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Hrvoje Bubić; DANIEL HOUSE INTERVIEW
Hrvoje Bubić
Daniel House je američki glazbenik i poduzetnik. Za SolinLive govori o sebi, svojoj glazbenoj karijeri i sceni Seattlea.
To begin with, can you introduce yourself to our readers and say something about yourself?
Well, I guess for the sake for your readers, I’m best known as the co-founder, bassist and as one of the two primary song writers for the band Skin Yard. Jack (Endino) and I started the band in January of 1985, and added Matt Cameron as our drummer about a month after that. Prior to Skin Yard I was in two different, concurrent bands in 1984, both of which led to the initial musical concept of what we were trying to do with Skin Yard. The first band was called 10 Minute Warning. We were heavy, punky and psychedelic, ultimately kind of the precursor to the entire grunge scene that followed. 10 Minute Warning was the last band that Duff McKagan played in before moving to L.A. That was in 1983. I was in the band the year after he left. The other band that I was in during 1984, was a three-piece instrumental back called FEEdbACK, consisting of Matt Cameron, me and a guitarist who called himself “Nerm.” After both bands imploded, I wanted to start a band that was an amalgam of the aesthetics of the two bands – the heavy psychedelic aspects of 10 Minute Warning and the cerebral/arty aspects of FEEdbACK. Both bands recorded an album’s worth of material and both can be purchased or streamed online.
The other thing that I’m known for in terms of Seattle music is as the president and owner of C/Z Records. C/Z’s first release was the now-legendary Deep Six compilation which featured the first ever recorded music from Soundgarden, Melvins, Skin Yard and Malfunkshun. That comp also included music by U-Men and Green River, both bands that had previous EPs already released. Other artists that had music released on C/Z were 7 Year Bitch, Built to Spill, Love Battery, Coffin Break, The Gits, Hammerbox. Nirvana, Silkworm, Moonshake, Henry Rollins, Engine Kid, Treepeople, and of course Skin Yard and 10 Minute Warning. There are many others, but I think this is a pretty good list!
You have been involved in music for quite a long time. Could you tell us about your beginnings and influences?
I guess that depends on what you mean by “involved.” From my very earliest childhood, I was surrounded by all kinds of music being played on the record player, and those records were foundational in establishing my love for many kinds of music starting at a very early age. Music really became of the bedrock of my general consciousness, and the funny thing is that I didn’t get into playing until after I graduated high school. I eventually realized that being a passive listener was inadequate – I realized that I wanted to create music that was original, but at the time wasn’t really too sure about how one might go about doing that. I thought I wanted to be a guitar player and so I bought a guitar and spend hours and months trying to learn. I never really became a very good guitarist however. It was incredibly frustrating. I moved to Seattle in 1981, and I wanted to be in a band more than anything, and so when Death of Marat—a band that my friend Tom was drumming for—had an opening for a bass player, I bought a bass, and discovered rather surprisingly that I had an absolute knack for playing bass. It came very naturally to me – I think maybe it had something to do with how much soul and Motown I had grown up listening to. All that stuff has such fantastic bass work, and I think it all seeped in to my brain subconsciously. I became a very solid bassist and outgrew the band rather quickly. And you know what’s funny? I am still a shitty guitar player. Hell, I play drums better than I can play guitar, and bass still seems like I was born to it.
You were a member of bands such as 10 Minute Warning and Skin Yard (which Jack Endino, the famous producer who worked with names like Nirvana and Soundgarden was the guitarist for), both of which are considered pioneers of the grunge genre. Please tell us more about these bands.
I already said a little bit above, but I can talk a bit more about both for sure. Back in 1983 and ’84, my two favorite bands in Seattle were U-Men and 10 Minute Warning. Hands-down. I had become friends with David who was the bass player before me and Steve, their singer, so when David and Duff both left the band, I angled for an audition. It’s pretty nerve-racking trying out for your favorite band, but I never would have forgiven myself had I not at least tried. After several “try-outs,” I asked if they were still trying out other bassists, and they informed me that no, no others were in the mix, and that I was in the band. You can read my liner notes about that in the vinyl pressing of “This Could be Heaven | The lost 1984 recordings” which is available on Bandcamp.
