After relocating to Seattle, Washington in 1989, the band set up shop at "the Rathouse", an abandoned house in the Capitol Hill district where they rehearsed and lived. They quickly earned a following in the local scene and gained many friends, particularly in the city's punk rock community. During the early 1990s, buzz began surrounding the band, which caused some media outlets to erroneously lump them in with the then-burgeoning Seattle grunge music scene, and Zapata's persona led many to incorrectly associate The Gits with the Olympia, Washington riot grrrl movement.