Third Grade Teacher

Third Grade Teacher, a quartet embracing the self-applied tag "lo-fi arena rock," spotlighted the lead vocals of actual third-grade instructor Sabrina Stevenson. By 1999 Stevenson had already established herself onstage, performing regularly across Silverlake and Hollywood alongside guitarist David Guerrero, bassist Sharon Schloss, and drummer Art Jencks. The group positioned itself in a sonic space that bridged metal and punk revivalism, allowing ample space for Stevenson's dramatically fluctuating vocal delivery and eccentric live behavior that encompassed tap dancing, glossolalia, and floor-crawling episodes. Its debut album, Greatest Hits, Vol. 1, arrived via self-release in 1999, followed the next year by The Underklass; the band also contributed tracks to several anthologies, among them Alright, This Time Just the Girls on Sympathy for the Record Industry. The roster later changed, bringing in bassist Laura Smith and drummer Rob Ahlers. In 2003 the group issued 3, an album subsequently acquired by Bay Area indie label Pinch Hit.