Thanks for posting this.
I grew up in Seattle,...I remember going to see Nirvana, Soundgarden, Alice and Chains, Posies, Melvins, Green River, The Wipers, The Gits, Gas Huffer, The Young Fresh Fellows, etc., at their very first shows.... as I was in a band as well at the time in the mid80's, and that's why I did this
We did it because there was were not many options for us kids then besides to be a fisherman, a logger, or work at Boeing. No to Boeing.
It was a different time then, every band was "pulling" for the other bands to get their due. We would go every weekend to see ANYBODY that was playing, bad or good. We supported each other by going to the shows.... We didn't care if the bands were good or not, we just went. There wasn't else much to do then. We were all excited to see other bands play. It was a community of rejects and misfits. The city of Seattle didn't like us young punks. They didn't. The city and the Seattle Police were totally against us and they showed it. That brought us together, and the result is the music you all know.
I imagine it was like seeing the Beatles at the Cavern Club, with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, the early days in Liverpool how cool.....but I digress.
Then the 90's came and the money from California, things changed and fun!ked up the roots of Seattle. Then some became famous and it was all down hill, or up hill depending on your point of view.
Kurt and Christ and Chad were just like everyone else in a band, normal (weirdos) that had a mission. Some of them made it,..lots of other bands most of you have never heard of, were as good as these guys,...Nirvana, Soundgaden, The Melvins, Mudhoney etc.,just made it. The U-Men from Seattle, The Wipers, The Accused, The Farts, The Posies, Coffin Break, Big Satan INC., Ten Minute Warning, Malfunkshun, Green River, et. al.
We would go get trees from the National Forest, or "the back 40" and cut fire wood and sell it for $125 per cord, to get money for gear etc. It was a good time....everyone was doing that in Bremerton or Olympia or Seattle greater area, because that's all there was to do.
I remember most bands had a shitty van or a 1971 Chrysler Newport four door, that they got for $400, and that was the "tour vehicle".....it touches my heart to see Kurt and Krist and later Dave with MoPar iron in the back ground...but that was just what everyone did. You could buy a 73 Imperial or Newport on the cheap, drive it from Seattle to Portland, to Idaho and make it back to Seattle and "the whale" would always reward you....these cars have the "6 bodies trunk", and a lot of gear can fit in that trunk! You know!!!!!
Good times, I miss those guys....they were just like everybody else, just trying too do something while it rained, and rained and rained....
