mudhoney news

1998

"I'm going to be out of town from Dec 27 through Feb 1. After Australia I'm going on a 3 week vacation."

"We're touring the US with Queens Of The Stone Age beginning late February. After that we want to hit Europe, Japan and South America (where we've never been)."

Mark Arm, 20 Dec '98

(Queens Of The Stone Age have a great LP out on Man's Ruin)

"Merry fucking Christmas! There are no new Super Electro releases since the Autumn update because I've been too busy living the Rock-n-Roll lifestyle on the road with MUDHONEY and THE KENT 3. So this'll be a gossip column, band update, medical history, and gentle reminder to buy more of our records. What was six weeks on the road like, you ask? Great! If not a little too long. THE KENT 3 only got arrested once (West Texas is very dangerous for the traveling troubadour), THE KENT 3 rocked, we (Mudhoney) rocked, and the other bands we played with rocked (The Urinals! Nebula!). There was so much rock happening it was scary. We also made lots of nice new friends, including some of you, that have been ordering from Super Electro all these years. Oh, and we drank alot too."

"And here's the news: More touring for MUDHONEY... the West coast in December, Australia in January, Japan in February, and another U.S. tour after that. With luck, we'll do something in Europe and Brazil(!) too. The new L.P. "Tomorrow Hit Today" is still waiting for you to buy it. [...]"

Steve Turner, 15 Dec '98

(From the Super Electro News Page)

"I saw Dan last night at the Show [Valis played Nov 21 at the Seattle Breakroom]. He said the Mudhoney tours have been fun and they are leaving for Australia in a few days. He was very drunk by the time he left."

"Also, some of the CDs do not have Dans name as the drummer. A big mistake. I think all the Vinyl has it right. They spelled my last name wrong too. Oh well."

Van Conner, 23 Nov '98

(The vinyl is a limited 10" on clear wax)

"We're going down the West Coast with Nebula (www.nebulamusic.com if you want to make a link) in december, then Australia."

"The radio promotions folks at Reprise swear they're going to take a song to Rock Radio in late January (why they didn't do this when the record came out and we were on tour is beyond me). Apparently they think that either Oblivion or Ghost would be the best candidates and last I heard they decided on Ghost. If they can get any Mudhoney song on the radio I'll be amazed. I don't think that there will be an actual single with b-sides but they'll press up something called a CD-pro (which must be short for 'promotions') with one song that they'll try to get radio programmers interested in."

"So our next tour after Australia will probably happen in the US in late Feb or early March to try to drum up any support we might have at radio. After that I'm not sure where we'll go but we do want to hit Europe, Japan and (for the first time) South America."

Mark Arm, 22 Nov '98

"Here's the Fall Tour info. The shows at the end will get filled in while we're out, so this is the best I can do."

Mark Arm, 24 Sep '98

"We're playing a record release party [in Seattle] on September 26 with Cheater Slicks and Necessary Evils. Then we're leaving for a 6 week tour on the 29th."

"We'll be touring from Sept 29 - Nov 15 (I'll send you the dates as soon as some holes get filled in)."

"[Asked if there are still plans about the long-rumored b-sides/rarities compilation] Yes, but no firm plans. Sub Pop wants to put together a best of the Sub Pop years Mudhoney comp."

"[About Bloodloss' new LP] There's still some work that needs to be done on it and Ren has been in California for over a year. We also need to raise the money to pay for the studio time to complete it. Eventually though, hopefully."

Mark Arm, 23 Sep '98

"The reason [european promoters] hasn't heard from anyone concerning us playing in Europe is because we have no plans to go there at this point. WE WILL GO TO EUROPE, we just don't know when yet."

Mark Arm, 22 Sep '98

"This is to inform you that the VALIS 10 inch/cd is now available at your favorite record store. It is on Mans Ruin records.

VALIS is Van Conner of the Screaming Trees along with Dan Peters of Mudhoney, and Kurt Danielson of Tad. Go check it out today."

