Mudhoney Articles
Rocktropolis Allstars
22 December '97
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.
