Albatross Productions Presents The New York Dolls, Ze Whiz Kidz, and Ze Fabulous Pickle Sisters at the Moore Theater, Seattle, WA, March 14, 1974

This poster advertises a concert with Seattle’s Ze Whiz Kidz and Ze Fabulous Pickle Sisters opening for the New York Dolls. While predating the advent of Punk Rock, Ze Whiz Kidz were central to Seattle’s transition between Glam and Punk. They were founded in 1969 by David Xavier Harrigan (1948-2000), also known as Tomata du Plenty, who was formerly a member of the San Francisco-based drag ensemble, The Cockettes. The group featured an extensive, revolving lineup, with evocative names such as Satin Sheets, Gorilla Rose, Louise Lovely, Palm Springs, Cha Cha Samoa, and Rhina Stone.  

Ze Whiz Kidz staged nearly a hundred outré music and theater performances from 1969 to the mid-1970s. Tomata moved to New York in 1972 with Gorilla Rose and performed sketch theater at CBGB and other clubs in the East Village, alongside band performances from Blondie and the Ramones. By 1974 the remaining Whiz Kidz, led by Satin Sheets, reimagined themselves as a Glam Rock five-piece to open for the New York Dolls, as advertised in this poster.  

At the dawn of the Punk age, Tomata Du Plenty returned to Seattle and formed (along with Melba Toast and Rio De Janeiro) the Tupperwares, which would soon after re-form in Los Angeles as the seminal Synth-Punk band the Screamers, while Whiz Kid Satin Sheets (now Satz) formed the Lewd, making a splash on the Seattle and San Francisco punk scenes.