Skin Yard was kind of an interesting story. I met Jack on a couple of occasions because he had visited a couple of FEEdbACK rehearsals which occured in the living room of the duplex that I lived in. He and Nerm had attended high school together, and from what I understand Nerm was the first person to actually teach Jack some guitar early on. So Nerm had shared some of the stuff that we were recording on Matt’s Fostex 250 4-Track Cassette Recorder and I guess Jack thought it was pretty cool. At one of those rehearsals, he brought a cassette of a bunch of music that he had written and played all the instruments on. Most of the music on that tape is what would later become the core of his first solo record, “Angle of Attack.” I was impressed with Jack’s songs and playing, and so when FEEdbACK and 10 Minute Warning both dissolved, I already knew that I wanted to start a band with him. I called him, told him my idea of what I envisioned conceptually for a band, and the rest is history.
The one thing that I want to mention is how I think of Skin Yard as being two separate bands that effectively happened in immediate succession. The version of the band with Matt—which is basically our first record—is a completely different animal from everything that came later.
Not making a qualitative judgment other than to say that that initial incarnation is a version of the band where were still trying to figure out who we were as a band. I think we wrote some genuinely cool material, and as much as I think that Matt is one of the best drummers that Seattle has ever known, somehow his departure opened the door for us to explore in ways that we weren’t doing when he was in the band. I think he would probably say the same for himself. We both needed something different to ultimately find exactly where we needed to be. The version of Skin Yard starting with Scott and eventually with Barrett were more visceral, and in my mind, the ultimate realization of the band that I first envisioned. And then of course Matt in Soundgarden – the recordings speak for themselves!
In addition to the mentioned bands, you played with names like Helios Creed, Yeast, and Pretty Mary Sunshine. How did the cooperation with these bands actually come about, and have you played with anyone else?
Both Yeast and Helios Creed happened during a time when the future of Skin Yard was uncertain. After our “Tour from Hell,” we came back to Seattle and recorded the record that would become “Fist Sized Chunks.” Things with Scott were super tense, and Jack and I had resolved to kick him out after recording the songs on that record. I won’t go into any detail about any of that, but it was a dark time and honestly, we were effectively broken up for over a year, and were not necessarily planning on finding another drummer. Things were exploding for Jack in his production work and C/Z was exploding at the same time. Both Jack and I were still wanting to make music, but things with Skin Yard had been such that I don’t think that either of us wanted to jump back in. I had already done a track with Helios for AmRep for the second installment of Dope-Guns-‘N-Fucking in the Streets and I had also released a song by him with me on bass on the first instalment of my Teriyaki Asthma compilation. That’s the same 45 where Mexican Seafood by Nirvana was first released. Helios had played with Skin Yard on Gentle Collapse and so I approached Helios about doing a whole record. Tom Hazelmyer (AmRep) was onboard, and so I booked three days with Jack at Reciprocal. Jason Finn on drums, Helios on guitar and vocals and me on bass. The album credits say that Helios wrote all the songs, however that’s not accurate. The majority of the record was written by yours truly-me, but perhaps that’s irrelevant. I still think that the record is super cool. We played a few live shows together, but I knew that I was not wanting to go on tour to support that record, so that was pretty much the end of that.
Yeast was a fun project. I wanted to try something that was just that- a band for fun, and nothing more. I also thought it was be fun to be in a band as a drummer, so my friends Milton from the C/Z band Vexed and Al from the band Daddy Hate Box and I got together and wrote a bunch of songs. We only played half a dozen shows and were only together for nine months or so, but during that time, we did get to play shows with both TAD and Soundgarden.
