Remarkable People: Making a Difference in the Northwest; Interview with Bruce Pavitt, Tape 6

suddenly freak out now clearly that's really funny because i don't know exactly what that does not ok ok susan jaeger says that's one way of interpreting it but until you run up right now that's really not how i looked at it and i just looked at it to sound basically people having a good time and and there's some special effects thrown into the video just kind of manipulate the image an instant interpretation three guys having fun doesn't sound as that becomes a little announcement to a different country you may be

right i really i think that part of marx artistry really lies in his ability to create a mood and i think that his only son david you very appropriate to the song i hear you're saying something on those shots out of five in the morning downtown seattle people are just waking up on some really beautiful work with the lighting there and i just think it really serves as a very melancholy sound it just really starts emotional chord odds against them we did

gary alcoholics anonymous she used her heart on novel writing as john ydstie yeah in the future i think so and so oh yeah well i think that stumbling man as the kind of video that really could be a gang we're talking about how a person could could be a work of art and walk away thinking one thing and the other thing that some people that want to end the gusher really wanting to completely wasted and walk in front of an oncoming car some people might walk away thinking well maybe have a lot of things didn't get really wasted and walk in front of her so again it's it's completely up to the individual's interpretation some people might say is a completely social irresponsibility of some people might say is a powerful work of art that affected the way and lead my life

stopped so that's that's my only point i think it's just crucial not to consistently put out bland to modernize images that time they really don't like the major labels do you yourself to send myself i think it's a hilarious comedy so i think i think it sets pure slapstick and down i don't i don't really see the tragedy in icy icy comedy and so that's my interpretation i think it's hilarious i laughed the whole way through but then again i know that people put together video and i know this sense of humor is like so again that's gonna come my perceptions of you

i think so i think it's literally driven or our company is just a sense of irony and not being too didactic or too strident on to throw things out that people really have to question will invading serious or not and the use of ironic humor i think this is really what's for one thing kept people with is the glue that funds the company because if you can have until every once awhile then you might as well be working a bone books the visit is that with their and three yeses movies that a bit more wealth probably yeah it a i don't

need their one group of artists are very sensitive really good songwriters are precedents ivins as humanists on but that's only nine percent of patients thank you sir well it's this fine should say that because it's that's one of the head a few are as the federal prison i can actually understand where it's not that i can remember that and that clearly but that i think that's that's a real legitimate comments about a lot of the music we put out is that sometimes because as that the real physical volume i began to construct a real deep emotional cord blood new kind of local what are the lyrics me after leading for them in frankly

it i see a swing back towards more emphasis on american and quieter music and if you'll notice that some many actually been signing kind of fall into that category we're not you know we're not committed to ear shattering rock music we just like putting out music that we like in our moods change as well as the public scene and so you can hear a real diversity music from from the label a lot again a list of the really made our label was some of the louder rock music that isn't necessarily a fair representation of overdoing it now how will you be my career merrick the us the narration that's probably part of it for over thirty years

indiana's for are thirteen years or one of the builders working bands in seattle they've always worked independently we really relates their independent spirit to put up your own records for a long time they play music because they like to their only seven find that haven't gotten burned out idea and sound we enjoy working with them or just think theyre great rock n roll band and it just been such an integral part of the seattle music scene for years away before we even started the company and it is a real pleasure to be working on something sure can luong when the guitarists in the group should sell the videos for the group and i think it's really ideal and when one of the actual musicians treat severe because i really believe that that the group should be the air is much greater controls possible and really be as involved as possible and in

all aspects of their career that's a good question well i think we have we when we first started out we felt it was really important too to focus on this region of all a strong identity in the marketplace i'll work with our friends oh right nay on the past couple of years we've been in a transition because we really want to reach out to other communities can create a network you know i'm still bans in dallas they can play with the reverend horton heat is from dallas and when the roads in seattle he can play with one of our group secretive critters underground railway of of regional rock n roll bands it can and support each other so as as basic theory that's really the way i like to see the company going and

certainly the reverend horton heat scanning revved of rockabilly and blues guitar is certainly very different from what's coming out here but he retains some of the flavor of his environment i think and it's really a minute an appropriate act for texas and really kind of this in residence there because so what explains can change the roots of his culture and like to see again as an hour for these different groups reflecting on communities having us really interesting that way to me people of what is the roots of our culture our music here how would you describe what is it typically lasts well there's a lot of different ways you can say that but i think there's a tradition here of all of rock and roll i mean if you look at the sixties with the sonics louie louie came out of the northwest alone it's it's a it's a culture where people don't spend three hundred days you're playing volleyball on the beaches it's real nice added ten the shack up new

horizon turn of the amps and rock caps on so i mean has a real tradition here of rock n roll and were part of a tradition that is there is yes sir what kind of rock mr barry well it's it's really it's really not not an exact science but so nice a rocker on him loud to independently spirited rock and roll i mean it's a really think there's a real libertarian fields a lot of the people not to us if we look at oregon and washington state and whether you're leaning to the left or the right i think a lot of people moved out here because they don't want government on their backs they want to be able to live their lives the way they want to whether they're survivalists act up in the mountains or you know grunge rockers training videos and your parents seen out says i think there's there's a road there's more libertarian spirit hear that again isn't rooted in tradition people wanna live

