Green River (band)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Green River | ||
|---|---|---|
 Green River circa 1987
|
||
| Background information | ||
| Origin | Seattle, Washington, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock Grunge |
|
| Years active | 1984–1987 | |
| Label(s) | Sub Pop Records Homestead Records Tasque Force Records C/Z Records |
|
| Associated acts |
Mudhoney Pearl Jam Mother Love Bone Temple of the Dog Love Battery Brad Three Fish Limp Richerds The Monkeywrench Thrown Ups Bloodloss Mr. Epp & The Calculations Deranged Diction The Ducky Boys Spluii Numa The Fall Outs |
|
| Members | ||
| Mark Arm Steve Turner Stone Gossard Jeff Ament Bruce Fairweather Alex Vincent |
||
Green River was an influential Seattle based rock band active from 1984 to 1987. Although they arguably had little impact (at least commercially) outside of their native Seattle, Green River proved to have significant influence on the genre later known as grunge, both with their own music and with the music its members would create in future bands.
Contents |
[edit] History
Green River (named after the then at-large serial killer of the same name) was formed in early 1984 by vocalist/guitarist Mark Arm, guitarist Steve Turner, drummer Alex Vincent and bassist Jeff Ament. Guitarist Stone Gossard was added soon thereafter thus freeing up Arm to concentrate exclusively on singing. Arm and Turner had previously played in both Mr. Epp & The Calculations and the Limp Richerds together while Turner and Vincent played in the briefly existent Spluii Numa. Ament came into the fold by way of Montana transplants Deranged Diction while Gossard was brought in after he had briefly played with Turner in his first band The Ducky Boys.
By late '84 the band were already playing shows in and around Seattle. In December of '84 the band began production on what would be their first record Come on Down. By the time they finished the record in early '85 though, Turner had left the group citing his distaste with Ament and Gossard's "progressive" influences. He was replaced by former Deranged Diction guitarist Bruce Fairweather.
In mid-'85 the band embarked on their first nationwide tour designed to promote the now completed Come on Down EP. Release of the record was delayed however thus negating the purpose of the tour. From all accounts the experience was less than positive, though it did help cement alliances with other emerging American indie rock bands. Among those, in particular, was Sonic Youth who later quoted the title track "Come On Down" in their own 2000 composition "Never Mind (What Was It Any Way?)" on the New York City Ghosts & Flowers album. In the Fall of '85 Come on Down was finally released by the New York based Homestead Records to little fanfare. Although the record did not sell well it is widely regarded as the first grunge record, predating both the Deep Six compilation and The Melvins first album.
In 1986 the band continued to play in and around the Pacific Northwest to steadily larger crowds (especially in their hometown of Seattle). Early in the year, the now legendary Deep Six compilation was released on the local C/Z Records label. The compilation, which features the music of Green River, Soundgarden, The Melvins, Malfunkshun, Skin Yard and the U-Men, is widely regarded as one of the best documents of early grunge, although the term itself was not yet in use.
In June of that year the band began production on their second EP entitled Dry As a Bone with local producer Jack Endino. Again the record was delayed. In the meantime the band issued the one off "Together We'll Never"/"Ain't Nothing To Do" single on the local Tasque Force Records label. Dry As a Bone finally surfaced in July of 1987, a full year after it was recorded, on the now renowned Sub Pop Records becoming the label's first non-compilation release. The record was received well in local press and is regarded by many fans and critics as the band's best overall record.
Almost immediately following the release of Dry As a Bone, the group re-entered the studio to begin production on their first full-length album Rehab Doll. The sessions were wrought with problems though with band in-fighting taking center stage over the music. Arm in particular began to feel at a distance from the rest of the band who he felt were becoming too obsessed with getting signed to a major label. Ament and Gossard in particular were viewed by Arm as being too careerist about the future of the band. The in-fighting came to a head following an October, 1987 show in Los Angeles. According to Arm, Ament had filled up the show's guest list with A&R representatives from major labels, instead of the band's friends, without conferring with the rest of the group, only to have 2 of the 10 representatives show. On October 31, 1987 while Arm and Vincent awaited the start of practice, Ament, Gossard and Fairweather stated their desire to quit the band. Although members of the group agreed to stay on in order to complete Rehab Doll (production wrapped in January 1988), Green River had by late October of '87 ceased to function as a band.