I’m not really sure if it’s worth mentioning Pretty Mary Sunshine. I only played a single show with them. It was 1992 or ‘93 if memory serves. They had a deal with an A&M subsidiary label. Their bass player then was Joe Bass who was also the bass player for the Posies. PMS had a show at the Crocodile opening for Red House Painters, but the Posies were going to be on tour in Europe, so Joe recommended me as a replacement. We spent some time working on material, and I kind of forced them to spend a little more time working on arranging their material – something that Skin Yard spent always a fair bit of time working on in our material. The show was great, and Kurt and Patrice asked me to stay on as their permanent bassist, but that band was a bit of a dysfunctional mess with way too much drugging and hard drinking going on. I knew that it would be a drama-fest, and that I would not last long, so I bowed out. They eventually released a record and I never heard anything from them again.
You are the owner of the record label C/Z, which you bought from the previous owner Chris Hanszek, and along with Sub Pop is considered one of the record labels that launched the grunge movement. Could you tell us more about C/Z and the reason why you bought it?
I didn’t really “buy it” per se. Chris had a ton of Deep Six records sitting under his bed, and back in 1986, outside of Seattle, not many people knew the bands on the record, and so not many people were particularly interested in the record. Chris was ultimately more interested running the studio as opposed to running a record label. Skin Yard had finished our first record and had been shopping the record to labels, but weren’t getting any bites. I figured that the logistics of releasing records and soliciting them to college radio and music zines couldn’t be that difficult, so I proposed to Chris that I would buy his inventory and work on selling through it, and that I would take over the label and continue releasing records. At first, my primary interest was in having a vehicle to release music by my band, and it made sense since our place on Deep Six established us as part of the young Seattle scene, even if it was minimal. Having our follow-up records be on the same label created a sense of continuity. What I discovered was that I loved the work and the challenge, and because I was already a fan of a bunch of other bands that my friends were in, it was pretty easy to decide on who I wanted to release.
For a long time, I was going to school learning print production at Seattle Central Community College while working restaurant jobs and saving my tip money in order to release the next release on C/Z. It was a hobby label and a labor of love, but eventually I started breaking even, and that eventually led to me starting to turn a profit. That transition happened when I was working at Sub Pop as the director of sales and distribution, a gig that started in 1988.
After getting back from a Skin Yard tour at the tail end of 1990, Sub Pop decided to let me go. I won’t go into any specifics about that, but just know that the reasons they gave were not based on any scenario that I agree was accurate. It took me a good while before I stopped feeling bitter about that, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise: it was the event that pushed me towards running C/Z as a full-time venture. Within two years, C/Z was a local label with international recognition.
In an interview you said that you plan to publish a biography of the band Skin Yard, as well as a collection of singles. Please tell us more about it.
The book is not a biography exactly, but is instead an oral history consisting of over 60 interviews with people in the Seattle scene and close to the band over the six and a half years that we were together. I still have a small number of interviews I’m trying to secure, but overall, that part of the process is done. I’ve barely touched it in the last year, largely due to the fact that I’ve been suffering from long COVID for over a year. It’s really f…ed me up, and while I’m finally on the right side of these health issues, I am still in a place of recovery. The title of the book is “Words on Bone.” I think it’s going to be fantastic.
Regarding the collection of singles. I’m not sure when it will be released. It will be a set of seven 45s, so 14 songs total. There is at least one song with Matt that nobody has ever heard, a handful of alternate versions and several new mixes that will also be new to the set. The set will be called “Skin Yard Select” and will be either limited to 1000—or maybe only 500. I am still considering raising money via a GoFundMe campaign, because I expect the manufacturing costs will be brutal.
As one of the key names in the grunge movement, I was wondering, what is your opinion on the whole grunge movement?
I don’t even know how to answer a question like that. My opinion? It was a much bigger deal than I think any of us could have ever predicted. It was a phenomenon that completely changed the fabric of life in Seattle. That was both a good thing as well as an unfortunate occurrence for many of us who lived there. We got to be part of an important history, and it’s wild sometimes to reflect on all of it. I’m endlessly happy that I got be to part of it. I consider myself fortunate and pinch myself sometimes that I got to both play and release music from so many bands that have touched so many people in ways that are meaningful and important to them. That’s a humbling thing to consider.
