SUB POP ROCK CITY

Starting from June 1992, I lived a hand-to-mouth life in Seattle for about a year, surviving on the meager savings I’d managed to scrape together from part-time jobs in Japan. It all started when I became interested in bands released by Sub Pop. Since I couldn’t speak English, I struggled through communication letter with the staff at Sub Pop and Empty Records using a dictionary. Eventually, they invited me to “come visit sometime,” and that’s how I ended up traveling to the U.S.

I stayed with Neil from The Delinquents—a band I loved and had gotten to know—until I found a place to live. He took me to the local bars, live music venues, and Sub Pop, and before I knew it, I was helping out at Sub Pop whenever they were busy. In a small room, I worked on tasks like shipping records out for the Sub Pop Singles Club to members all over the world. Since I didn’t have a work visa, my payments were new cassette tapes and CDs instead of cash, and I had a great time.

The summer of 1992, when I moved there, marked the arrival of the “grunge boom.” Bands like Nirvana and Soundgarden had already made it big, and everyone was dressed in flannel shirts and ragged jeans. Although the Beastie Boys were not grunge, their album, Check Your Head was playing everywhere, and it was a summer where people were shouting “what’cha, what’cha, what’cha want” all over the place.

The local indie scene was thriving, and I went to live music venues every weekend. Luckily, my friend Neil had tons of friends, so when we went together, we’d often get let in for free through the side door. I don’t really remember ever paying to get in. For big shows by famous bands at large venues, since we didn’t have any connections, the two of us would search for the back entrance, or try making up a fake name at the door saying, “I’m on the guest list,” and it was a constant cycle of either getting in or getting turned away.

There weren’t many Asian people at the small live houses, so I seemed to be a rare sight, and people would often ask me, “Are you from Japan?” We don’t look alike at all and it’s crazy, but a few times I was mistaken for Hiro from Soundgarden and was even asked for an
autograph.

In Seattle, you’d see Mudhoney members casually drinking beer or Tad eating pizza—it was an unbelievable city for Sub Pop fans back then. No one acted like a rock star. When I met Van Conner of the Screaming Trees—who sadly passed away a few years ago—he came up to me with a smile, shook my hands and squeezed it tight, saying, “How’s that? Hurts, doesn’t it?” There were so many friendly people like that, acting like kids.

I was even invited to tag along with local bands to Portland for gigs a few times. We’d sleep in the car, at the homes of the bands we were opening for, or crash after a party at the homes of fans who came to see the shows. Of course, no-one was making much money and these gigs often ended up in the red, but I think the main reason it was still so much fun was our “youth and curiosity.”

Bruce Pavitt, visiting Japan this time was, of course, the face of Sub Pop Records and a major sensation in the indie music scene back then. More than 30 years have passed since then, and sadly, some of the people I’ve met have already passed away due to drugs or illness. I think it’s incredibly valuable to be able to hold events like this in Japan where we can hear firsthand accounts of those precious times from the people who lived through them.

Scenes from a party at the house where I was staying.

A scene from lunch at the place we stayed when I visited Portland with
the band 7 Year Bitch

With friends at Comet, a bar in Seattle I used to always go (the person
with dreadlocks on the far right is Lori from Babes in Toyland)

TAD

Super suckers

ZIPGUN

The Derelicts

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👀【Bruce Pavitt Event】

date：3.26 19:00～

place：NONLECTURE books / arts

address：16-9 Udagawa-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo.JAPAN 　

Shibuya ZERO GATE B1