The defiantly out queer-punk outfit Longstocking produced only a single album during its brief existence, the 1997 release Once Upon a Time Called Now, yet the Los Angeles quartet managed to bring a knowing '60s-inflected pop sheen to a local punk environment that sometimes veered into deliberate sloppiness. Tamala Poljak, previously the singer and guitarist for Oiler and Fleabag and a musician whose listening spanned everything from the Shangri-Las through Gang of Four to Stereolab, started the project in 1995 as a simple guitar-and-drums pairing. Within months the group expanded to a full quartet that included guitarist Michelle Stevenson, bassist David Gomez, and drummer Sherri Solinger. Following two 7" singles and several tracks on various compilations, the band issued Once Upon a Time Called Now on Donna Dresch's Chainsaw imprint toward the end of 1997. By the moment the album appeared, however, Longstocking had already disbanded, with Poljak relocating to Olympia, WA, for personal reasons while the remaining members remained in Los Angeles. Poljak spent a short period playing with Team Dresch before heading back to Los Angeles in 1999, where she launched the Automaticans.
