I think so much of our society is geared towards mainstream media and pop culture and so forth. And there's a huge divide between the artist and the fan. And with indie culture that wall is removed. You actually do see the musicians walking around enjoying the show. It's a distinctly different culture and for the 99% of Nirvana fans that caught up with them with Nevermind, my book is gonna give them a whole different take on Kurt [Cobain] and the band.

Bruce Pavitt

Categorized in : Thinking Book Wall

People are hard-wired for tribal identity. by Bruce Pavitt

People are hard-wired for tribal identity.

hard identity people

I had no real photography experience, thankfully. I consciously took a lot of crowd shots. I was influenced by Seattle photographer Charles Peterson, who always seemed to incorporate fans in his live band shots.

fans photography real

There's no school you can go to where you can study how to run a record label. Every day was a learning experience.

records running school

I love the dynamic contrast between the spontaneous shots and the... by Bruce Pavitt

I love the dynamic contrast between the spontaneous shots and the more formal, pro-rock-star photos.

spontaneous rocks stars

I was a history major in school. I review the past a lot and think about music history and how culture unfolds.

past school thinking

Music careerists from Seattle would typically move to the closest... by Bruce Pavitt

Music careerists from Seattle would typically move to the closest media center, which was L.A.

seattle media moving

The idea of having an indie rock "career" while living in a remote backwater like Seattle was too ridiculous to contemplate. It was simply about having adventures, one day at a time, one song at a time.

rocks song adventure

I think in times of crisis it's the artists' responsibility to di... by Bruce Pavitt

I think in times of crisis it's the artists' responsibility to dig a little deeper.

artist responsibility thinking

I can fully understand [that] artists want to be able to pay their bills. As a fan of art, and art as a way to shift dialogue and address cultural issues, there's a part of me that's really, really saddened by that and can't really relate to it.

addresses issues art

Indie rock is very healthy, there's a lot of diversity and a lot of creativity, but it does not have the revolutionary spirit of the late-70s punk scene in regards to design and politics and fashion and stuff like that.

rocks creativity fashion