For the end, what are your future projects? What would you recommend to our readers?
Well, you already know about “Word on Bone” and “Skin Yard Select.” I’m living in San Diego these days and I’m at a point where I’m interested in playing music again. I’ve connected with a few people and there are a couple of people who played with that were in one of the many key bands in the early Seattle scene in the early-mid ‘90s that I think we might eventually turn into something exciting. No details on that for now. I want to set up a multitrack recording mini studio on my desktop at home for writing, but in that area, I’m kind of a neophyte. I think that might end up being the point where things begin to happen for me.
As far as recommendations to your audience, I assume you mean music? Current/new bands that I think are great, I’m pretty fond of IDLES, Plosivs, Wand, King Buffalo, Fontaines DC, Russian Circles, Guapa, Spotlights, Daughters, Shame, Little Simz, Algiers, The Smile, Gojira, Boygenius, Sisters, Dead Meadow, Skull Practitioners, Cable Ties, Nobro.
I also love the recent releases from both Sparks and Killing Joke, and am super psyched that Sleepytime Gorilla Museum have a new record coming out after a decade of not being a band.
HRVATSKI PRIJEVOD
1. Možeš li se za početak predstaviti našim čitateljima i reći nešto o sebi?
Pa, pretpostavljam za dobrobit vaših čitatelja, najpoznatiji sam kao suosnivač, basist i jedan od dva glavna tekstopisca benda Skin Yard. Jack (Endino) i ja osnovali smo bend u siječnju 1985. i dodali Matta Camerona za bubnjara otprilike mjesec dana nakon toga. Prije Skin Yarda, bio sam u dva različita, istodobna benda 1984., a oba su dovela do početnog glazbenog koncepta onoga što smo pokušavali učiniti sa Skin Yardom. Prvi bend zvao se 10 Minute Warning. Bili smo teški, punkerski i psihodelični, na kraju krajeva kao preteča cijele grunge scene koja je uslijedila. 10 Minute Warning bio je posljednji bend u kojem je Duff McKagan svirao prije preseljenja u L.A. To je bilo 1983. Bio sam u bendu godinu nakon što je on otišao. Drugi bend u kojem sam bio tijekom 1984. bio je tročlani instrumentalni bend pod nazivom FEEdbACK, koji se sastojao od Matta Camerona, mene i gitarista koji je sebe nazivao “Nerm”. Nakon što su oba benda raspala, želio sam osnovati bend koji je spoj estetike dvaju bendova – teške psihodelične aspekte 10 Minute Warning i cerebralne/umjetničke aspekte FEEdbACK-a. Oba benda snimila su materijala u vrijednosti albuma i oba se mogu kupiti ili streamati online.
Druga stvar po kojoj sam poznat u smislu glazbe iz Seattlea je kao predsjednik i vlasnik C/Z Recordsa. Prvo izdanje C/Z-a bila je sada već legendarna kompilacija Deep Six koja je sadržavala prvu ikada snimljenu glazbu Soundgardena, Melvinsa, Skin Yarda i Malfunkshuna. Kompozicija je također uključivala glazbu U-Mena i Green Rivera, oba benda koji su već imali prethodne EP-ove. Ostali izvođači čija je glazba objavljena na C/Z bili su 7 Year Bitch, Built to Spill, Love Battery, Coffin Break, The Gits i Hammerbox. Nirvana, Silkworm, Moonshake, Henry Rollins, Engine Kid, Treepeople, i naravno Skin Yard i 10 Minute Warning. Postoji mnogo drugih, ali mislim da je ovo prilično dobar popis!
