Sub Pop Legends, Bruce Pavitt, Mark Baumgarten visit CWU for book signing

Angelica Bartorelli, Staff Reporter
April 24, 2015

IMG_0938Jonathan Glover

The grunge music scene has been a solid foundation for the culture of the Pacific Northwest since the ’80s. The progression from underground music into a mainstream setting is a result of Bruce Pavitt, founder of Sub Pop records, who was one of the legends that visited Central for 88.1 The ‘Burg’s Sub Pop Day.

Matt Baumgarten, Seattle Weekly Music editor and author of “Love Rock Revolution: K Records and the Rise of Independent Music,” set the tone for the event by reading the New Pop Manifesto from Sub Pop USA. An excerpt states: “Once adventurous bands who now opt for major label contracts are immediately becoming the robot slaves of a system that is interested in one thing only: money.

IMG_0935Jonathan Glover
Sub Pop has inspired a wide variety of age groups and left a thumbprint on peoples’ lives, creating an underground scene that is now stronger than ever.

Evolving from Evergreen State College’s radio show on KAOS-FM, Subterranean Pop evolved into a punk/new wave inspired fanzine in March 1980, and printed until 1983. From 1983-1988, Pavitt focused on regional band reviews for The Rocket. Sub Pop USA is a collection that ranges from 1980-1988 and features a reprint of all the rare Sub Pop fanzines as well as the Rocket regional reviews and essays done by Johnson.

Sub Pop earned its name by representing bands that were underground (subterranean) and looking for a platform to springboard them into the top of the charts, which is exactly what the independent label has been doing, Pavitt said.

IMG_0918Jonathan Glover
Pavitt focuses on the influence of Sub Pop that is still alive today in his book “Experiencing Nirvana: Grunge in Europe 1989,” recounting his journey with Nirvana, Mudhoney and TAD during Lamefest ’89.

As for the success of Sub Pop, Pavitt said he remembered the moment when he knew the label was making history.

“When we had the Sub Pop flag flying from the top of the Space Needle,” Pavitt said. “It kinda sunk in then.”

Pavitt, who left Sub Pop in 1996, is still on the board of directors, and sees the future of Sub Pop as a bright one.

“Personally,” Pavitt said. “I see [Sub Pop] continuing to maintain its support of unique artists with personality.”