The U.S. state of Washington has been home to many popular musicians and several major hotbeds of musical innovation throughout its history. The largest city in the state, Seattle, is known for being the birthplace of grunge as well as a major contributor to the evolution of punk rock, indie music, folk, and hip hop. Nearby Tacoma and Olympia have also been centers of influence on popular music.
Codeine is an American indie rock band formed in 1989 in New York City. They released two full-length albums—Frigid Stars LP in 1990 and The White Birch in 1994. The band broke up in 1994 shortly after the release of The White Birch, but reunited to play a handful of shows in 2012. The band has reunited again for a series of shows in New York and Los Angeles in 2023.
Eric's Trip is a Canadian indie rock band from Moncton, New Brunswick. Eric's Trip achieved prominence as the first Canadian band to be signed to Seattle's flagship grunge label Sub Pop in the early 1990s. The band had a minor hit in alternative circles with the single "View Master", from the 1994 album Forever Again.
Babyland was an American performance-based independent electronic junk punk band from Los Angeles, California, featuring Dan Gatto performing vocals and electronics and Michael Smith on percussion. The band released six studio albums before disbanding in 2009: You Suck Crap (1992), A Total Letdown (1994), Who's Sorry Now (1995), Outlive Your Enemies (1998), The Finger (2004), Cavecraft (2008).
Grifters is an indie rock/alternative rock band based in Memphis who have released albums on Darla Records, Doink, Sonic Noise, Shangri-La Records, and Sub Pop Records. The band released five studio albums from 1992 to 1997. In the years following 1997, the band had breaks in activity with some members pursuing other musical projects and with the band sporadically touring in the years after. However, in recent years they have continued to tour on a consistent basis and have stated interest in recording new material. The band has released and reissued some of their material on Bandcamp.
Pale Saints were an English alternative rock/shoegazing band formed in 1987 in Leeds by singer-bassist Ian Masters, guitarist Graeme Naysmith and drummer Chris Cooper.
Lois Maffeo is an American musician and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. She has been closely involved with and influenced many independent musicians, especially in the 1990s-era Olympia, Seattle and Washington, D.C. music scenes.
The Posies were an American power pop group. The band was formed in 1986 in Bellingham, Washington, United States, by primary songwriters Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow.
Combustible Edison were an American neo-lounge music group founded in the early 1990s in Providence, Rhode Island. They were one of several lounge acts that led a brief resurgence of interest in the genre during the mid-1990s.
Versus is an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 1990 by vocalist and guitarist Richard Baluyut, bassist Fontaine Toups and drummer Edward Baluyut. Richard Baluyut and Toups remained the two core members throughout the band's history. The band was noted for their marriage of indie pop songwriting and vocal harmonies to the "loud-soft" dynamics of grunge and alternative rock. They were also noted for their proficient and disciplined musicianship and for their credo of "meat, sports, and rock", none of which had much currency in the early 1990s American indie scene. The band was named after the Mission of Burma album Vs.
Strangelove were an English alternative rock band, formed in Bristol in 1991 comprising singer Patrick Duff, guitarists Alex Lee & Julian Poole, bassist Joe Allen and John Langley on drums. They released two EPs and three albums before disbanding in 1998.
Kingmaker were a British indie rock group, founded in Kingston upon Hull in 1990.
Eyeless In Gaza is an English musical duo of Martyn Bates and Peter Becker, based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. They have described their music as "veer[ing] crazily from filmic ambiance to rock and pop, industrial funk to avant-folk styles." Formed in 1980, the group went into hiatus in 1987, re-emerging in 1993.
Moonshake were a British-based experimental rock/post-rock band, existing between 1991 and 1997. The only consistent member was singer/sampler player/occasional guitarist David Callahan, who initially co-led the project with Margaret Fiedler. The band was notable for its extensive use of textures and sampler technology in a rock context.
Gary Pig Gold is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, author and journalist. His fanzine The Pig Paper was Canada's second independently published music magazine, and among the recording artists he has worked with are Pat Boone, Dave Rave, Endless Summer, Simply Saucer and Shane Faubert. Gold has written many books on popular music and has contributed to dozens of magazines as well as seven books in the multi-genre MusicHound album guide series. AllMusic describes him as "rock music's all-time hardest-working man ... with all apologies to James Brown".
Hamburger is a compilation album by pop punk band, The Muffs released in 2000 by Sympathy for the Record Industry (SFTRI). It is a collection of singles, compilation appearances, outtakes, demos and covers spanning the band's entire career up to the time of its release.
Jen Smith is an artist, musician, zine editor, and activist from the United States. Smith is credited with being the inspiration behind the term riot grrrl and being one of the architects of the movement.
The Subway Organization was a British independent record label founded in 1985 in Bristol by Martin Whitehead.
The Earthmen were an Australian indie pop-rock band formed in Melbourne, Victoria. They released two albums, Teen Sensations and Love Walked In during their career (1991–1999). Love Walked In was nominated for ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist – Album' at the ARIA Music Awards of 1997.
Massappeal were an Australian hardcore punk band founded in early 1985 by mainstays, Brett Curotta (guitar), and Randy Reimann (vocals). Massapeal released four studio albums, Nobody Likes a Thinker (1986), Jazz (1989), The Mechanic (1992) and Nommo Anagonno (1994), before disbanding late in 1994.