2. Dosta dugo se bavite glazbom. Možete li nam reći nešto o svojim počecima i utjecajima?
Pretpostavljam da to ovisi o tome što mislite pod “uključen”. Od najranijeg djetinjstva bio sam okružen svim vrstama glazbe koja se puštala na gramofonu, a te su ploče bile temelj u uspostavljanju moje ljubavi prema mnogim vrstama glazbe počevši od vrlo rane dobi. Glazba je zaista postala temelj moje opće svijesti, a smiješno je to što nisam počeo svirati sve dok nisam završio srednju školu. Na kraju sam shvatio da je neprimjereno biti pasivni slušatelj – shvatio sam da želim stvarati glazbu koja je originalna, ali u to vrijeme nisam bio previše siguran u to kako bi se to moglo učiniti. Mislio sam da želim biti gitarist pa sam kupio gitaru i proveo sate i mjesece pokušavajući naučiti. Međutim, nikada nisam postao jako dobar gitarist. Bilo je nevjerojatno frustrirajuće. Preselio sam se u Seattle 1981. i želio sam biti u bendu više od svega, pa kad je Death of Marat — bend za koji je bubnjao moj prijatelj Tom — imao slobodnog mjesta za basista, kupio sam bas i prilično iznenađujuće otkrio da imam apsolutni smisao za sviranje basa. Došlo mi je vrlo prirodno – mislim da je to možda imalo veze s koliko sam soula i Motowna odrastao slušajući. Sve te stvari imaju tako fantastičan bas, i mislim da se sve to podsvjesno uvuklo u moj mozak. Postao sam vrlo solidan basist i vrlo brzo sam prerastao bend. I znate što je smiješno? Još uvijek sam usrani gitarist. K vragu, bolje sviram bubnjeve nego gitaru, a bas se još uvijek čini kao da sam rođen za njega.
3. Bili ste član bendova kao što su 10 Minute Warning i Skin Yard (kojemu je gitarist bio Jack Endino, poznati producent koji je radio s imenima kao što su Nirvana i Soundgarden), a oba se smatraju pionirima grunge žanra. Recite nam nešto više o ovim bendovima.
Malo sam već rekao gore, ali o oba sigurno mogu govoriti nešto više. Godine 1983. i ’84., moja dva omiljena benda u Seattleu bili su U-Men i 10 Minute Warning. Vrlo lako. Postao sam prijatelj s Davidom koji je bio basist prije mene i Stevea, njihovog pjevača, pa kad su David i Duff napustili bend, odlučio sam se za audiciju. Prilično je nervozno isprobavati svoj omiljeni bend, ali nikad si ne bih oprostio da nisam barem pokušao. Nakon nekoliko “isprobavanja”, pitao sam da li još uvijek isprobavaju druge basiste, a oni su me obavijestili da ne, nitko drugi nije u miksu i da sam ja u bendu. Možete pročitati moje bilješke o tome u vinilu “This Could be Heaven | The lost 1984 recordings” koja je dostupna na Bandcampu.
Skin Yard je bio zanimljiva priča. Upoznao sam Jacka u nekoliko navrata jer je posjetio nekoliko proba POVRATNE INFORMACIJE koje su se odvijale u dnevnoj sobi duplexa u kojem sam živio. On i Nerm su zajedno pohađali srednju školu, a koliko sam shvatio Nerm je bila prva osoba zapravo rano naučila svirati Jacka gitaru. Tako je Nerm podijelio neke od stvari koje smo snimali na Mattov Fostex 250 4-track kasetofon i pretpostavljam da je Jack mislio da je to prilično cool. Na jednoj od tih proba donijeli su mu kasetu s hrpom glazbe koju je on napisao i na kojoj je svirao sve instrumente. Većina glazbe na toj vrpci ono je što će kasnije postati srž njegovog prvog solo albuma, “Angle of Attack”. Bio sam impresioniran Jackovim pjesmama i sviranjem, pa kad su FEEdbACK i 10 Minute Warning nestali, već sam znao da želim osnovati bend s njim. Nazvao sam ga, rekao mu svoju ideju što sam konceptualno zamislio za bend, a ostalo je povijest.
