🧦The Crocodile and Grunge Era Seattle
The Crocodile in Seattle, Design of Nirvana's Nevermind Cover, The Grunge Aesthetic, Charles Peterson photos, Marco Collins radio DJ, Arvin Goods...
Arvin News
Happy Sunday,
This week we released a new partnership sock with The Crocodile here in Seattle. “The Croc” is one of the most iconic music venues in music history. The original version of the club was a cafe in the front, with a (approximately) 500 person music venue behind a retractable wall. It opened in the Belltown neighborhood in Seattle April 30, 1991. This was crazy timing, as they were in prime position for the grunge scene that was exploding out of the city. For over 30 years the venue has prided itself on being supportive of the local music scene, but also accessible by the touring industry, and at that 500 person size they get an act just before they explode. You can name any national touring artist or band and if they played Seattle in the past 30 years, coming up, they likely played The Croc. The list of artists who have played this stage is mind-blowing. Seriously.
A few months back, a mutual friend who was doing some work for The Croc wanted to add some new, updated merchandise, they reached out about doing some socks with us. The best part from our side was not that an Arvin Goods product would be for sale at The Croc, but the socks would also be used as a gift to artists who are on the road along with some other items from the club before heading out to their next stop. If you have ever toured for more than a week or so, one of the primary things you want is a fresh pair of clean socks. Done and done!
We could go on and on about this place, it really is that special but it would be better if you read THIS article from Fifty Grande in 2021 “The Untold Story of Seattle’s Crocodile Cafe, An Oral History”🐊🧦
Enjoy the news below, and have a great week!
Hope you enjoy today’s Clean Up. We would love to hear from you. Comment here on substack hit us on social, or email us at info@arvingoods.com. Have a great week. Cheers,
Team AG ✌️🧦
Stories Of The Week…
Design
The Designer of Nirvana’s Nevermind Cover on Shooting Babies and Working with Kurt Cobain - Milanote
When it was released in 1991, Nirvana’s Nevermind sent shockwaves through the music world. It brought alternative rock to the mainstream and almost overnight made Nirvana the biggest band in the world. The record went on to sell over 30 million copies and is widely considered to be one of the greatest albums of all time.
Part of Nevermind’s success was almost certainly due to its incredible cover, created by Robert Fisher. The cover now features in the Museum of Modern Art’s collection and is regarded as a design classic. But before Nevermind’s release, Nirvana were an unknown band and Fisher was an equally unknown graduate working at Geffen. He explains what happened next.👶🏼🤘
Fashion
How the Grunge Aesthetic Stands the Test of Time - Vogue
Born in the ’80s at the beginning of Seattle’s rock-music renaissance, the grunge aesthetic didn’t truly blossom until the early ’90s. But before it became a full-fledged fashion phenomena, it was a counterculture and an ethos—one that was fueled by a burgeoning roster of indie bands who blended metal and punk to create a groundbreaking new sound.
“It could have been sludge, grime, crud, any word like that,” Jonathan Poneman, founder of the genre-defining record label Sub Pop—who is largely credited for coining the term—told The New York Times in 1992. Regardless, the whole point was that the sound—and ultimately, the grunge aesthetic—wasn’t squeaky clean. It was gritty, raw, and distorted; it was Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains. 🎸📜
Photography
Stage-diver at an early Nirvana gig – Charles Peterson’s best photograph - The Guardian
In the late 1980s I was working at Sub Pop records in Seattle as a jack of all trades, and also doing in-house photography. One evening I went to see the label’s new signings, Nirvana, but I just didn’t get it. I didn’t even photograph them that night, as I wasn’t impressed. But that all changed very quickly. I heard their debut album, Bleach, and was blown away. And the next time I saw them I was like, “Oh my God, this is not the same band.” Kurt Cobain was doing Pete Townshend jumps and it was a crazy show. I photographed the band for years after that, taking thousands of pictures. They knew my work before I knew them as a band, so I think they trusted me from the get-go. It was the same with the other grunge bands I photographed – I was just another local dude, I wasn’t parachuting in from New York or London.
Seattle had a reputation for wild audiences. We were enthusiastic and physical without being violent. It seemed natural to me to include the audience in my photos, because it’s all part of that cathartic interaction between musicians and their fans.
📷🔈
Entertainment
The Seattle DJ Who Introduced Nirvana to the World | I Was There - VICE - YouTube
Marco Collins is a radio DJ credited with putting Seattle on the map in the 1990’s by breaking bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam during his time as Music Director at Seattle’s 107.7 ‘The End.’ Marco has been called the mad conductor behind the 90's grunge explosion and his contributions to music history even landed him a spot in The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. In this episode of I Was There, Marco talks about how his passion for supporting Seattle's underground music scene led to the international stardom of music's biggest rock stars like Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder.
'The Clean Up' is a weekly newsletter that mixes in some Arvin Goods news, products, as well as stories we saw during the week that are worth a share. From books to podcasts, sustainability to business news, we try to keep it interesting, and fun. If you are not a subscriber, sign up and join everyone who receives The Clean Up directly in their inbox every Sunday.