Green River (band)
Green River | |
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Background information | |
Origin | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 1984–1988, 2008–2009 (two-off reunions: 1993, 2018) |
Labels | Homestead, Sub Pop |
Past members | Jeff Ament Mark Arm Steve Turner Alex Vincent Stone Gossard Bruce Fairweather |
Green River was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984. Although the band had very little commercial impact outside their native Seattle, Green River were pioneers of the grunge music genre. The grunge style was featured both in Green River's own music and the music its members would create in future bands, including Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone, Temple of the Dog and Pearl Jam. Green River reunited for several live shows in 2008 and 2009.
History
Green River were formed in 1984 by vocalist/guitarist Mark Arm, guitarist Steve Turner, drummer Alex Vincent and bassist Jeff Ament.[1] Guitarist Stone Gossard joined the band later to allow Arm to concentrate on singing.
Vincent, Turner and Gossard (as well as future The Presidents of the United States of America drummer Jason Finn) attended the Northwest School together in Seattle. Prior to joining Green River, each member had played with punk and hardcore groups. Arm and Turner had played together in both Mr Epp & The Calculations and the Limp Richerds. Turner had also performed with Vincent in Spluii Numa, and Gossard in March of Crimes [4] and The Ducky Boys.
In early 1984, Vincent, Turner and Arm decided to form a new band. They asked Ament to join after his band at the time, Deranged Diction, had broken up. They called the band Green River, taking their name from the Green River Killer, a serial killer who was infamous in Washington state.[1] Gossard joined shortly thereafter. "We knew we wanted Ament," said Vincent. "Stone was in another band with Jonathan Evison called March of Crimes. [Stone] got fired and we picked him up just before we recorded the first demo."[5]
On June 23, 1984, Green River recorded their first demos at Reciprocal Recording. They were released on vinyl in 2016.
By late 1984, the band was playing shows in and around Seattle. The band began production in December 1984 on its first record, Come on Down.[6] By the time the band finished the record in mid-1985, Turner had left the group, citing his distaste with the rest of the band's heavy metal leanings.[1] He was replaced by former Deranged Diction guitarist Bruce Fairweather.
In late 1985, the band embarked on its first nationwide tour to promote Come on Down. 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 helped cement alliances with other emerging American indie rock bands. Among them was Sonic Youth, who later quoted the song "Come on Down" on its own composition "Nevermind (What Was It Anyway)". After the tour, Come on Down was finally released by the New York-based Homestead Records. The record was released to little fanfare, and did not sell well. However it is often considered the first record to be released by a "grunge" band, as it predated both the Melvins debut EP and the Deep Six compilation album.
In 1986, the band continued to play in and around the Pacific Northwest to steadily larger crowds (especially in the band's hometown of Seattle). Early in the year, the now legendary Deep Six compilation album was released on the local C/Z Records label. Alongside two Green River songs, the compilation features the music of fellow Washington bands Malfunkshun, Melvins, Skin Yard, Soundgarden, and The U-Men. Kathleen C. Fennessy of AllMusic stated that the compilation "documents a formative period in Northwest rock history".[7]
In June 1986, the band began production on its second EP, Dry as a Bone, with local producer Jack Endino. Green River chose to record Dry as a Bone for Bruce Pavitt's new label, Sub Pop. However, Pavitt couldn't afford to release it until the following year, and, as had happened with Come on Down, the record was delayed. In the meantime the band issued the one-off "Together We'll Never" single on the local Tasque Force Records label. Dry as a Bone was finally released through Sub Pop in July 1987, a full year after it was recorded. It was the new label's first non-compilation release. Dry as a Bone was promoted by Sub Pop as "ultra-loose GRUNGE that destroyed the morals of a generation".[8] Steve Huey of AllMusic called it Green River's "strongest individual release...perfecting their sleazy, raucous fusion of '70s hard rock and post-hardcore punk".[9]
