Excuse 17 is a queercore punk band from Olympia, Washington that performed and recorded in the mid 1990s.
In 1993 Carrie Brownstein, Becca Albee and CJ Phillips came together to form Excuse 17, a band that would only last a few years but would prove to be influential. Carrie and Becca both played guitar and sang and CJ played the drums. After its inception, the band quickly recorded a demo tape and then began playing and recording for various compilations on independent record labels. Their first full-length recording, Excuse Seventeen, was released jointly on Atlas Records (LP) and queercore label Chainsaw Records (CD). They would later release their second and final album Such Friends Are Dangerous on the indie label Kill Rock Stars in 1995, which displayed a boost in recording quality. They often found themselves playing shows with Heavens to Betsy, including touring, not surprisingly since both bands were an active part of the Riot Grrrl scene; as well, they both appear on the compilation LP/CD Free to Fight. Corin Tucker from Heavens to Betsy struck up a friendship with Carrie Brownstein and they dated each other for a time. The two women decided to form Sleater-Kinney, a side project that soon evolved into their main focus as their respective groups ended. However, Excuse 17's recordings are still valued by fans of Sleater-Kinney, those interested in Riot Grrrl and queercore recordings, and record collectors in general. Becca Albee is currently a photography professor at the City College of New York.
13 years ago