Capitol Hill music journalist chronicles Seattle grunge history in new book

Much has been written about Seattle’s music scene during the 1980s and 1990s, but music journalist Gillian G. Gaar’s account in her new book, Grunge! The Story of the Music That Redefined Rock (Motorbooks, 2026), is uniquely first-hand, documenting an important period in Seattle music between 1986 and 1996.

A Capitol Hill resident for more than 40 years, Gaar worked at The Rocket (the music and culture magazine launched on Capitol Hill) from 1983 to 1997 (three years before Sub Pop Records’ founding and three years after the death of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain). She interviewed members of Alice in Chains, Hole, Mudhoney, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees, Sleater-Kinney, Soundgarden, and so many other grunge-era notables. She’s written books about Sub Pop Records and the history of women in rock ‘n’ roll and covered local music for Rolling Stone, The Seattle Times, Seattle Weekly, The Stranger, and dozens of other publications.

Having interviewed Gaar for CHS in 2022, I will be in conversation with her on Weds., Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. at Elliott Bay Book Company (1521 10th Avenue) to mark the publication of her new book. The event is free and open to the public. More information is online here. She will also appear at Unplugged at The Music Project in Cobain’s hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, on Sat., Oct. 24, at 1 p.m. More info here.

After reading Gaar’s book, I was reminded how much local music history she witnessed over the course of her 40-year (and counting) career. Here are a few highlights:

Courtney Love Interview (Oct. 4, 1992) — One month after a controversial profile of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love appeared in Vanity Fair, Gaar landed an interview with Love. “I’d sent in a pitch to Courtney’s management, asking for an interview with her for The Rocket,” Gaar writes. “She unexpectedly called me at home one Sunday evening and agreed to talk. We met at the Garden Court at Seattle’s posh Four Seasons Hotel for tea and cucumber sandwiches, with [daughter] Frances sleeping in a baby carrier on a chair beside us.” Gaar found Love to be intelligent, savvy, loquacious, and even good-humored while the rocker took aim at the Vanity Fair piece. “That evening,” Gaar adds, “we went to the Crocodile Café to watch Nirvana open for Mudhoney in a secret show that hadn’t been announced to the public. They didn’t play ‘Teen Spirit.’”

Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged Performance (Nov. 18, 1993) — Gaar landed a spot on the guest list thanks to friend and cellist Lori Goldston, who was touring with Nirvana. “The heavy drapes, the candles, and the profusion of stargazer lilies gave an autumnal glow to the room,” Gaar writes. “The atmosphere was relaxed; I saw Dave Grohl casually wandering around with a beer. Though Lori later told me everyone had been nervous (they hadn’t done a complete dress rehearsal), that wasn’t apparent in the performance. Between numbers, the band chatted amiably with the audience; when Kurt asked for requests, one wag called out ‘Jeremy!’ The most spine-tingling moment was the last song, a chilling rendition of Lead Belly’s ‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night’ that remains seared in one’s memory.”

Pearl Jam’s Self-Pollution Radio Broadcast (Jan. 8, 1995) — Gaar dropped in on this live broadcast hosted by Eddie Vedder and picked up by stations in Seattle and beyond. “The Rocket had been invited to send a reporter, and I was the lucky one tapped to make my way to an inconspicuous house on Aurora Avenue North (a house I’d never pass by again without wondering what was going on inside),” Gaar writes. “There was a relaxed, casual vibe to the event; that of friends hanging out, drinking beers. The Fastbacks, Mudhoney, and Soundgarden all performed short sets. Mad Season made a rare live appearance. Krist Novoselic read from a book he was working on. A few tracks were previewed from Dave Grohl’s upcoming Foo Fighters project. Pearl Jam naturally played, performing many of the tracks from Vitalogy for the first time.”