DUFF MCKAGAN Talks About The Seattle SoundDuff McKagan (
VELVET REVOLVER, DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED, ex-GUNS N' ROSES) talks about the Seattle "sound" in the latest installment of his column which appears at SeattleWeekly.com. Check out an excerpt below:
"When I moved to L.A in 1984, I noticed gear just plain sounded different. I'm not kidding.
Another big difference that I noticed outside of Seattle was a real sense of competition between bands that were playing on the same bill or in the same "scene." In Seattle, there was just really none of that. Bands would loan each other gear and the use of a rehearsal basement and van or pickup for getting to gigs. Musical ideas up here were thought to be a thing to share, not to closet. This really led to a identifiable "sound" of sorts.
I'm not quite sure just why
NIRVANA has become arguably the most beloved band from this era that made the 'Seattle sound' famous.
ALICE IN CHAINS were among the first of that era, and have withstood the test of time (and . . . death).
SOUNDGARDEN pushed the edges of musicianship to the edges of genius, and are seemingly back.
PEARL JAM have been the clarion-steady thing — always selling out arenas everywhere they go (no matter if there is a current "radio song" or not).
The MELVINS? MUDHONEY?
This Loaded effort can also be associated with the Seattle sound and some of the aforementioned bands in that it was produced by a fella by the name of Terry Date. Terry produced or recorded a whole slew of these early demos and records, and he produced our new Loaded record. The studio is the same, too (Studio X nee Bad Animals). The way he mikes up drums and guitar cabinets is the same. The way he pushes a vocal through on his mixes is the same. Dry and hard and tough, and without bluster or shine. Just brutal. In other words: the same old Terry Date. He sorta rules.
So what does the 'Seattle sound' mean today? If you are over, say, 35 years old, well then you probably equate it to these bands above. But one of the great things that happens up here is a change of identity, a constant evolution."
Read more
here.