I was in this band with Christina Billotte who went on to play in one of my all-time favourite groups Slant 6. She is a real genius song writer. Autoclave was formed in DC in about 1990. I was in college in Boston at this time, and we just toured on my breaks. Our first tour was with Fugazi and Beat Happening. I was a lucky kid!
Mary Timony interview, Louder Than War, 2015
AUTOCLAVE live on this day in 1990 at the Middle East, Boston; prior to their debut 7" on Dischord / K Records.
I was in a band called Hazmat [circa 1988-89] with Melissa Berkoff - who was later in Autoclave with me - Mary Timony, and Nikki Chapman... Autoclave was together off and on for two years, but we only played 15 shows. It overlapped with Hazmat.
Christina Billotte / Slant 6 interview, Please Kill Me, 2020
After AUTOCLAVE, guitarist / vocalist Mary Timony formed HELIUM; bassist / vocalist Christina Billotte formed SLANT 6.
You write with the people you're playing with, and when you write alone, you write with their aesthetic in mind. But it really wasn't that conscious. [With Slant 6], I wanted to do something more straightforward than Autoclave, more danceable. But when I look back it, it's not, really. Slant 6 was major-key songs, with regular timing and more energy.
Christina Billotte / Slant 6 interview, Bandwidth, 2014