Grunge Is Dead Is an Oral History in the Tradition of Please Kill Me, the Seminal History of Punk
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THE ORAL SEATTLE ROCK MUSIC HISTORY OF GREG PRATO WEAVING TOGETHER THE DEFINITIVE STORY OF THE SEATTLE MUSIC SCENE IN THE WORDS OF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE, GRUNGE IS DEAD IS AN ORAL HISTORY IN THE TRADITION OF PLEASE KILL ME, THE SEMINAL HISTORY OF PUNK. WITH THE INSIGHT OF MORE THAN 130 OF GRUNGE’S BIGGEST NAMES, GREG PRATO PRESENTS THE ULTIMATE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO A SOUND THAT CHANGED MUSIC FOREVER. THE GRUNGE MOVEMENT MAY HAVE THRIVED FOR ONLY A FEW YEARS, BUT IT SPAWNED SOME OF THE GREATEST ROCK BANDS OF ALL TIME: PEARL JAM, NIRVANA, ALICE IN CHAINS, AND SOUNDGARDEN. GRUNGE IS DEAD FEATURES THE FIRST-EVER INTERVIEW IN WHICH PEARL JAM’S EDDIE VEDDER WAS WILLING TO DISCUSS THE GROUP’S HISTORY IN GREAT DETAIL; ALICE IN CHAINS’ BAND MEMBERS AND LAYNE STALEY’S MOM ON STALEY’S DRUG ADDICTION AND DEATH; INSIGHTS INTO THE RIOT GRRRL MOVEMENT AND OFT-OVERLOOKED BUT HIGHLY INFLUENTIAL SEATTLE BANDS LIKE MOTHER LOVE BONE, THE MELVINS, SCREAMING TREES, AND MUDHONEY; AND MUCH MORE. GRUNGE IS DEAD DIGS DEEP, STARTING IN THE EARLY ’60S, TO EXPLAIN THE CHAIN OF EVENTS THAT GAVE WAY TO THE MUSIC. THE END RESULT IS A BOOK THAT INCLUDES A WEALTH OF PREVIOUSLY UNTOLD STORIES AND FRESH INSIGHT FOR THE LONGTIME FAN, AS WELL AS THE ESSENTIALS AND HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE NEWCOMER — THE WHOLE UNCENSORED TRUTH — IN ONE COMPREHENSIVE VOLUME. GREG PRATO IS A LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK-BASED WRITER, WHO REGULARLY WRITES FOR ALL MUSIC GUIDE, BILLBOARD.COM, ROLLING STONE.COM, RECORD COLLECTOR MAGAZINE, AND CLASSIC ROCK MAGAZINE. HE IS ALSO THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOKS A DEVIL ON ONE SHOULDER AND AN THE ORAL ANGEL ON THE OTHER: THE STORY OF SHANNON HOON AND BLIND MELON AND TOUCHED BY MAGIC: HISTORY OF THE TOMMY BOLIN STORY. SEATTLE ROCK MUSIC ISBN-13: 978-1-55022-877-9 COVER DESIGN: THE BANG FRONT COVER PHOTOS: MIKE LEACH (BESTROCKPHOTOS.COM) AND PATRICIA COLE 5 1 9 9 5 GREG BACK COVER PHOTOS: PATRICIA COLE PRATO $19.95 U.S., $22.95 CDN ECWPRESS.COM 9 781550 228779 ECW Copyright © Greg Prato, 2009 Published by ECW Press, 2120 Queen Street East, Suite 200, Toronto, Ontario, Canada m4e 1e2 416.694.3348 / [email protected] All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any process — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise — without the prior written permission of the copyright owners and ECW Press. library and archives canada cataloguing in publication Prato, Greg Grunge is dead : the oral history of Seattle rock music / Greg Prato. isbn-13: 978-1-55022-877-9 isbn-10: 1-55022-877-3 1. Grunge groups—Washington (State)—Seattle. 2. Grunge music. 