Something very subtle happened this weekend, subtle and
tragic. I officially became old.
This weekend is the twenty year anniversary of the
release of Nirvana’s First label-backed album, “Never Mind”. I’m not old because I remember the
release. I’m old because, at the
time, I was old enough to be one of the musician’s who thought, “What!? They picked those punks to be the
vanguard of the Seattle Sound!?”
Everyone I knew agreed that they were talented but not really ready yet
… and they didn’t have enough experience.
My wife and kids think it’s funny when I talk about the good
old days of the Seattle scene.
It’s funny to them that the guy I am now could have rubbed shoulders with people
that became legendary. And that’s
actually a good thing because the early years of the Seattle music scene – what
some people named the “Grunge” scene – were different from any other music
scene I know of, with the possible exception of the Hamburg scene in the late
50’s and early 60’s (here), and the Nashville/Memphis scene from the same time period.
The Seattle music scene in the late ‘80’s and early ‘90’s
was more like a group of people who never expected to be famous. The resulting attitude created
something magical. There are so
many stories about people bumping into Eddie Vedder and spilling his beer,
which only resulted in him buying the next round and asking you to sit at his
table. Or stories about sitting in
American Music trying out a Gretsch and talking it over with Chris Cornell. Or sharing a table with Jon Auer at the Still Life.
The attitude of Seattle was not the arrogance of King Making
– for the most part – it was an attitude of commonality, community … of a unity
that meant something beyond success.
Everyone was in this thing together.
So there it was.
Nirvana was taking over the world; even though “10” came out a month before it, even though “Man In The Box”
was a hit the year before, and even
though many of us thought Nirvana was NOT the Seattle Sound. Most people I knew thought The Fastbacks
or Mudhoney were much better vanguards. But there it was: Kurt Cobain was now what everyone in
the world thought of when they heard “Seattle.”
Nirvana did, in fact, pave the way for many many bands and
everyone who made a dollar from music in those days should be at least a little
grateful … even if we might quibble about the particulars.
But in thinking back on it all this weekend I was struck by
how many people I remembered being so very pivotal to the Seattle Scene but
who never really got noticed. So
tonight I would like to raise my glass and send one out to my Home Town
Heroes. Some are famous, and some
are not but in true Seattle tradition they all share an equal part of the
praise.
The names that follow are responsible in part for making me
who I am, but I would say they had a part in making many others, including some
now-famous people, who they are also.
Thank
you one and all!
- Sam Vance (for being the renaissance soul Seattle too soon forgot it had)
- Mark Naron (Still amazing and deft!)
- Stone Gossard (one of the best guitarists of our age)
- Michael Lord/Michael Lord Studios (For teaching us what sound really was)
- Don Carlson/Jet City Studios (for providing a place where aspiring musicians could find themselves - and audio engineers too)
- Matt Cameron (for showing that you can be great and still a person)
- Jon Auer
- Ken Stringfellow
- Charlie Kester
- Andrew Wood
- Bill Power (and)
- Jeff Ament (for teaching everyone that you could be a mean bass player and still artistic)
- Eddie Vedder
- William Azaroff (Seattle and Independent Film in Seattle would not have been any good without you)
- The OK Hotel
- Anne Willson
- Nancy Wilson
- My Sister’s Machine
- The Young Fresh Fellows
- The Kingsmen (I know, Portland – but still)
- Duffy Bishop and the Rhythm Dogs
- Geoff Tate
- Pike's Place Market (so ... very ... many ... hours ... there - still seems like home)
A piece of me will always belong to you all - and that deep cold Puget Sound.
And Kurt, rest in peace man.
