Key Players Revisit The Birth Of Grunge

Key players of the ‘Seattle sound’ have come together to relive the birth of grunge.

As part of this year’s 25th anniversary of Nirvana‘s Nevermind celebrations, the latest issue of Q Magazine features a revealing 20-page feature about the birth of grunge. As well as chronicling the Pacific Northwest revolution, the piece also features new interviews with Sub Pop‘s Bruce Pavitt, Pearl Jam‘s Jeff Ament, Pearl Jam/Soundgarden‘s Matt Cameron, Mudhoney/Green River‘s Mark Arm, Melvins‘ Buzz Osbourne, and TAD‘s Tad Doyle, plus an essential list of the defining grunge records.

Speaking exclusively to Q, at one point Bruce Pavitt, co-founder of Sub Pop, reveals his own thoughts on Nirvana’s incredible evolution: “The most fascinating thing about Nirvana to me was the exponential artistic growth. Early on, the whole band rested basically on the quality of Kurt Cobain’s voice at the time. They didn’t have good material, they went through a couple of not-so-good drummers. To see every six months the quantum leaps they would make in the quality of performance, songwriting, was just the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced.”

The feature includes recollections of lots of key moments in grunge history. Speaking about the first show Nirvana played for Sub Pop at the Vogue Seattle, 24 April 1988 (the band came on and started playing but the PA wasn’t on), Mudhoney’s Mark Arm is quick to tear away the rose-tinted glasses: “Anyone who says, ‘I saw that show and I knew there were great things to come’ is lying through their teeth.”

The new issue of Q is on sale now – you can buy your copy here.