Jedina stvar koju želim spomenuti je kako o Skin Yardu razmišljam kao o dva odvojena benda koji su se zapravo pojavili u neposrednom slijedu. Verzija benda s Mattom — koja je u biti naš prvi album — potpuno je druga životinja od svega što je došlo kasnije. Ne dajući kvalitativni sud osim da kažem da je ta početna inkarnacija verzija benda gdje smo još uvijek pokušavali shvatiti tko smo kao bend. Mislim da smo napisali stvarno cool materijal, i koliko god mislim da je Matt jedan od najboljih bubnjara koje je Seattle ikada upoznao, nekako nam je njegov odlazak otvorio vrata za istraživanje na načine koje nismo radili dok je on bio u bendu. Mislim da bi vjerojatno rekao isto za sebe. Oboje smo trebali nešto drugo da na kraju nađemo točno gdje smo trebali biti. Verzija Skin Yarda koja je započela sa Scottom i na kraju s Barrettom bila je visceralnija, i po mom mišljenju, krajnje ostvarenje benda koji sam prvo zamislio. I onda naravno Matt u Soundgardenu – snimke govore same za sebe!
4. Osim spomenutih bendova, svirali ste s imenima kao što su Helios Creed, Yeast i Pretty Mary Sunshine. Kako je zapravo došlo do suradnje s ovim bendovima i jeste li svirali s još nekim?
I Yeast i Helios Creed dogodili su se u vrijeme kada je budućnost Skin Yarda bila neizvjesna. Nakon naše turneje “Tour from Hell”, vratili smo se u Seattle i snimili ploču koja će postati “Fist Sized Chunks”. Stvari sa Scottom bile su prenapete i Jack i ja smo odlučili izbaciti ga nakon snimanja pjesama na toj ploči. Neću ulaziti u detalje o tome, ali bilo je to mračno vrijeme i iskreno, bili smo raskinuti više od godinu dana i nismo nužno planirali pronaći drugog bubnjara. Stvari su eksplodirale za Jacka u njegovom produkcijskom radu, a C/Z je eksplodirao u isto vrijeme. I Jack i ja smo i dalje željeli stvarati glazbu, ali stvari sa Skin Yardom su bile takve da mislim da se nitko od nas nije htio vratiti. Već sam napravio pjesmu s Heliosom za AmRep za drugi nastavak Dope-Guns-‘N-Fucking in the Streets i ja smo također objavili njegovu pjesmu sa mnom na basu na prvom dijelu moje kompilacije Teriyaki Asthma. To je istih 45 gdje je Nirvana prvi put izdala Mexican Seafood. Helios je svirao sa Skin Yardom na Gentile Collapseu pa sam se obratio Heliosu da napravim cijelu ploču. Tom Hazelmyer (AmRep) je bio na brodu, pa sam rezervirao tri dana s Jackom u Reciprocalu. Jason Finn na bubnjevima, Helios na gitari i vokalu i ja na basu. Zasluge za album kažu da je Helios napisao sve pjesme, no to nije točno. Većinu zapisa naravio sam je moja malenkost, ali možda je to nevažno. Još uvijek mislim da je album super cool. Odsvirali smo zajedno nekoliko koncerata uživo, ali znao sam da ne želim ići na turneju kako bih podržao tu ploču, tako da je to uglavnom bio kraj tome.
Yeast je bio zabavan projekt. Želio sam probati nešto što je samo to – bend za zabavu, i ništa više. Također sam mislio da je zabavno biti u bendu kao bubnjar, pa smo se moji prijatelji Milton iz C/Z benda Vexed i Al iz benda Daddy Hate Box i ja okupili i napisali hrpu pjesama. Odsvirali smo samo pola tuceta koncerata i bili smo zajedno samo oko devet mjeseci, ali smo tijekom tog vremena uspjeli svirati koncerte i s TAD-om i sa Soundgardenom.