Van Conner, 9 Sep '98

"Mudhoney "Tomorrow Hit Today" (Warner/Reprise)

It gives me great pleasure to review this because for once I had practically nothing to do with it. [...] It's great. Buy it. I think I like it better than their last record (which, in the interest of full disclosure, I recorded) [...]. Jim Dickenson's production is very fitting, a step up technically from some of the earlier records [...]. I would have turned up the guitars a wee bit more but this is a very minor quibble; and anyway, the music itself has a lot of space in it to hear the drums, and the actual guitar parts leave holes for the songs to breathe. [...] They opted to spend real record company money on this one for the first time, and you can hear it in the quality room sound on the drums. [...] While the songs by and large are mid-tempo, the band plays them very enthusiastically. [...]

So will this record finally put them over the top? Who knows? I don't hear a "single" anywhere, but they are planning their first full US Tour in years, a step they regrettably skipped for the last record. I hear Warners is even behind them on this one a bit more. It's gonna be interesting to see what happens. Go, team..."

From the Jack Endino home page, Aug '98

"[Asked if he knew about the opening act for the Aug 20 show] Some band w/ Chris Ballew formerly of the Presidents Of The United States Of America. I have no idea what they're called or what they're like. All the bands we wanted to play with were either on tour or playing Bumbershoot 10 days later & since both are put on by the same promoter, he wouldn't let Bumbershoot bands play with us on the 20th."

"[Talking what he had been listening to lately]
Subsonics - Follow Me down
Pere Ubu - Pennsylvania
Pharoah Sanders - Black Unity
The Get It! (raw funk collection on Crypt)
Monster Magnet - Powertrip
Guru Guru - UFO"

"It looks like we're back on the show with Iggy Pop & Pearl Jam in Philadelpia."

Mark Arm, 18 Jul '98

"Mudhoney finally got some music-biz-hot-shot-good-old-boys to record 'em, but INTERESTING ones, not flavor-of-the-month types. I just got (from Bob Whittaker - thanx, Bob!) a copy of the last Clawhammer record, also produced by Jim Dickenson, and I like it very much, and it sounds pretty cool. Expect this record to be Mudhoney's most "hi-fi" sounding record, production-wise, but with good songs; I've heard most of 'em at live shows the past year, so I know the potential. This record might take everyone by surprise... Of course, it could also vanish without a trace; after all, this is the music business we're talking about. I can't imagine a "hit single", for instance, although I thought they should have made a single out of "Crankcase Blues" from the last one. But no one ever listens to me..."

Jack Endino Newsletter #3.2, 5 Jul '98

"[Talking about C/Z Records] One new release will be a new Love Battery album, with Dan Peters and Jason Finn sharing drum duties; Daniel [House, C/Z's boss] says it's their best since "Dayglo".

Jack Endino Newsletter #3.1, 8 Jun '98

"[About the Aug/Sept tour with PJ] We're not playing Philadephia, other than that your information is correct."

"The Cannes Festival is not as big here, but it does get some play in the media. I hadn't hear that Velvet Goldmine had won anything, but I did know that it was up for the "Palm d'or" (or something like that)."

"We mastered the album last week & it sounds fuckin' great!"

Mark Arm, 4 Jun '98

"To let you know, the Fall-Outs finally got a bass player! His name is Zak and we are practicing now in hopes of touring soon and recording an album."

Dino Lencioni, 22 May '98

(visit the official Fall-Outs web site)

"The album is scheduled for a September 22 release in the US. Steve and I are going to LA next week for the mastering. We just decided yesterday which songs are going to be on the album and in what order:

A thousand forms of mind
I have to laugh
Oblivion
Try to be kind
Poisoned water
Real low vibe
This is the life
Night of the hunted
Move with the wind
Ghost
I will fight no more forever
Beneath the valley of the underdog

We're staying in town this summer until late August when we do a handful of shows in the Southeastern US with Pearl Jam. Then we're going to come home and save our energy for touring until after the album comes out."

Mark Arm, 19 May '98

Former Dinosaur Jr bassist Mike Johnson will release his third solo LP on Aug. 11. Produced by Phil Eck (Built To Spill, Modest Mouse), the 12 tracks composing the currently untitled release feature Josh Homme of the former Kyuss playing bass on some tracks and John Atkins of 764-HERO sitting in on others, with Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters taking a seat behind the kit and Johnson handling guitar and vocals. Johnson has also landed opening slots on this summer's Tuatara and Mark Lanegan tours.

