Grunge is an alternative rock genre and subculture which emerged during the mid-1980s in the U.S. state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of punk rock and heavy metal, but without punk's structure and speed. The genre featured the distorted electric guitar sound used in both genres, although some bands performed with more emphasis on one or the other. Like these genres, grunge typically uses electric guitar, bass guitar, drums and vocals. Grunge also incorporates influences from indie rock bands such as Sonic Youth. Lyrics are typically angst-filled and introspective, often addressing themes such as social alienation, self-doubt, abuse, neglect, betrayal, social and emotional isolation, addiction, psychological trauma and a desire for freedom.
Melvins are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Primarily a trio, they have also performed as a quartet, with either two drummers or two bassists. Since 1984, vocalist and guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover have been constant members.
Green River was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984. The grunge style was featured both in Green River's own music and the music its members would create in future bands, including Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, Temple of the Dog and Pearl Jam. Green River reunited for several live shows in 2008 and 2009.
Mia Katherine Zapata was an American musician who was the lead singer for the Seattle punk band The Gits. After gaining praise in the emerging grunge scene, Zapata was murdered in 1993 while on her way home from a music venue, at age 27. The crime went unsolved for a decade before her killer, Jesus Mezquia, was arrested in 2003. Mezquia was tried, convicted and sentenced to 36 years in prison.
Malfunkshun is an American rock band formed in 1980 by brothers Andrew and Kevin Wood. Combining glam influences with distortion, they were one of the earliest grunge bands, forming alongside the U-Men and Melvins. Their definitive lineup consists of the brothers and drummer Regan Hagar. After interactions with fellow grunge act Green River, Andrew would become the frontman for successor Mother Love Bone. Malfunkshun dissolved without having released much material, although they recorded demos and appeared in the landmark grunge compilation Deep Six.
Hype! (1996) is a documentary directed by Doug Pray about the popularity of grunge rock in the early to mid-1990s United States. It incorporates interviews and rare concert footage to trace the development of the grunge scene from its early beginning in neighborhood basements to its emergence as an explosive pop culture phenomenon. Hype! attempts to dispel some of the myths of the genre promulgated by media hype by depicting the grunge subculture from the point of view of people who were active in the scene. The film generally portrays this mythos in a satirical way while acknowledging that it was media hype that helped propel some of these obscure bands to fame.
7 Year Bitch was an American punk rock band from Seattle, Washington. The band was active between 1990 and 1997 and released three albums over that time. The band formed at the same time as the emergence of the riot grrrl sub-genre, which is a subgenre of punk music from the early to mid-1990s that emphasized the role of women in rock music. The Riot Grrrl movement began as a feminist response to the violence and misogyny that became more prominent in punk music in the mid-to-late 1980s, and 7 Year Bitch, an all-female punk band, emerged as part of that sub-genre.
Skin Yard was an American grunge band from Seattle, Washington, who were active from 1985 to 1992.
Screaming Life is the debut EP by American rock band Soundgarden, released in October 1987 by Sub Pop. Screaming Life was later combined with the band's next EP, Fopp (1988), and released as the Screaming Life/Fopp compilation album in 1990.
Mark Arm is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the vocalist for the grunge band Mudhoney. His former group, Green River, was one of the first grunge bands, along with Malfunkshun, Soundgarden, Skin Yard, the U-Men, and others. He is also the manager of the Sub Pop warehouse and previously worked at Fantagraphics Books.
Jack Endino is an American producer and musician based in Seattle, Washington. Long associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands including Mudhoney, Soundgarden and Nirvana. He was also the guitarist for Seattle band Skin Yard, which was active between 1985 and 1992. Endino currently manages a studio in Seattle called Soundhouse Recording.
The Gits were an American punk rock band formed in Yellow Springs, Ohio, in 1986. As part of the burgeoning Seattle music scene of the early 1990s, they were known for their fiery live performances. Members included singer Mia Zapata, guitarist Joe Spleen, bassist Matt Dresdner and drummer Steve Moriarty. They dissolved in 1993 after the murder of Zapata.
Chris Hanzsek is an American musical engineer and record producer, living in Snohomish, Washington. He was co-founder, with then partner Tina Casale, of C/Z Records and their recording studio, Reciprocal Recording, in 1984. He produced bands in the mid-1980s such as, The Melvins, Soundgarden, The U-Men, Malfunkshun, Skin Yard, and Green River, who can all be heard on C/Z's compilation album, Deep Six.
Daniel House is an American business owner and he was president and owner of C/Z Records, a Seattle-based independent record label that released music by many bands including 7 Year Bitch, Built to Spill, Coffin Break, Engine Kid, The Gits, Hammerbox, Love Battery, The Melvins, The Presidents of the United States of America, Silkworm, and Skin Yard. In 2003 he moved from Seattle to Los Angeles where he oversaw the development and creation of the now-defunct www.DownloadPunk.com as well as the music-centric online dating website, RocknRollDating.com.
Deep Six is a 1986 compilation album featuring six Seattle-based rock bands. It was the first release by C/Z Records, with a catalogue number of CZ01 for 2,000 copies. The album was reissued as a joint C/Z Records/A&M Records release on April 5, 1994.
Seattle Syndrome Volume One is a compilation of Seattle-based bands and artists released on vinyl and cassette in late 1981 on Engram Records. Supervised by former Telepaths guitarist Homer Spence, Danny Eskenazi and local promoter Neil Hubbard, and recorded and engineered by Jack Weaver, the compilation features many of the well-known bands of the late seventies and early eighties music scene of Seattle, as well as including bands from Washington state. Stylistically, the contributions encompass a variety of music genres, ranging from hardcore punk to post punk and new wave as well as covering experimental electronica, psychedelic rock and rockabilly.
6 Songs for Bruce, also commonly known as the 4-Track Demo, is an early single-sided demo cassette tape by American rock band Soundgarden.
Hullabaloo is a punk/grunge band from Cambridge, Massachusetts, started in 1986 by guitarist/vocalist Sluggo and vocalist/multi-instrumentalist TQ. The band cites myriad influences from John Coltrane to Iron Maiden and King Diamond contributing to their at times "surreal" and "psychedelic" sound. They also employed unusual instrumentation for a band of their ilk; TQ playing trumpet, tenor sax and electric piano in addition to vocals.
Kevin Wood is an American musician known for playing lead guitar in various Seattle-based bands he founded during the Grunge era in the Pacific Northwest.
Tina Marie Bell was an American singer, songwriter and front woman of the Seattle-based band Bam Bam. The band with Bell was considered one of the founders of the grunge music scene. Bell is considered an early grunge pioneer and was dubbed as "the Godmother of Grunge" and "queen of Grunge".
