MUDHONEY
They saved their label Sub Pop from going bust and inspired the Seattle sound, and Mudhoney’s filthy tones are still as sweet as ever
The heart of grunge. This is what Mudhoney are, and this is what Mudhoney always have been. From inspiring a generation of rock fans to grow their hair long and freak out to their anthemic debut single, 1988’s Touch Me I’m Sick, to spitting liquefied anger about the Trump administration on 2018’s Digital Garbage, to being as pissed off – if not more – on latest album Plastic Eternity, the Pacific Northwest band are always rocking the good rock.
“They’ve been solid since day one,” remarks Tom Hazelmyer, founder of Minneapolis hardcore label Amphetamine Reptile.
This is true. In a world where racist charlatans and blowhard bullies are given free rein to rule and ruin people’s lives, Mudhoney still abide.
In 1988, Mudhoney’s dirty, highly distorted rock (distorted mainly because the band couldn’t afford decent amplifiers) corrupted and determined the fate of countless musicians and fans. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Mogwai, Queens Of The Stone Age, anyone who ever attended an indie disco in the early 1990s… they all know what I’m talking about. Equal parts blues, 1960s garage rock and the attitude of US hardcore bands such as Black Flag. Laconic, sporadic, blistering. Music fuelled by a demonic drive and black humour.
Founder members Steve Turner (guitar) and Mark Arm (vocals/guitar) formed the band in 1988 out of the ashes of Seattle mainstays Green River, the group that also spawned Pearl Jam. Drummer Dan Peters once played with Nirvana; original bassist Matt Lukin, legendary for his drinking and for his drunken antics, came from grunge linchpins and major Kurt Cobain influence Melvins; ‘new’ bassist Guy Maddison (OK, so he’s been with the band for 22 years, but he’s still the new boy) was part of gritty Aussie rockers Lubricated Goat; and even ‘manager’ Bob Whittaker tour managed R.E.M.
Much as Soundgarden cast a long shadow over the nascent Seattle grunge scene of the late 1980s, Mudhoney cast an even longer one. Without them, it’s arguable that their seminal label, Sub Pop, wouldn’t have even survived. The two are inextricably linked. Mark Arm has even worked his day job in the Sub Pop warehouse, shifting boxes, since the early 2000s. When Sub Pop broke in the UK in 1989 and 1990 – thanks in no small part to the championing of late, great Radio 1 DJ John Peel and the music press – it was on the back of Mudhoney and their incendiary live shows. Ame