Addicted to Noise, 12 May '98

"The [Super Electro] site is being updated, and I guess it's taking a bit longer than expected... Keep telling people they can order the new Mud single from us".

Steve Turner, 26 Apr '98

"[on the recently recorded track "Talkin' Randy Tate's Specter Blues"] I was watching this local government channel, and they were showing this tape of an anti-choice rally in front of the House of Representatives in Washington [D.C.]. And the whole time [former Republican Rep.] Randy Tate was sort-of hovering in the background. He's really pale and balding, and it looked like a fucking skull floating in the background while these people were talking. I sat there glued to the TV for like an hour and a half, horrified. And after I wrote the words to that I found out he's the new executive director for the Christian Coalition. It's very creepy."

Mark Arm, 23 Apr '98, quoted by Addicted to Noise

"The single is out! The official date is April 21, but it's already here and going to the distributors. The songs are 'Night of the Hunted'/'Brand New Face'."

Steve Turner, 13 Apr '98

"We're playing tonight in Seattle with The Ya Ya's and Leatherboy and tomorrow in Portland with The Kent 3 and another band."

"Thursday April 16 we're playing in Sacramento CA, and we're playing San Francisco with the Cosmic Psychos on Friday the 17th (our only show with them). We're playing the last day of Terrastock (which is a 3 day event organised by the fine folks at Ptolemaic Terrascope, a psychedellic music magazine from England) on Sunday the 19th. This is the line-up for Terrastock II:

[The line-up is too long to be included here; I've added it to the tour page.]

"[About the new 7"] It's done. Steve spent last week putting the singles together. I'm not sure what the official release date is though. You might want to ask him."

Mark Arm, 10 Apr '98

"[When I met him in Rome and asked about the Wilde Rattz] Yeah! It's all done, it'll be out! Just email me when I get back home and I'll tell you more!"

Mike Watt, 29 Mar '98

"Wylde Ratttz debut record out soon! Slam-jamming, wailing band features Ron Asheton, Thurston Moore, Steve Shelley, Mark Arm, Sean Lennon, Don Fleming, Jimbo and Watt!"

Mike Watt Home Page, 27 Mar '98

"We're going to LA tomorrow morning to mix the record. I'll let you know how it went in a couple of weeks."

Mark Arm, 23 Mar '98

"Our tour has been shortened.

Mar. 14 - Olympia
Mar. 18 - Seattle
Apr. 11 - Portland
Apr. 17 - San Fran
Apr. 19 - San Fran, Terrastock Festival

The new single should be out in about a month."

Steve Turner, 10 Mar '98

(For additional infos, visit the tour page)

MUDHONEY IN MEMPHIS TO FINISH SEVENTH ALBUM

After laying down initial tracks at Seattle's Studio Litho (owned by Pearl Jam's Stone Gossard), Dickinson insisted that Mudhoney trek to Memphis, Tenn. [...] to complete the recording and mixing of Tomorrow Hits Today, the hard-rocking band's seventh album.

Mudhoney singer Mark Arm said that the band wrote two-dozen songs for the album over the course of the past year [...] with the intent of keeping 12 cuts for the final album. A release is planned for late August or September.

Depending on which songs are chosen, Arm said Tomorrow Hits Today "could be a real bummer record, or it could just be a bummer record -- but in a good way, not disappointing." He thinks it will offer some surprises for the Mudhoney faithful, although it still maintains ties to the band's trademark sound.

"We didn't get off into free jazz or experimental noise or anything," Arm said. "It's still the same band. But I hope when people hear it, they're blown away."

Addicted to Noise, 1 Mar '98

(This is only a resume - read the entire article in the press page)

"We recorded these songs in 12 days (Jan. 7 - 18):

This is the Life
Editions of You (by Roxy Music)
Try to be Kind
Mother's Lament
Move With the Wind
Poisoned Water Poisons the Mind
Night of the Hunted
Ghost (by Cheater Slicks)
Oblivion
The Butterfly Stroke
Drinking for Two
I Will Fight No More Forever
Beneath the Valley
I Have to Laugh
Talkin' Randy Tate Spectre Blues
Brand New Face
Real Low Vibe
A Thousand Forms of Mind
War in Peace (by Skip Spence)

We're going to Memphis this Thursday (Feb 5) to do some overdubs and begin mixing."

