Everybody Loves Our Town_ An Oral History of Grunge - Mark Yarm [160]
ELIZABETH DAVIS-SIMPSON I felt like Sub Pop was the shit and everyone else was trying to be as good as Sub Pop. Rathouse was really sub-sub-sub-Sub Pop. What I’m trying to say is, that to some people, Sub Pop was really establishment.
STEVE MORIARTY We felt separated from the Sub Pop scene because we were kind of punk purists. We felt more like we belonged in England or in Europe, and we found that people were more welcoming of our sound in Europe. The Gits represented more of the underbelly of Seattle. More of the homeless teenagers—as opposed to the college frat boys and young upwardly mobile cool kids in nice, cool clothes—because we played a lot of all-ages shows. Mudhoney were glamorized in such a way by Sub Pop that a lot of our fans hated them, hated those other bands, and were looking for something different.
SELENE VIGIL-WILK We were constantly called grunge or Riot Grrrl, because that’s what was going on in Seattle at the time. It’s hard to put yourself into a category or perceive yourself as that, ’cause it’s like, “Well, yeah, maybe a little bit, but not totally. Kinda, sorta … but not.” We made aggressive, punky, in-your-face music. They gotta call you something. I get it now.
VALERIE AGNEW We never got labeled grunge that I can remember. That would have been a nice relief. We definitely were considered Riot Grrrl, which was really frustrating for us at the time. Not because we had anything against Riot Grrrl, but we didn’t have anything to do with them. We certainly had feminist ideals and ideologies. We knew those people, loved their bands. Allison from Bratmobile did our very first interview in one of her zines, and I think that’s probably where it started.
DANIEL HOUSE The Gits also didn’t seem to trust the press. There were a lot of opportunities they just said no to. 7 Year Bitch were incredibly friendly and very willing and very eager to talk to the press. They got their asses out there, they did the work, they went to radio interviews.
STEVE MORIARTY 7 Year Bitch were sort of socialites. That’s what you have to do to get popular in music. We were the opposite. Mia would hide in her room and write poetry and songs and was more like Patti Smith than Madonna. Matt was into motorcycles, and Andy was into books. We were more into music for music’s sake; they were into music for the love of the scene. We hated the scene in a lot of ways. Our bands were very different, but we complemented each other. That’s why I think we ended up being such good friends.
DANIEL HOUSE I remember when 7 Year Bitch was on the cover of The Rocket, Steve came to the office and was rather upset with me. He in all seriousness asked me why the Gits hadn’t been on the cover of The Rocket, and I had to explain to him that we try to get all our bands on The Rocket. I had pushed really hard and our publicist had pushed really hard to get The Rocket to pay attention to the Gits, and they just wouldn’t.
COURTNEY MILLER (The Rocket newspaper advertising manager) Whoever got the cover of The Rocket was a big deal in those days. The Rocket’s office, when it moved to Fifth Avenue, was down the hall from C/Z Records and I was good friends with Daniel, so I would get earfuls all the time. Of course, Daniel always thought that Sub Pop got everything and he got nothing. He was like the redheaded stepchild—no pun intended, because he’s got red hair.
DANIEL HOUSE The Gits felt that we were just giving all our attention to 7 Year Bitch and completely ignoring the Gits, which could not have been further from the truth, ’cause within the offices of C/Z not everyone was a 7 Year Bitch fan. But within the offices of C/Z everybody was