their own lives the way they want to and one government off their backs and i think that spirit says she and i think you see that in the music i'm the death defying the refugees and the reality here without are yeah the scariest part this is stacy generation absolutely right i think that's a very good point to think that a lot of the music that we started the label off this really really angry rock and roll and grated buying kids in growth and trailer home's over working tommy and a trade schools or have you i think that a lot of people miss this country could relate to that and if you look the culture in the eighties it was our lifestyles of the rich and famous it was

madonna making million dollars it was prince making millions of dollars would have you there was accessories luxury own we sarah label rider on those same time is so odd that huge stock market crash with a god black friday or black monday wearing his event on and the terminology down but you can just sense that that that there were a lot of people who really weren't part of that who felt ignored or disenfranchised and we can just really see that coming end and when one with our instincts and we felt that a lot of these people again who just been denied opportunities that were just desperately striking struggling to express themselves and to just have some dignity alm were creating music and want to create music in the silvery really tapped into after not one and there's no place for a lot of young

people these days this year's tightly written in the thirties is double yes and they don't have the time we speak to them olen this is really different from the question is as they were just a generation to answer yeah well it's very cold it was you know i had i had to speak in such broad terms here even with such a cliche but we really are living in an extremely transitional period right now in our country and just the job base is changing so dramatically i think a lot of people are under are nervous and a little bit scared you know it's really this hard to to get a house or to even begin to have a family i'm just a lot of the basic desires of people have the really

struggling with right now and town from my point of view i can see more and more people trying to get involved in the music industry because it's either that or washing dishes or working with dolls or something like that so just from an economic standpoint it i see this every day people just sing while nirvana did it you know i'm going on a play guitar in that whole dream of somehow by going to hollywood during the thirties and becoming a movie star you know i think that same thing to a certain extent is so is happening now with music people are packing up their station wagon and moving to seattle and you know getting out of the dust bowl and trying to try to earn a little little work here and so it's a very intense period in our history and it'll be interesting to see what happens with lars government claims president's office some exciting time i think because it was just a little bit of creative energy we can probably turn things around events and

now i do now i i i am optimistic i think that people just need to be shown a little respect and given a little bit of opportunity again from my point of view in the music business during the eighties the major labels basically shut out a whole all these young groups basically said we're just going to focus on bruce springsteen and michael jackson and create a superstar blockbuster system that essentially lock people out and the independent grassroots levels essentially saying that's unacceptable you know they're talented people out there that are people everywhere we just simply need to give them an opportunity we did that for nirvana there are three people that there is this talent everywhere united immigrants growing up in aberdeen washington you know the likelihood of a young kid driving a high school level in washington creating some art and they can become a

multimillionaire over a two year period time yet the odds aren't great you now but it does show you that little purse and there isn't a lot to say that anything can happen you know and i came out the fields i am pretty optimistic and that's that's that i think if you're not optimistic vision transparent business otherwise to get to none of this is new at the focus of reasons why you saw that picture because i was this you know really doing things that anger is well insist

iaea to mention that sound you know it's in the arts and entertainment businesses works in cycles for everything works in cycles rights of a hero it really loud rock n roll for a few years and it's like wow you know maybe some of that although zoellick has big donors don't sense of bad right now so it's just you things are constantly in flux and town it's it's hard to tell right now are deciding a lot of different groups with different sounds and just gone with aaron stinson you kind of slick we deport you know discount fee on what is your the case he has to leave the theater oh yeah yeah it on my gut instincts just tell me am i reject board tells me that i think there's going to be a swing back towards stuff like that that's one of the reasons i conjure music so popular right now because russia music tells a story you can understand the lyrics and that's why a lot of oh i've you know there's such a

huge rise in country music i think a lot of country music is really gotten away from its roots become too bland and suburban along which is why i think that there will always be a market for stuff that's a little more provocative or that touches a nerve that that you know the bigger stars one won't touch but the important thing is just being able to listen to what other people are going through because that can be really comforting you traditionally we've always believed or not armed with fur for good songwriters and even though summer some merely groups are really really loud along we felt the willard started you're not of the century there was some songwriting believe they're so that's real is live from inside amy and we look for personal use it can really come across in a live situation and unilaterally concern to the people use phones develop you know

while this person's may zing you know maybe they're a guy who maybe they're the greatest love the world isn't going to come out next but you just get a certain sense of of peoples' potential notes that's kind of what will we do is strike a second guess what people what people are capable of and star working with them because you're playing a social chemistry is a lot of things can happen you stayed it's right teaching also volunteer lynn gray in a dropout you know it's just it really wasn't a social chemistry and bmw people's attention i think so i think so that's yeah it is i've tried and i have confidence in that the only one that really comes from driving working in the in for alternative education and being putting earl freeform environment where teachers basically going up driven up to director elia

