Grunge Is Dead

The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music

Ebook

Grunge Is Dead weaves together the definitive story of the Seattle music scene through a series of interviews with the people who were there. Taking the form of an "oral" history, this books contains over 130 interviews, along with essential background information from acclaimed music writer Greg Prato.

The early '90s grunge movement may have last only a few years, but it spawned some of the greatest rock music of all time: Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden. This book contains 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/Andy Wood, the Melvins, Screaming Trees, and Mudhoney; and much more.

Grunge Is Dead digs deeper than the average grunge history, starting in the early '60s, and explaining the chain of events that gave way to the grunge movement. The end result is a book that includes a wealth of previously untold stories and insight for the longtime fan, as well as its renowned story for the newcomer. Grunge Is Dead collects the whole truth of grunge music in one comprehensive volume.

Table of contents

Table of contents
Front Cover 1
Copyright 3
Table of Contents 4
Acknowledgments 7
Foreword 8
“It was mainly isolation”: 1960s–1970s 12
“Seattle was the closest city”: Transplants 22
“It was so easy to freak people out in those days”: Early–Mid ’80s 30
“’79 through ’84 was hopping”: Power Pop, New Wave, Heavy Metal 42
“A floodgate of creativity in the Northwest”: Blackouts, Fastbacks, U-Men, Mr. Epp and the Calculations, Duff McKagan 49
“Church was really in session”: Venues, The Rocket, Record Stores, Radio 69
“The punk rock David Lee Roth”: Malfunkshun 83
“Godzilla knocking over buildings”: The Shemps, Soundgarden 94
“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”: The Melvins, Green River, Screaming Trees 109
“The next logical step is to start a label”: K Records, Sub Pop Records, C/Z Records 128
“If we can just keep it a secret”: Mid–Late ’80s 144
“How do three guys sound like nine?”: Nirvana 153
“The sloppiness was essential”: The Thrown Ups, Mudhoney 175
“GET OUT OF THE WAY!”: The Melvins, Screaming Trees, Skin Yard, Tad 188
“Dark, black, and blue”: Soundgarden, Alice in Chains 202
“He’s going to be one of the biggest rock stars in the world — no question”: Mother Love Bone and Andy Wood’s Death 224
“OK, this thing is going to happen”:1990–1991 240
“If you can sell 40,000, they’ll let you make another one”: Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog 247
“A ‘testosterone period’”: Alice in Chains, Soundgarden 261
“You guys will be bigger than Hüsker Dü”: Nirvana and Nevermind 273
Photo Section 290
“That they didn’t reach a broader audience baffles me”: Mudhoney, Tad, Screaming Trees, Truly, Melvins, Jesse Bernstein 298
“Rebelling against the predominant macho grunge scene at the time”: Riot Grrrl 312
“Be careful what you wish for, you might get it”: 1992–1993 326
“It was on the radio, people were talking about them, people had shirts ona nd their posters up”: Pearl Jam 334
“Things change, and things change quickly”: Soundgarden, Alice in Chains 344
“We might as well start talking to majors”: Mudhoney, Tad, Skin Yard, Screaming Trees, Melvins, Brad 356
“If you were there, you were part of it”: Riot Grrrl 368
“Everything is not OK anymore”: Nirvana 376
“It felt like the world had gone seriously wrong”: Kurt Cobain’s Death and 1994 390
“Where I go, you go”: Kurt Remembered 400
“The demise of the entire scene”: Drugs 408
“Preparing for the worst”: Alice in Chains and Layne Staley’s Death 414
“The final magic”: Soundgarden’s Breakup 436
“There was definitely a big Seattle backlash”: Mudhoney, Tad, Screaming Trees, Melvins, Truly 446
“Standing up for somethingthey believed in”: Pearl Jam 455
“Finally — new growth”: Post-Grunge 467
“Maybe I’m a geezer”: How Will Grunge Be Remembered? 472
Cast of Characters 482
Back Cover 490