It's impossible to hear the term Grunge and not think of the Seattle rock bands that were successful in the 80s and 90s. However, Soundgarden guitarist and co-founder Kim Thail seems to disagree with this common perception.
In a recent interview with YouTuber Peter Thorn , the musician reflected on the label used to describe bands of that era, stating that – contrary to popular belief – Grunge was much more of a "marketing ploy" than a term actually used among the artists themselves.
“People stayed true to the punk ethic, and Seattle was doing things differently. We knew that. But we didn’t think of it as grunge – that was a marketing ploy,” he said.
The Seattle Sound
During the interview, Kim Thail also recalled how Seattle bands came to adopt the identity that became known as grunge. According to the guitarist, it all started after the release of the compilation Deep Six in 1986, which featured artists such as the Melvins , Green River , Skin Yard , Malfunkshun , The U-Men , and Soundgarden themselves.
“We had the feeling that there was a particular stylistic identity coming out of Seattle. Several bands in the underground punk movement were using slower time signatures, instead of those of hardcore punk,” he explained.
For Kim, there was never a direct intention to create a new genre, but rather a natural process, driven by particular musical influences and passions. “When we started, we didn’t even know what we were doing, we were just trying to play while accommodating the vocals. Chris wasn’t inclined to scream fast behind the drums with some weird time signature, our interest was in things we were writing, in the way we were playing, we kind of moved away from hardcore,” she stated.
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