a pace that means I finished it on the same date as the last chapter occurred, and found myself in floods of tears as the end inched closer. Viva Zapata.

[Nutmeg · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who lived in Seattle during the late ‘90s and went to a fair share of shows at the Crocodile Cafe and other venues of the day, I was a Gits fan but never got to see them live. However, I didn’t know much about they band’s story other than that they broke up just as it seemed like their career was taking off due to lead singer Mia Zapata’s murder.

So, when I got a surprise offer for an advanced reading copy of this book, I happily accepted as I still listen to their music today and coincidentally had just rewatched the documentary Hype for the first time in 20 years.

Steve Moriarity, the drummer of the band, does a great job of giving the Gits’ origin story from students at Antioch College, their growth and rise as musicians and coming together as a band, and how they (after a lard of hard work and sweat equity) they found themselves with a growing amount of recognition both domestically and across Europe, even playing at a show with Nirvana at the University of Washington ballroom before the band became a household name.

As he was good friends with The Gits’ charismatic singer Mia Zapata, he gives a front row seat into how she wrote the lyrics to their songs, often from an intensely emotional place, yet always raw and authentic. As someone who has never been in a band before yet had periods of life where punk music was the biggest thing I identified with, I appreciated his insight on the highs and lows that go along with growing a band and staying true to one’s dreams/vision while surviving economically. He shares a lot of primary source ephemera such as letters to him from Mia along with the classic show flyers along with tour and live show performances that make the stories come alive.

All in all, while I enjoyed this book for the above reasons, it was more of a story about the band than Mia herself. In the chronological telling of the Gits’ time together, he doesn’t write about the time when she was murdered nor the immediate aftermath of the effect in the music/Seattle community of her death. (Spoiler: the epilogue discusses a phone call he got a decade later saying the stranger who murdered Mia got caught.) I would have been interested to read about this from his perspective, so it feels like a big hole in the book’s plotline. (He mentioned more throughout the book about how he felt when Stefanie, a bandmate of his ex-girlfriend Valerie in the band 7 Year Bitch, died.)

Still, I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the punk/independent music scene in Seattle of the early ‘90s before grunge and Nirvana/Pearl Jam eclipsed anything else going on in town. It also captures the precious time in my mind where the town really was grungy (no pun intended) compared to the shocking brand-new facades seen all across the city today. Thank you, Steve, for preserving a piece of Seattle music history for all of us to read and remember.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story will leave an impression. Written by the Gits drummer about the band’s beginning, hard work, development, and the strength of their friendship, care and belief in one another, the story takes the reader from Steve’s first meeting with Mia to their final goodbye. What you read in the book’s description is not dealt with in the book at all. The result is a portrait of Mia as an artist, friend, and punk activist. She is defined by what she did and how she treated others, instead of what happened to her on one terrible night.

I have always had a couple of Gits songs on my playlists, but I have listened to the band more broadly and deeply while reading this. I am a fan. Their sound is uniquely their own, with a power and complexity that I love to listen to.

I think where Steve’s writing shines is when he describes the music, the gigs, and his one on one interactions with Mia. I appreciated his descriptions of what each band member added to a song. He leaves no doubt as to his belief in the band or his love and respect for their front woman, his friend.

To address another reviewer’s comment that the writing is repetitive - yes, I did notice that in a couple of places, but it did not bother me. I think the unpolished honesty, that lack of editing spoke to me as his earnest belief and maybe some underlying frustration with the band’s slow climb toward recognition. In other words, it feels real and the repeats communicated something about his faithfulness to Mia and the band that might be lost in a more streamlined, edited down narrative.

[Mlhoganjr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have known about the Gits, Mia's story, and the Seattle music scene in the 90s since I was young teenager. These things have always been a part of me growing up. Coincidentally, I am also a graduate of Antioch College, where the band first met (though I was a much later generation) and where large parts of this story took place. It's nice to read these stories, highlighting the energy and fun of the Gits. Moriarty's writing style is more like listening to a friend retell a funny story of band practice or a drunken night out on the town, but it's still sweet and compelling reading.

One thing I'll note, I've read many times before that Moriarty and the rest of Mia's friends didn't want her story just to be tragedy, because there was a lot of wonderful creativity there that gets overlooked. That's the entire reason Moriarty wrote this book. But reality is unavoidable too. The way this book ends, even on the high happy note that it ends, knowing what's just around the corner, is still pretty jarring.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve had the opportunity to read Steve’s book prior to release as he came on our podcast. It is a unique perspective and is not all about the true crime gore that people try to fit into the narrative. He tells great stories about his friendship and family with Mia Zapata and their band The Gits. I highly recommend!

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great memoir that captures the late 80s early 90s punk and grunge music scene. I love that the focus was on Mia Zapata’s life and career with The Gits rather than her tragic end. The photographs of Mia’s art were a cool added bonus.