Three chords and a rolodex: lesbian rockers who prefer to fly under the radar create a nationwide, self-supportive network. (music).

Milestones in lesbian and queer-identified music are being marked faster than a Susan Morabito breakbeat. But for every chart-making victory by mainstream performers like Melissa Etheridge or k.d. lang, there are perhaps thousands of lesbian and lesbian-identified rock bands in a growing but still relatively obscure underground. Some of the bands from this alternative rock subgenre--most notably Sleater-Kinney and Le Tigre--have earned enough critical success and CD sales to warrant attention from MTV and national music press. But others--such as the Need, Evil Beaver, and Bragnobile--eke out a decent living in this underground, all while remaining largely unknown to the public and even to other lesbians.

The scene is often called dykecore, and it grew out of riot grrrl, the early '90s movement that married third-wave feminism (think Sassy magazine) with punk rock's do-it-yourself ethic. It encompasses a self-sufficient network of bands, record labels, clubs, 'zines, Web sites, and festivals (such as the rapidly expanding underground-friendly Ladyfest).

"The support among these bands is probably the strongest bond in the entire music scene," says Jessica Ocasio, who maintains Girlpunk.net, a Web site about female-fronted punk acts. Toastacia Boyd experienced the power of that network when she joined the lesbian-identified band Automaticans two years ago. "We had a built-in crowd wherever we went," says Boyd. "People would come to our shows without even hearing us first just because we were on the Chainsaw label [known for its dykecore acts]. They wanted to support the effort of our own control."

Like so many in the dykecore scene, Boyd not only plays the music but also participates in other ways: Her booking agency, Predator, helps put emerging queer-rock bands like Radio Vago on the map. Patricia Klein, guitarist in the band Patsy, moonlights in the scene by running Los Angeles's lesbian all-ages club Milk, which brings in queer and queer-identified bands. "Without us," Klein says of the circuit, "these bands wouldn't survive."

Homophobia is still an issue for lesbians who prefer to keep dyke rock in the underground. "We've pulled up to clubs we're supposed to be playing, taken one look at the crowd outside, and driven off without even getting out of the car," says Rachel Carns, drummer for the Need. Adds Ocasio, "The open-minded image of the rock scene is somewhat false."

As lesbian acts like the Indigo Girls earn more mainstream exposure, the question arises whether the dyke-rock circuit is ghettoizing itself. "You want to have the most people hear about you, but operating on the queercore circuit alone keeps you from that," says Ernesto Foronda, who runs Heartcore Records, a label for the buzzed-about gay bands Crowns on 45 and Running Ragged. Still, he admits, "That core audience is what we work for; it's about them, not the money."

Pike is an editor at Total Movie & Entertainment magazine.