viviani our use who in this organization interest you know you'd like to work with you know and you really have to kind of feel things out and take your own initiative as opposed to just sitting and being told what to do all the time of enforcement information so that's that's a lot of my background is just stumbling through life traveling from your mistakes and feeling people out and feeling situations out an end you know besides yourself whether you're going to pursue that they have to one more in your intuition we ring when the audience the diners at apple yes you're right very well little little bit of both you know i was i i i i have a lot of friends but i was i was so

kind and the fringe a lot you know starting my little projects and a lot of people that didn't like me but at the same time that a lot of people that like you know and so people tended to have an opinion and i didn't fit in comparably end and just kind of sit there and in the middle class or whatever so you'll love mayor has grown up when scannell is now so deep to the supreme court this i come from a relatively large family and you know my parents raise six kids the other six kids in six years tremendous achievement the over again tomorrow and so there was on that there was a certain regimentation family have to just to make sure all the kids even get to sleep on time so forth so there are times i felt like i was going up in an army barracks or

something but you can understand the sentiment of organization you know you can react and personally i like you know huge children tend to react against that at least i didn't always looking for a break from reaching because it's certainly not routine at home and so that's one of the things are really drives me is just trying to break out of routine and the desserts medina says i know it i came from i get really solid know my parents worked my father worked for the cross was to open a chance to travel around to different nursing home and saying make sure all classes are taking care and so forth i remember one day a wonderful world a workday ray got to spend a day with tear your folks in our member dr grant is different or singers

of my dad knows as interesting to say different side of your father and so forth in the same terms interaction work that my mother is always been involved in social work usually is a school social worker so is very active with with jensen you say you're a very depressing home environments and i'm kind of coming back with some of that information so i got to feel for or maybe with term some other some other less fortunate children were rippling through the movement presumably right now in india yet now i i know you you mean i think around i just i mean i know i don't just think it you know the way to look at a unique person and

really checking people are self educated you know again going back to my my educational background analog do we worked with maybe necessarily didn't go to college but that doesn't mean that they're not intelligent and it i have more respect for people's self educated than people who went to college pretend that they learn something that can madden under a boring job you know that's those were my cynicism creeps in you're not settled yet a vast low the company that we talk about the attitudes you add a sense of competition now that you're so wealthy it is that whole thing well you are absolutely and that's

actually what i've been trying to say the key is focusing on regional the realm of talent that's in india's to me were were working in detroit indeed seeing in boston and in nova scotia in san francisco were working with a lot of different groups who come from different communities different scenes is at work with different sounds and you're absolutely right you cannot so you cannot invest everything into one movement or perceived moment would happen no thats thats thats just bad business you know how long you have to work at the diversity personality immersed in different styles and that's really what we've done over the past couple years i think our roster right now even though essentially iraq and reliable person there are a lot of very different personalities have some of them to work with don't necessarily appreciate or is that some of the other groups in alison won slowly one big happy family when we started out a lot of people knew each other from the same community

that now there's you know there's certain with diversity comes with sort of working for i don't know it can't fit the rise the icons kahn's conflict sometimes you know i think absolutely sorry ages arose re know when we worked with a lot of different women law differently than a lot of the because essentially been a clearinghouse or regional music in the united states would probably put on more music than any other indie label i can think of that a lot of seven inch singles the groups are the list goes on with with where you know we were twins and the bottom line is that there's more men involved in the music industry but say just from a business point here again because it's a smart business for an indie label to work with people were disenfranchised from the mainstream and budget

would dictate that since women are shut out of them a streaming music has fewer opportunities that maybe it's just purely smart business to work with with these women who are being shut out and now syria seymour more that this has happened organically they're contrite you know we certainly one of work with with women but we're not going to work with him and just to work with women is pure tokenism really really believe in any of the tactics that he it i get that i coming from a little ride around carrying around tremendously revealed some believe anything about that kind of stuff all the time on many things have to happen organically i think seattle is a city is very much my biggest complaints about cells very segregated city you know you walk around chicago and the summit's want that diversity and frankly that that is one of things that really conservatives is why latino neighborhood

that's i think that's really really very integrated and i think that's really important something i feel good about because it's it's stimulating to get in touch with different culture points of view that a man makes life interesting and one of the big complaints i would say generally about the label that om you know there were a lot of men a lot of white man and job but again i think it's kind of reflective of this community certainly there are plenty of in seattle is plain black and asian arts and so forth but that doesn't necessarily mean you not i mean i it i can walk into a hip hop club and say hey work with mainland people don't know me you know you have to use rocco community here is this is the way it has us that's something i really like you know and it really bothers me

in a lot of ways more as you can go to some citizens it's more integrated in and that's i mean rock and roll star with the commission country and blues and gospel you know that's there's her culture takes office on different points of you come together so that's the direction i would like to see it philosophically speaking the company going to best they have organic foods it's a difficult thing it's a lot easier thing to talk about them to actually get going in our civil rights movement great idea but we are twenty years later where we're so this is your seventh grade as be as

beakman beakman it's been the