Almost immediately following the release of Dry as a Bone, the group re-entered the studio to begin production on its first full-length album, Rehab Doll. Band in-fighting, though, took center stage over the music. A stylistic division developed between Ament and Gossard on one side, and Arm on the other.[8] Ament and Gossard wanted to pursue a major-label deal, while Arm wanted to remain independent, viewing the duo as being too careerist.[1] The in-fighting came to a head following an October 1987 show in Los Angeles, California. Apparently, without informing the group, Ament had filled the show's guest list with major label representatives, instead of the band's friends; nonetheless only two of the representatives appeared.[1] On October 31, 1987, Ament, Gossard and Fairweather stated their desire to quit the band. Although the band members agreed to complete production of Rehab Doll during the next three months, Green River had by late October 1987 ceased as a band. Rehab Doll was released in June 1988. Ned Raggett of AllMusic called it "a record that sounded caught somewhere between grunge mania and metal/corp rock folly".[10]
Reunions
A Green River reunion occurred on November 30, 1993 during a Pearl Jam concert in Las Vegas, Nevada. Participating in the reunion were Arm, Turner, Gossard, Ament and Chuck Treece, who filled in on drums for Vincent, who at that time was living in Japan. The band performed the songs "Swallow My Pride" and "Ain't Nothing to Do" before leaving the stage. Green River reunited for four shows in 2008. The line-up for the shows included Ament, Arm, Turner, Vincent, Gossard, and Fairweather. The first show was a warm-up show on July 10, 2008 at the Sunset Tavern in Seattle. The band next played on July 13, 2008 at Marymoor Park near Seattle to honor Sub Pop's 20th anniversary.[11] Green River played another live show on November 28, 2008 at Dante's in Portland, Oregon. Afterward, the band played on November 29, 2008 at the Showbox in Seattle to celebrate the Supersuckers' 20th anniversary.[12] Green River played on May 22, 2009 and May 23, 2009 at the Showbox in Seattle to celebrate the Melvins' 25th anniversary.[13][14]
Band members
- Mark Arm – vocals (1984–1988, 1993, 2008–09)
- Steve Turner – guitar, backing vocals (1984–1985, 1993, 2008–2009)
- Alex Vincent – drums, percussion (1984–1988, 2008–09)
- Jeff Ament – bass, backing vocals (1984–1988, 1993, 2008–09)
- Stone Gossard – guitar, backing vocals (1984–1988, 1993, 2008–09)
- Bruce Fairweather – guitar, backing vocals (1985–1988, 2008–2009)
- Chuck Treece – drums (1993)
Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
Year | Album details |
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1988 | Rehab Doll |
Live albums
Year | Album details |
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2019 | Live at the Tropicana
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Demo albums
Year | Album details |
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2016 | 1984 Demos
|
Compilations
Year | Album details |
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1990 | Dry as a Bone/Rehab Doll
|
Extended plays
Year | Album details |
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1985 | Come On Down |
1987 | Dry As a Bone
|
Singles
Year | Single | Album |
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1986 | "Together We'll Never"/"Ain't Nothing to Do"
|
Non-album single |
Other appearances
Year | Song | Title | Label |
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1986 |
"10,000 Things" |
Deep Six | C/Z |
1988 |
"Searchin' (Good Things Come)" |
Motor City Madness | Glitterhouse |
"Hangin' Tree" |
Sub Pop 200 | Sub Pop | |
1989 |
"Bazaar" |
Another Pyrrhic Victory: The Only Compilation of Dead Seattle God Bands | C/Z |
1990 |
"Ain't Nothing to Do" |
Endangered Species | Glitterhouse |
1996 |
"Swallow My Pride" (1987 demo) |
Hype!: The Motion Picture Soundtrack | Sub Pop |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f Huey, Steve. "Green River | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved June 13, 2005.
- ^ a b "MudHoney biography". Retrieved February 22, 2018.
- ^ Prato, Greg. "Mother Love Bone | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ Official Sony Biography Archived February 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Interview with Alex Vincent
- ^ Torreano, Bradley. "allmusic ((( Come on Down > Review )))". AllMusic. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ Fennessy, Kathleen C. "Deep Six". AllMusic.
- ^ a b Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life. Little, Brown and Company, 2001. ISBN 0-316-78753-1
- ^ Huey, Steve. "Dry as a Bone". AllMusic.
- ^ Ned Raggett. "Rehab Doll". AllMusic.
- ^ "Cult rock band Green River to reunite for show". Reuters. October 2, 2007.
- ^ Hay, Travis. "REVIEW: Supersuckers, Green River & Zeke @ Showbox at the Market"[permanent dead link]. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. December 1, 2008.
- ^ "Showbox Presents Melvins with Green River" Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. showboxonline.com.
- ^ "Showbox Presents Melvins with Green River" Archived July 16, 2011, at the Wayback Machine. showboxonline.com.
External links
- Alternative rock groups from Washington (state)
- Grunge musical groups
- C/Z Records artists
- Homestead Records artists
- Musical groups established in 1984
- Musical groups disestablished in 1988
- Musical groups reestablished in 2008
- Musical groups disestablished in 2009
- Musical groups from Seattle
- 1984 establishments in Washington (state)
- Sub Pop artists