3. Rock musicians—Interviews. I. Title. ml3534.3.p912 2009 782.4216609797772 c2008-907553-6 Editor for the press: Michael Holmes Cover design: Bill Douglas at The Bang Type: Melissa Kaita Photo section: Rachel Ironstone Printing: Printcrafters printed and bound in canada CONTENTS 6 Acknowledgments 7 Foreword 1960s–1970s 11 CHAPTER 1 — “It was mainly isolation”: 1960s–1970s 21 CHAPTER 2 — “Seattle was the closest city”: Transplants Early–Mid ’80s 29 CHAPTER 3 — “It was so easy to freak people out in those days”: Early–Mid ’80s 41 CHAPTER 4 — “’79 through ’84 was hopping”: Power Pop, New Wave, Heavy Metal 48 CHAPTER 5 — “A floodgate of creativity in the Northwest”: Blackouts, Fastbacks, U-Men, Mr. Epp and the Calculations, Duff McKagan 68 CHAPTER 6 — “Church was really in session”: Venues, The Rocket, Record Stores, Radio 82 CHAPTER 7 — “The punk rock David Lee Roth”: Malfunkshun 93 CHAPTER 8 — “Godzilla knocking over buildings”: The Shemps, Soundgarden 108 CHAPTER 9 — “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”: The Melvins, Green River, Screaming Trees 127 CHAPTER 10 — “The next logical step is to start a label”: K Records, Sub Pop Records, C/Z Records Mid–Late ’80s 143 CHAPTER 11 — “If we can just keep it a secret”: Mid–Late ’80s 152 CHAPTER 12 — “How do three guys sound like nine?”: Nirvana 174 CHAPTER 13 — “The sloppiness was essential”: The Thrown Ups, Mudhoney 187 CHAPTER 14 — “GET OUT OF THE WAY! ”: The Melvins, Screaming Trees, Skin Yard, Tad 201 CHAPTER 15 — “Dark, black, and blue”: Soundgarden, Alice in Chains 223 CHAPTER 16 — “He’s going to be one of the biggest rock stars in the world — no question”: Mother Love Bone and Andy Wood’s Death 1990–1991 239 CHAPTER 17 — “OK, this thing is going to happen”: 1990–1991 246 CHAPTER 18 — “If you can sell 40,000, they’ll let you make another one”: Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog 260 CHAPTER 19 — “A ‘testosterone period’”: Alice in Chains, Soundgarden 272 CHAPTER 20 — “You guys will be bigger than Hüsker Dü”: Nirvana and Nevermind 289 CHAPTER 21 — “That they didn’t reach a broader audience baffles me”: Mudhoney, Tad, Screaming Trees, Truly, Melvins, Jesse Bernstein 303 CHAPTER 22 — “Rebelling against the predominant macho grunge scene at the time”: Riot Grrrl 1992–1993 317 CHAPTER 23 — “Be careful what you wish for, you might get it”: 1992–1993 325 CHAPTER 24 — “It was on the radio, people were talking about them, people had shirts on and their posters up”: Pearl Jam 335 CHAPTER 25 — “Things change, and things change quickly”: Soundgarden, Alice in Chains 347 CHAPTER 26 — “We might as well start talking to majors”: Mudhoney, Tad, Skin Yard, Screaming Trees, Melvins, Brad 359 CHAPTER 27 — “If you were there, you were part of it”: Riot Grrrl 367 CHAPTER 28 — “Everything is not OK anymore”: Nirvana 1994 and Beyond 381 CHAPTER 29 — “It felt like the world had gone seriously wrong”: Kurt Cobain’s Death and 1994 391 CHAPTER 30 — “Where I go, you go”: Kurt Remembered 399 CHAPTER 31 — “The demise of the entire scene”: Drugs 405 CHAPTER 32 — “Preparing for the worst”: Alice in Chains and Layne Staley’s Death 427 CHAPTER 33 — “The final magic”: Soundgarden’s Breakup 437 CHAPTER 34 — “There was definitely a big Seattle backlash”: Mudhoney, Tad, Screaming Trees, Melvins, Truly 446 CHAPTER 35 — “Standing up for something they believed in”: Pearl Jam 458 CHAPTER 36 — “Finally — new growth”: Post-Grunge 463 CHAPTER 37 — “Maybe I’m a geezer”: How Will Grunge Be Remembered? 473 Cast of Characters This book is dedicated to Kurt Cobain, Tomata du Plenty, Ben McMillan, Kristen Pfaff, Stephanie Sargent, John Baker Saunders, Layne Staley, Andy Wood, Mia Zapata, and all other Washington-based musicians who are no longer with us. