This is a great taste of what it was like in Seattle before anyone knew where Seattle was. I was lucky enough to have gone to high school with some of these guys and went to lots of shows before the fame thing entered into it. I still have my vinyl copy and it’s signed. Early Soundgarden was great. The Melvins were unlike anything else that was going on. Most people here in the early ‘80s wanted fast punk stuff and they would often make fun of the Melvins during shows by shouting, “Slower! Play slower”!! I wrote MELVINS on my jacket with a paint pen and felt like me and my friend were the only fans.
Malfunkshun was another original. Spreading love rock in a town where people wanted punk rock. During a show they did in high school on Bainbridge Island, people threw stuff at them. I video taped the last Malfunkshun show at Community World Theater and it has since been used in the documentary “Malfunkshun” The Andrew Wood story. Andy went on to front Mother Love Bone. He died just as that got going and the rest of the guys hired Eddie Vedder from California and formed Pearl Jam. U-men did an amazing show at the Seattle Center. There was this weird cement pond thing in front of the stage and at one point they poured lighter fluid into it and lit it. I don’t really have a skin yard story. The bass player that replaced the original Soundgarden bass player used to practice in my living room on Bainbridge Island with a band called March Of Crimes. I saw several good Green River Shows. One at the Ditto. I sort of have a beer soaked memory of Mark Arm hanging from something from the ceiling. I saw them open for the Dead Kennedys another time. My first Seattle job was at Tower Records with Reagan Hagar of Malfunkshun and Alex Shumway of Green River. The Seattle scene was extremely unique. It saved rock much like the punk movement had. Nothing particularly interesting has happened since. It all went back to crap. The whole Boy band thing, some other Madonna-esque girls whose names I can’t spell, rage rock,Green Day pop rock kinda stuff, a third wave of SKA, and, ugh! American Idol. When will something real happen again?