The following quotes relate to British music critic Everett True’s role in perpetrating the mythological Sub Pop back story, the one where the label framed their bands as backwoods savants.
Nirvana biographer Charles R. Cross: “Then you have bozos like Everett True who played into that…” (from Mark Yarm’s Everybody Loves Our Town)
Everett True: “I came in for a little bit of belated criticism on that…from that bozo Charles Cross.” (from my interview with Everett True)
“You’re nobody until somebody thinks you suck.”
(From the inimitable Leighton Beezer of the improvisational punk band, the Thrown Ups. The Thrown Ups arguably championed the essence of the grunge aesthetic, and at one time featured Mark Arm and Steve Turner of Mudhoney. Note this quote actually made the book.)
“It was not necessary to finely polish your stage act. To whatever extent you felt was necessary to have structure, go for it, but don’t overdo it.… In fact everybody knew full well that a show that turned into a train wreck was probably better than one that didn’t. It’s OK to get up and forget your song.
“So, instead of a bunch of mathematicians on stage going, ‘Is this the third verse or the fourth verse? Is it time for the chorus or the bridge?’ [Rather] there are people on stage who are just going, ‘AAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!’”
Rob Morgan (the Pudz/the Squirrels): describes his Two Katz and A Toaster comic strip (which has been recently revived in paintings…see his Facebook page at http://facebook.com/2KAAT)
“It’s just one cat named Ivan and one cat named George and they lived with a talking toaster,” says Morgan. “There was no explanation of it beyond that.”
Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows, R.E.M., etc.) discusses the Fellows’ use of instrumentation beyond the standard guitar, bass, and drums:
“We also, [in] those early first couple years, often had a Farfisa organ…which we used quite a bit until it got too much beer poured in it…”
Scott Vanderpool (Room Nine, Chemistry Set) talks about the basis for Seattle musicians’ group housing culture (Note: this quote actually did make the book, except for the last sentence…):
“When I was a little kid, we were watching the Beatles’ Help and the Monkees. You know, every damn cartoon seems like was about a band somehow…Josie and the Pussycats, and the Buggaloos—all that shit. We were trained. Just ’cause the Monkees didn’t actually show their bong on TV didn’t mean they didn’t have one.”
Vanderpool, who was doing sound for an early Soundgarden show, talks about a pre-gig conversation he had with front man Chris Cornell:
“But [Cornell] came in with this Shure high school debate PA, which he wanted me to set up in front of the main PA, then mike it up.” (laughs)
“I thought, ‘Why would he want me to do that?’”
“‘Aww, it’ll sound cool!” [said Cornell.]
“‘Fuckin’ that’s gonna sound like shit!’” [Vanderpool responded.]
“And, sure enough it sounded like shit and I had it off halfway through his first song. I don’t think he knew.”
Rob Morgan (the Pudz/the Squirrels): describes his Two Katz and A Toaster comic strip (which has been recently revived in paintings…see his Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/#!/poplust)
“It’s just one cat named Ivan and one cat named George and they lived with a talking toaster,” says Morgan. “There was no explanation of it beyond that.”
the strangest tribe 