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thanks to Jack Endino, Mark Arm, Susan Silver, Matt Vaughan, Rebecca Roybal, Dave Dederer, Drew Church, Carrie Stamper, and all the photog- raphers who submitted great pix — your help with this book was much appreciated. But wait, there’s more! I’d also like to thank my wife Mary and all my family — Lucille and Robert Prato Jr., Lorraine and the Raz, Little Adam and Baby Aiden, Kris Fleischmann, James Fleischmann, Mikey and Erin Fleischmann, Little Elle, Sylvia and Bob “The Voice of Reason” Fleischmann, Ellen Fleischmann, the Stanleys, Dennis and Cheryl Sullivan, Steven and Jen Castro, Baby Lily, Megan Sullivan, Mellow Michael Sullivan, Grandma and Grandpa Conrad, Grandma and Grandpa Prato, Uncle Eddie, Giacomo and Angela DiMaggio, Angie and Big Michael Prisciandaro, the three little dwarves (Little Michael, Antonia, and Daniela Prisciandaro), Phyllis Basso, Giacomo Caesar Basso, Alan and Beth Tagliamonti, Amy Tagliamonti, Betty Tagliamonti, Tony Clifton, Brendon Cohen, Matt and Martha Baumbach, Adam Krieg, Stefan and Allison Farkas, Orson and Sariah Joseph, Stephen Gross and Karen, Folly, Dirty David Britt, Dave “Dice” Kay, Shawn “The Bear” Bearor, Jack Castronova, Louis “Flossi” Rossi, Mr. Flugz, Mr. Magoo, Greg Hampton, Chip Ruggieri, Clint Weiler, Carol Kaye, Dan Weiss, Lloyd Jassin, Joel McIver, Martin Popoff, Michael Holmes and the folks at ECW, my friends at the Wantagh Post Office, the staff at Pietro’s Pizza . and you, too! FOREWORD As my high school days were drawing to a close, there was certainly some- thing bubbling in the hard rock world. Bands like Faith No More, Jane’s Addiction, Living Colour, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers were showing that not all rock bands had to sing about “fast cars and fast women” or dress like goofball spandex cowboys. Having only attended strictly big arena rock shows up to this point, I didn’t know quite what to expect when I agreed to attend a show on Saturday, March 17, 1990, at a club called L’Amour in Brooklyn, New York. The two main reasons I purchased a ticket for this three-band bill were to see the aforementioned Faith No More, as well as sci-fi metal headliners Voivod. After fnm’s fantastic set, the next band, which I was least familiar with, came onstage. The singer didn’t wait long — upon the first notes of the opening number, he was climbing over the crowd on pipes attached to the ceiling (if my memory serves me correctly — already shirtless, and wearing shorts that were completely covered in silver electrical tape), before dropping himself into the sea of “moshers” below. The guitarist looked like something out of Cheech and Chong, with a full-on beard, and his eyes seemingly constantly closed — as if he were reaching a state of nirvana playing monstrous Sabbathy riffs. The bassist’s large mop of curly hair bobbed in time to the music, while the drummer bashed out some impressively complex yet primal beats. This, my friends, was my introduction to the mighty Soundgarden. Needless to say, soon after, I was a major convert, buying just about every 8 GRUNGE IS DEAD Soundgarden recording that I could get my hands on, and reading all the interviews on the band that I could gather.