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. 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.
Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often credited with helping popularize grunge music. The label's roster includes Fleet Foxes, Beach House, The Postal Service, Sleater-Kinney, Flight of the Conchords, Foals, Blitzen Trapper, Father John Misty, clipping., Shabazz Palaces, Weyes Blood, Guerilla Toss, Bully, Low, METZ, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, TV Priest and The Shins. In 1995, the owners of Sub Pop sold a 49% stake of the label to the Warner Music Group.
Amphetamine Reptile Records is a record label founded in 1986 by Tom Hazelmyer in Washington state. The label specializes in noise rock and also released Strap It On, the debut album by alternative metal band Helmet which sold more than 40,000 records. According to Hazelmyer, the success of the album was vital to keeping AmRep going throughout the 1990s, as it "helped support the other things that sold less." The label was the subject of the 2015 documentary The Color of Noise.
Green River was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984. Considered one of the first grunge bands, Green River is most well known for being the precursor to multiple key early ‘90s rock bands, most notably Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, Temple of the Dog, and Love Battery. Green River reunited for several live shows between 2008 and 2009.
Lubricated Goat are an Australian noise rock band which originally formed in 1986 by multi-instrumentalist Stu Spasm. They achieved brief notoriety in November 1988 for appearing nude on the ABC TV program Blah Blah Blah, wearing only their instruments and shoes. Mainly influenced by the Stooges and the Birthday Party, they are credited for playing a grimy, confrontational style of rock, which preceded grunge. They have issued five studio albums, Plays the Devil's Music (1987), Paddock of Love (1988), Psychedelicatessen (1990), Forces You Don't Understand (1994) and The Great Old Ones (2003).
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.
Love Battery is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. They released five albums during the 1990s, followed by sporadic one-off reunions. Frontman Ron Nine and guitarist Kevin Whitworth have been the only consistent members of the band throughout its existence.
Halo of Flies is an American noise rock band from Minneapolis. Named after an Alice Cooper song, Halo of Flies was formed in 1986 by Tom Hazelmyer, John Anglim and Tim Mac. Over the next five years they released a series of seven inch singles and mini LPs starting with a limited edition, hand numbered single called “Rubber Room”. These singles were released on Hazelmyer’s label Amphetamine Reptile Records and later compiled on a number of LPs, and eventually as the CD in 1991. The band partially reformed in 2007 under the name H•O•F, and continued to release new material.
Feedtime is an Australian noise rock band from Sydney, New South Wales, that was initially formed as a duo in 1979 by Rick Johnson on guitar and vocals and Allen Larkin on bass guitar and vocals. They soon became a trio with various drummers until 1982, when they were joined by Tom Sturm. This line-up issued four albums, Feedtime, Shovel, Cooper-S and Suction, before disbanding in February 1989. They reunited in 1995 with Johnson and Larkin joined by the latter's younger brother, John Larkin, on drums for another album, Billy, before disbanding again in 1997. The Rick-Al-Tom line up reunited again, in 2011.
Daniel House is an American business owner and former musician. He was a co-founder and bass player for Skin Yard, a grunge band that was active from 1985 to 1992, and 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, House 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.
Solid Action, is a compilation album released in 1999 by Seattle-based rock band The U-Men. It was released by the label Chuckie-Boy. The name of the album is taken from track 10 on Step on a Bug.
Step on a Bug is the sole studio album by Seattle-based grunge pioneers The U-Men. It was released in 1988 on Black Label Records.
X-15 is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington in 1979 by lead singer Kelly Mitchell, guitarist Eric Alton, bass player Tim Lollar, keyboardist Erik Rohrer, and drummer Todd Fuhs. They are best known as one of the most successful alternative bands operating out of Seattle during the years 1980 through 1987, leading up to the Seattle grunge explosion, and for their cult-classic song "Vaporized".
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.
Best Kissers in the World is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1989 in Phoenix, AZ.
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.
Surgery was an American noise rock band formed in 1987 by Scott Kleber, John Lachapelle, John Leamy and Sean McDonnell in Syracuse, New York, and released two full-length albums and two EPs before ending with the sudden death of singer Sean McDonnell.
Dickless was a Seattle-based grunge band signed to Sub Pop records in 1990. Dickless is notable for their unique raspy/screamy vocal style. During their first few years, their loud and abrasive sound was new and unusual for an all-female music group. Simultaneously, their short discography included song titles and a song cover, "I'm a Man" by Bo Diddley, that were blatantly ironic given their abrasive sound and female members. The band name itself is meant to be satire. The group's period of activity coincided with the emerging "Riot grrrl" music culture.
Tom Hazelmyer is an American musician and printmaker. He is known as the founder and owner of the independent label Amphetamine Reptile Records as well as being the lead vocalist and songwriter for the band Halo of Flies.
Into the Vortex is the second album by Hammerhead. It was released in 1994 through Amphetamine Reptile Records.
