ROCK
A Tale of Two Singers Mudhoney’s Mark Arm and the Derelicts’ Duane Bodenheimer are bringing the ’90s to the 21st century BY C.A. COYLE
“I
’ve been a fan of the Derelicts since the first time around,” says Mark Arm, frontman of mainstay Seattle punk outfit Mudhoney. Fellow Seattle combo the Derelicts will share the bill with Mudhoney at the new Lucky You Lounge on May 11, as well as the Dacres Winery in Walla Walla the night before. “I imagine people [will be] sipping their merlot and chardonnay while the Derelicts [are going] ‘WAAAAHHHHHH,’” Arm chuckles. Both bands started roughly within six months of each other in Seattle, in the era known as the calm before the grunge storm. Duane Bodenheimer, voice of the Derelicts, recalls getting into what turned out to be a
playful rumble with Arm at a house party in 1987. “I think I called him a hippie,” says Bodenheimer. “Or, ‘Get a haircut,’ or something like that. He made a snide remark back at me, we kinda wrestled on the ground for a while, and then just ended up laughing. We became friends after that.” Arm has had the privilege of having one foot in the dingy, urine-scented punk-club circuit and the other in the household-name rock star crowd for the better part of 35 years. A CliffsNotes summary of Mudhoney would deem the band as the runt of the grunge litter, and the last living authentic grunge band for those who consume and embrace ’90s flannel culture. But for most
others, Mudhoney is a snarky, freakishly talented group of punk record geeks who were in the right place at the right time. Always channeling (and championing) influences, the Mudhoney you’ve heard on record since 1988 has been relatively consistent. Thrown into a blender is Black Flag, the Stooges, Leigh Stephens-sounding fuzz and the grit of ’70s and ’80s Australian punk. Sometimes primitive garage ruckus like the Troggs makes its way into the mix, as do surges of ’80s hardcore like Negative Approach or Government Issue. One element in the makeup of Mudhoney that has ceased to regress is the dark satire and brilliantly ...continued on next page
Mark Arm (left) and Mudhoney. EMILY RIEMAN PHOTO
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