[edit] Post-Breakup
Following the demise of Green River in late 1987, Gossard, Ament and later Fairweather joined up with Malfunkshun frontman Andrew Wood to form the short-lived covers outfit Lords Of The Wasteland. By early '88 the Lords had become Mother Love Bone. Mother Love Bone, perhaps proving Mark Arm's accusations of careerism correct, quickly rose to the top of the Seattle music heap and were on the verge of making it big when, tragically, frontman Andrew Wood overdosed on heroin only days before the release of their debut album. After a brief spell in the Andrew Wood tribute supergroup Temple of the Dog, Ament and Gossard went on to form the massively successful Pearl Jam.
After quitting Green River, Arm immediately called up his old friend and bandmate Steve Turner. Together they recruited bassist Matt Lukin (formerly of The Melvins) and drummer Dan Peters (of Bundle of Hiss and Feast) to form Mudhoney in early 1988. Mudhoney quickly became regarded as one the most promising bands on the Seattle scene, with single "Touch Me I'm Sick" and debut EP Superfuzz Bigmuff receiving rave reviews in the music press. After two more well-received records on Sub Pop, Mudhoney signed to major label Reprise Records in 1992 releasing Piece of Cake later that year. Arm and Turner have also since played together in side project The Monkeywrench.
A one-off Green River reunion occurred on November 30, 1993 following a Pearl Jam concert at the Aladdin Theatre in Las Vegas, NV. Participating in the reunion were Mark Arm, Steve Turner, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament and Chuck Treece of Underdog who filled in on drums for the absent Alex Vincent. The band played only two songs "Swallow My Pride" and "Ain't Nothing To Do" before leaving the stage.
Both Pearl Jam and Mudhoney continue to tour and release records to this day.
[edit] Legacy
As previously stated, Green River made little commercial impact outside of Seattle. What they lacked in commercial success however they made up for in influence. In general, Green River is widely regarded as being one of the originators of the genre later known as grunge. With their sludgy mix of hard rock, punk and metal, heavily influenced by Iggy Pop's original proto-punk group The Stooges, coupled with Arm's twisted lyrics and vocal delivery, Green River greatly influenced both their peers and the bands that followed them. Even without the fact that some of its members would later go on to form some of the biggest bands of the northwest music scene, Green River should still be remembered for its musical foresight and innovation, years ahead of the rise of grunge.
[edit] Band members
- Mark Arm (b. Mark McLaughlin) - vocals
- Steve Turner - guitar (1984-1985)
- Jeff Ament - bass
- Alex Vincent (b. Alex Shumway) - drums
- Stone Gossard - guitar
- Bruce Fairweather - guitar (1985-1987)
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
[edit] Singles/EPs
- Come on Down (Homestead Records, 1985).
- Together We'll Never b/w "Ain't Nothing To Do," (Tasque Force Records, 1986).
- Dry As a Bone (Sub Pop Records, 1987).
[edit] Compilation/Soundtrack contributions
- "10,000 Things" and "Your Own Best Friend" on the Deep Six compilation (C/Z Records, 1986).
- "Searchin' (Good Things Come)" on the Motor City Madness compilation (Glitterhouse Records, 1988).
- "Hangin' Tree" on the Sub Pop 200 compilation (Sub Pop Records, 1988).
- "Swallow My Pride" on the This House Is Not A Motel compilation (Glitterhouse Records, 1989).
- "Hangin' Tree" on the Sub Pop Rock City compilation Glitterhouse Records, 1989).
- "Bazaar" and "Away In Manger" on the Another Pyrrhic Victory: The Only Compilation Of Dead Seattle God Bands compilation (C/Z Records, 1989).
- "Ain't Nothing To Do" on the Endangered Species compilation (Glitterhouse Records, 1990).
- "Baby Takes" on the Afternoon Delight: Love Songs From Sub Pop compilation (Sub Pop Records, 1992).
- "Swallow My Pride (1987 Demo)" on the Hype! soundtrack (Sub Pop Records, 1996).
- "This Town" on the Wild And Wooly: The Northwest Rock Collection compilation (Experience Music Project/Sub Pop Records, 2000).
[edit] References
- Huey, Steve. "Green River". All Music Guide. Retrieved June 13, 2005.