Mark Arm, 2 Feb '98

"MUDHONEY'S currently in the studio with the legendary Jim Dickinson of Memphis, recording what's shaping up to be a very twisted record and listening to Jim's endless supply of stories about Bo Diddley, Alex Chilton and the Cramps, among others. Expect a Super Electro 7" in April, and the LP/CD in the Fall, on Reprise. Plan's are also underway for a west coast tour in April to coincide with the Terrastock festival. We might even be able to bring the WWC or the Kent 3 along with us..."

Steve Turner, 21 Jan '98

(From the Super Electro News Page)

"[Still about the forthcoming new LP] I can't imagine that it'll come out before the fall (late August at the earliest). Supposedly summer is a bad time to release a record. We decided yesterday that we're going to mix it in Memphis in early February at Ardent."

"Been listening to The Groundhogs "Thank Christ for the Bomb" and "Split" on the way to the studio for the last couple of days. They're a couple of records from '70 & '71 that Jack Endino turned us on to several years back. Great records."

Mark Arm, 15 Jan '98

"Dan just recorded with Mike Johnson for his next record and yes, Mudhoney did step into the studio on Jan 7. I've gotta run, I have to pick Jim Dickinson up at his hotel on the way to the studio."

Mark Arm, 14 Jan '98

MUDHONEY CELEBRATE 10 YEARS IN SEATTLE; NEW ALBUM ON THE WAY

You might have guessed that Mudhoney's 10th Anniversary show would be a down-homey affair. Joining the band for the occasion on Friday (Dec. 19) at Crocodile Cafe in Seattle were a couple hundred "good friends," a few Friday night drunks tagging along for the hell of it, and ne'er a celebrity in sight. Mudhoney, despite being one of the first Seattle bands to make a worldwide impression at the end of the '80s, never did more than briefly introduce themselves to the star scene and then go their own way.

Despite singer/ guitarist Mark Arm spending much time with his side project Bloodloss; drummer Dan Peters doing likewise with Mike Johnson's band; guitarist Steve Turner running his Super Electro label; and bassist Matt Lukin's dazed answering machine messages being sampled on various records (creating perhaps the biggest party-monster myth this side of John Belushi), Mudhoney is still very much a band.

Friday's show was far from being a one-off event that hauled the band's aging asses off a comfy couch. Unlike grunge's holiest triumvirate of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, and Soundgarden, Mudhoney still regularly plays Seattle's club circuit. For Friday's show, however, the audience members were wearing party hats; there were balloons floating from people's derrieres; and there was a sparkly banner across the back of the small stage proclaiming an event.

And it was an event, in the way that great attitude- free rock shows are. You've never seen glee like the grins on the band's faces as, on behalf of the club's owner Stephanie Buck (wife of R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck), the Crocodile's press representative delayed the show a few minutes, to present them with a silly speech and an impressive trophy. Then it was down to business. And business was taken care of in that Stooges punk- meets- psychedelic pop way that Mudhoney effectively perpetuates.

When Mudhoney finally took the stage, Arm fondly introduced their first- ever recording, "24," referencing the infamous compilation album that included it, Dope, Guns, and Fucking in ihe Street, Volume One. "Volume ONE," Arm insisted, apparently referring to their been- there- in- the- beginning status. The band played a little over an hour, making no apology for the "grunge anthem" parodied in Singles, "Touch Me I'm Sick"; instead they went full fettle with the whole juvenile rebellion ideal.

These days some might call Mudhoney over, but on Jan. 7 they start recording their seventh album at Stone Gossard's Studio Litho, with producer Jim Dickinson (the Replacements) for Reprise, very tentatively set for a July 14 release. Mudhoney is also opening for Pearl Jam in Hawaii on Feb. 20; other dates may be added.

Rocktropolis Allstar (reprinted on the Reprise news page), 5 Jan '98