Remembrances of a Lamestain

Over the weekend I watched Hype!, a 1996 documentary about the Seattle music scene. I hadn’t seen it since it originally came out, and was happy to see it has aged really well. The film is a thoroughly entertaining look at the overblown grunge phenomenon, and it brought back a flood of memories for me. I thought I’d share a few of them here.

When this film was being shot in and around Seattle, it was common knowledge and reported in the local media. Local promoters hastily arranged several shows for the filmmakers, and several shows were advertised as being for a documentary. I remember me and my buddy Paul were ticked when we found out about the Fastbacks show – we read about it 3 or so days after it occurred, there hadn’t been time to advertise it. We weren’t upset that we weren’t there for the filming; we were just upset to miss a Fastbacks show. We never missed a Fastbacks show! They played at the Colourbox in Pioneer Square, a very atypical venue for them, warming up for the Posies. We weren’t upset about missing the Posies.

The Blood Circus and Love Battery footage was shot at the Off Ramp. The Off Ramp was an absolute craphole, the ultimate “grunge” venue. At the time, there was nothing grungier in the city of Seattle than the restrooms at the Off Ramp! The lineup that evening also featured Chemistry Set, and admission was only one dollar – this was, no doubt, to assure a big crowd for the filmmakers. But what really brought out the masses that evening was the rumor that Soundgarden would also be playing (not that I really cared, I was never a fan). My friend Paul insisted he had heard this from someone he knew who worked at the club, so maybe they started the rumor themselves? Who knows, but when we got inside (a real chore – the place was mobbed), even the set lists on the soundboard showed “??” listed as the fourth and final act. Watching people come in, we couldn’t help but notice that this wasn’t the usual crowd – too many backwards baseball caps, and way too many sorority girls who apparently had never been anywhere near the Off Ramp in their lives. The rumor, along with the prospect of being in a movie, no doubt brought in these people – under normal circumstances, there would not have been a sellout line down the block for this lineup. Blood Circus, an older band who had just reformed due to a compilation CD being issued, played first. They announced to the crowd “if you haven’t heard of us before, look at the latest issue of The Rocket.” The Rocket was a local music paper, and there was a picture of an old flier in the recent issue showing Blood Circus headlining over Nirvana. Well, there’s a reason you’ve heard of Nirvana but have never heard of Blood Circus – they weren’t very good! Still, that didn’t stop the crowd from moshing it up and performing for the cameras. Next up was Chemistry Set. During their set they asked the crowd “How many of you are here to see Soundgarden?” Then they started laughing – hoax exposed! At this point, people started leaving. By the time Love Battery came on, half of the capacity crowd had already left. We found that to be pretty amusing.

The Mudhoney and Dead Moon footage was from an all ages show at the Oddfellows Hall in the Capital Hill neighborhood. This was the only show I ever saw at that venue, except for a Fastbacks show we saw in the same building but in a different room. It was a benefit for C.U.R.S.E., an organization dedicated to saving the local commercial free radio station. This show wasn’t advertised as being filmed, but we all noticed the cameras – the rumor was that it was being filmed by the police department, so it was a surprise seeing these performances in the movie. I’ve actually spotted myself and a few of my friends in the Dead Moon footage. The Fall-Outs also played that evening. It’s a shame they aren’t featured in the movie, they were (and still are) a great band. In my opinion, they’re better than the majority of the bands featured in the movie.

There is also footage of several bands (Hammerbox, the Gits, Seven Year Bitch) filmed at Rock Candy – I honestly can’t recall if I was at any of these shows! I know I saw these bands many times at Rock Candy, but whether or not I was at these shows is something lost to the mists of time (not to mention the passage of many brain cells). The li’l woman was at the Mono Men show filmed at the 3B in Bellingham, where she was attending college at the time. She had a friend who knew the owners, and was allowed to hang out afterwards with the filmmakers and help herself to their cooler of beer.

There is plenty of other great footage, and many informative interviews, in this film. Most amusing are highlights from the Young Fresh Fellows Japanese tour (check out the kids doing the synchronized dancing!). Gas Huffer, the Supersuckers (long before their cowboy shtick), the Melvins, Seaweed, and Some Velvet Sidewalk all put on entertaining performances. Flop is seen in the studio recording demos with Kurt Bloch. Shaky footage of Nirvana’s first ever performance of Smells Like Teen Spirit is featured. The Seattle music scene is tracked from regional phenomenon, to overblown national obsession, finally resulting in media overkill and eventual backlash. Most importantly, you get the whole story on the infamous “lexicon of grunge.”

Personal memories aside, this is an interesting look at one of the great blips on the pop culture radar of the 1990’s. The DVD has some cool extras, and I’m looking forward to watching it again with the director’s commentary. Well worth your time, unless you’re a cob nobbler.