To many, Green River is seen as the seminal "
grunge" band, and were at least the first band to release an album on the
Sub Pop Records label. The band was formed in
1984 by
Jeff Ament on bass, drummer Alex Shumway, guitarist/vocalist Mark Arm and Steve Turner, who had previously played guitar for
Mr. Epp. The line-up was expanded with the addition of former
Ducky Boys/
March Of Crimes guitarist
Stone Gossard, and after Gossard joined, they began playing Seattle's north-west scene. By 1985, they had played live with
The Melvins on the
Deep Six compilation, released a six-song EP,
Come On Down, for Homestead records, and were playing several of the same clubs as Seattle metal-monsters
Soundgarden.
Green River produced a 12-inch EP called
Dry as a Bone in 1987 with the help of Sub Pop owner Bruce Pavitt, when he turned the cassette-based
fanzine into a true record label.
Bruce Fairweather of Deranged Diction joined the band when Turner left, and in May 1988 they released the EP
Rehab Doll. The band, however, was already falling apart. Irreperable differences between Arm and Ament led to them splitting a month after Rehab Doll's release.
Arm and Turner teamed up with ex-Melvins bassist Matt Lukin and drummer Dan Peters.
Mudhoney was the happy result of this lineup. Ament, Gossard and Fairweather joined forces with ex-
Malfunkshun vocalist
Andy Wood and drummer Regan Hagar to form the short-lived
Mother Love Bone. After Wood's heroin overdose in March 1990, that band folded. Gossard and Ament formed the megaband
Pearl Jam.
And so it was that Green River became the
foundation for two of the most influential bands in
the 90s' most important rock movement.
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/green_river/bio.jhtml
formerly a cut-and paste. is no longer so. sorry.