Nisam baš siguran vrijedi li spominjati Pretty Mary Sunshine. S njima sam igrao samo jedan nastup. Bilo je to 1992. ili ‘93. ako me sjećanje ne vara. Imali su dogovor s izdavačkom kućom A&M. Njihov basist tada je bio Joe Bass koji je također bio basist za Posies. PMS je imao nastup na otvaranju Crocodilea za Red House Painters, ali su Posiesi trebali biti na turneji po Europi, pa me Joe preporučio kao zamjenu. Proveli smo neko vrijeme radeći na materijalu, a ja sam ih na neki način prisilio da potroše malo više vremena radeći na aranžiranju svog materijala – nešto na što je Skin Yard uvijek trošio dosta vremena radeći u našem materijalu. Koncert je bio sjajan, a Kurt (Kurt Danielson, basist TAD, op.prev.) i Patrice su me zamolili da ostanem njihov stalni basist, ali taj je bend bio pomalo disfunkcionalan nered s previše drogiranja i žestokog opijanja. Znao sam da će to biti drama-fest i da neću dugo izdržati, pa sam odustao. Na kraju su izdali ploču i nikad više nisam čuo ništa od njih.
5. Vlasnik ste diskografske kuće C/Z koju ste kupili od prethodnog vlasnika Chrisa Hanszeka i uz Sub Pop se smatra jednom od izdavačkih kuća koje su pokrenule grunge pokret. Možete li nam reći nešto više o C/Z i razlogu zašto ste ga kupili?
Nisam ga baš “kupio” sam po sebi. Chris je imao tonu ploča Deep Sixa ispod svog kreveta, a 1986. godine, izvan Seattlea, malo je ljudi poznavalo bendove na ploči, tako da nije mnogo ljudi bilo posebno zainteresirano za ploču. Chris je u konačnici bio više zainteresiran za vođenje studija nego za vođenje izdavačke kuće. Skin Yard je završio našu prvu ploču i kupovao je ploču izdavačkim kućama, ali nisu dobili ništa. Shvatio sam da logistika izdavanja ploča i njihovog traženja na sveučilišnom radiju i glazbenim zinovima ne može biti tako teška, pa sam predložio Chrisu da kupim njegov inventar i radim na prodaji preko njega, te da ću preuzeti izdavačku kuću i nastaviti objavljivati zapise. U početku, moj primarni interes bio je imati vozilo za puštanje glazbe mog benda, i to je imalo smisla budući da nas je mjesto na Deep Sixu postavilo kao dio mlade scene u Seattleu, čak i ako je to bilo minimalno. To što su naše prateće ploče bile na istoj etiketi stvorilo je osjećaj kontinuiteta. Ono što sam otkrio je da volim posao i izazov, a budući da sam već bio obožavatelj gomile drugih bendova u kojima su bili moji prijatelji, bilo je prilično lako odlučiti koga želim objaviti.
Dugo sam išao u školu i učio tiskarsku proizvodnju na Seattle Central Community College dok sam radio u restoranu i štedio napojnice kako bih objavio sljedeće izdanje na C/Z. Bila je to etiketa iz hobija i rad iz ljubavi, ali na kraju sam počeo izlaziti na nulu, a to je na kraju dovelo do toga da sam počeo zarađivati. Taj se prijelaz dogodio kad sam radio u Sub Popu kao direktor prodaje i distribucije, koncert koji je započeo 1988.
Nakon povratka s turneje Skin Yard potkraj 1990., Sub Pop me odlučio pustiti. Neću ulaziti u detalje o tome, ali samo znajte da razlozi koje su naveli nisu bili temeljeni ni na jednom scenariju za koji se slažem da je točan. Trebalo mi je dosta vremena prije nego što sam prestao osjećati gorčinu zbog toga, ali pokazalo se da je to bio blagoslov pod maskom: to je bio događaj koji me potaknuo da vodim C/Z kao pothvat s punim radnim vremenom. Unutar dvije godine, C/Z je postao lokalna etiketa s međunarodnim priznanjem.
