Nirvana and Tad, who both formed that year. Alice in Chains
to achieve true rock stardom. Frontman Andrew Wood was
linked up in 1987 as well, but they started out as a commercial
a passionate singer and natural ham, and when the group
glam metal band, and their early material owed mire to
performance and the band's classic rock chops, which
Queen and Queensryche than to the Melvins or Green River.
were less noisy and more hooky than those of Nirvana,
Before long, the grunge buzz started to spread. Tiny clubs like
Tad or Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone seemed poised for
the Vogue, Squid Row and Central Tavern started booking
greatness. But Wood’s career was short-lived, and when
shows by Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, and Mother
he died of a heroin overdose in 1990, the task fell on an
Love Bone, as well as lesser known acts including Skin Yard
ambivalent Nirvana to become Seattle’s hometown heroes.
(which featured Seattle producer Jack Endino), the Fluid, and Blood Circus. But, at that point the movement was still underground. When Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain smilingly and ironically wrote in Nirvana's first bio, “We want to cash in and suck butt up to the bigwigs in hopes that we too can get high and fuck wax figure hot babes… Soon we will do encores of “Gloria” and “Louie Louie” at benefit concerts with all our celebrity friends,” a cult entity for years, if not for the rest of his music career, two words which at the time seemed like an oxymoron. Interestingly, grunge originated in Seattle, but didn't catch on in America until after it became the talk of the town Britain. Realizing that numerous U.S. Acts including Hendrix, Blondie and Faith No More generated interest in England before making waves in America, Sub Pop spent money they didn't really have to fly Melody Maker journalist Everett True to Seattle to check out Mudhoney, Tad and Nirvana, and true returned raving about grunge. Melody Maker's vehement praise had a ripple effect across the European press, and after the three bands were sent to London for a brief tour, world domination wasn’t far away. Superfuzz Bigmuff spent a year on the U.K. Indie chart, and the label's seminal compilation sub pop 2,000, which featured
Soundgarden, Tad, SOUNDGARDEN, TAD, Nirvana, Mudhoney, Beat Happening and Screaming trees, was referred to by Radio One guru, John Peel, as a document of the most important regional music scene since Motown. Before long, the American press started to catch on, and after Nirvana released its outstanding Bleach (recorded for a mere $606), Tad and Nirvana embarked on a rigorous, riotous tour that spread the gospel of grunge across the land. Once music fans wrapped their ears around the writhing rhythms and agonized vocals of Bleach, it became obvious that Nirvana would be the first Sub Pop band to break. But area pundits believed Mother Love Bone would be the band
NIRVA
HONEY