Bratmobile formed in Olympia, Washington in 1991. The original were Allison Wolfe and Molly Neuman. They shared duties on guitar, drums, and vocals. Briefly, they were ed by a bass player named Michelle Noel.

It was a fake band at first but when the were invited to play, they decided to get their band into a real one and were ed by more creating Bratmobile. After a member suggested listening to the Ramones for inspiration, Allison Wolfe stated, “Something in me clicked. If most boy punk rock bands just listen to the Ramones and that's how they write their songs, then we'll do the opposite and I won't listen to any Ramones and that way we'll sound different." This led to them ing the riot grrrl movement.

Bratmobile disbanded in 1994 (on stage) then reunited in 1998 until 2003.