6. U jednom intervjuu ste rekli da planirate izdati biografiju benda Skin Yard, kao i kolekciju singlova. Recite nam više o tome.
Knjiga nije točno biografija, već usmena povijest koja se sastoji od više od 60 intervjua s ljudima na sceni u Seattleu i bliskim bendu tijekom šest i pol godina koliko smo bili zajedno. Još uvijek imam mali broj intervjua koje pokušavam osigurati, ali generalno, taj je dio procesa obavljen. Jedva da sam ga dotaknuo prošle godine, uglavnom zbog činjenice da patim od dugog COVID-a više od godinu dana. Stvarno me sj…o, i iako sam konačno na pravoj strani ovih zdravstvenih problema, još uvijek sam na mjestu oporavka. Naslov knjige je “Words On The Bone”. Mislim da će biti fantastično.
Što se tiče kolekcije singlica. Nisam siguran kada će biti objavljen. Bit će to set od sedam 45-ica, dakle ukupno 14 pjesama. Postoji barem jedna pjesma s Mattom koju nitko nikada nije čuo, pregršt alternativnih verzija i nekoliko novih mikseva koji će također biti novi u setu. Set će se zvati “Skin Yard Select” i bit će ograničen na 1000—ili možda samo 500. Još uvijek razmišljam o prikupljanju novca putem GoFundMe kampanje, jer očekujem da će troškovi proizvodnje biti surovi.
7. Kao jedno od ključnih imena grunge pokreta, zanima me kakvo je vaše mišljenje o cijelom grunge pokretu?
Ne znam ni kako odgovoriti na takvo pitanje. Moje mišljenje? Bila je to mnogo veća stvar nego što mislim da je itko od nas mogao predvidjeti. Bio je to fenomen koji je potpuno promijenio tkivo života u Seattleu. To je za mnoge od nas koji smo tamo živjeli bila i dobra i nesretna stvar. Moramo biti dio važne povijesti, a ponekad je neobuzdano razmišljati o svemu tome. Beskrajno sam sretan što sam sudjelovao u tome. Smatram se sretnim i ponekad se uštipnem što sam mogao svirati i objavljivati glazbu toliko mnogo bendova koji su dirnuli toliko ljudi na načine koji su im značajni i važni. To je ponizna stvar koju treba razmotriti.
8. Za kraj, koji su Vaši budući projekti? Što biste preporučili našim čitateljima?
Pa, već znate za “Word on Bone” i “Skin Yard Select”. Ovih dana živim u San Diegu i nalazim se u trenutku kada me ponovno zanima puštanje glazbe. Povezao sam se s nekoliko ljudi i postoji nekoliko ljudi koji su svirali s njima i koji su bili u jednom od mnogih ključnih bendova na ranoj sceni Seattlea ranih ili sredinom 90-ih za koje mislim da bismo ih na kraju mogli pretvoriti u nešto uzbudljivo. Za sada nema detalja o tome. Želim postaviti mini studio za snimanje s više staza na radnoj površini kod kuće za pisanje, ali u tom sam području na neki način neofit. Mislim da bi to mogla biti točka u kojoj mi se stvari počinju događati.
Što se tiče preporuka vašoj publici, pretpostavljam da mislite na glazbu? Trenutačni/novi bendovi za koje mislim da su sjajni, jako volim IDLES, Plosivs, Wand, King Buffalo, Fontaines DC, Russian Circles, Guapa, Spotlights, Daughters, Shame, Little Sims, Algiers, The Smile, Gojira, Boygenius , Sestre, Mrtva livada, Praktičari lubanje, Vezice za kabele, Nobro.
Također volim nedavna izdanja Sparksa i Killing Jokea, i super sam uzbuđen što Sleepytime Gorilla Museum ima novi album koja izlazi nakon desetljeća nepostojanja benda.
