Mudhoney are currently formed by:
Mark Arm - Vocals and Guitar
Steve Turner - Guitar
Dan Peters - Drums
Guy Maddison – Bass
Matt Lukin - Original bass player is now retired.
2.2.- When did the band Mudhoney form? Are the members still the same?
The band form in January 1988 in Seattle and for twelve years the members were the same, making them one of the few Northwestern bands with no line-up changes until Matt Lukin decided to retire from music. He is now replaced by Guy Madisson.
2.3.- How did Mudhoney get together?
The band actually started around Halloween 1987 after Green River broke up, at the time Steve was playing with Ed Fotheringham and Dan, but according to Steve Ed lost interest when he found out that they really will practice. Then Matt start coming from Aberdeen after his day job to play. When Matt was asked by Mark to join the band, Matt suggested Dale Crover (Melvins, Nirvana) to be the drummer, but Mark said that they had “this guy named Dan Peters who would have a lot more star potential”.
2.4.- When are the birthdays of the band members?
Mark Arm - February 21 1962
Matt Lukin - August 16 1964
Dan Peters - August 18 1967
Steve Turner - March 28 1965
2.5.- Where were the members of the band born?
Mark - Seattle, WA
Steve - North Capitol Hill, WA
Matt - Aberdeen, WA
Dan - Seattle, WA
Guy - Ballard, WA
2.6.- What other bands have the members of Mudhoney been in?
Mark: Mr Epp And The Calculations, The Limp Richerds, Jack Klugman & The Ice Picks, Green River, The Thrown-Ups, Bushpigh, The Monkeywrench, Bloodloss, Wylde Ratttz, B.t.V.o.t.U & The New Strychnines.
Steve: The Ducky Boys, Spluii Numa, The Limp Richerds, Doggs With Dreddloxx, Mr Epp And The Calculations, Green River, Thrown-Ups, Bushpigh, The Monkeywrench, Love And Respect, Sad & Lonely(s), Fall Outs, B.t.V.o.t.U & The New Strychnines.
Dan: Bundle Of Hiss, Feast, Nirvana, Love Battery, Sad & Lonely(s), Fastbacks, Valis, B.t.V.o.t.U, Dan Peters Solo & The New Strychnines.
Matt: The Melvins & B.t.V.o.t.U.
Steve Dukich: Steel Wool & The Monkeywrench
Guy: Bloodloss & Lubricated Goat
2.7.- Where does the name come from?
The name comes from a Russ Meyer movie and by the time they picked it, they haven’t seen the movie.
2.8.- Are any of the members of Mudhoney currently involved in other projects besides Mudhoney? 2.8.- Are any of the members of Mudhoney currently involved in other projects besides Mudhoney?
Mark - The Monkeywrench & The New Strychnines.
Steve - The Monkeywrench & The New Strychnines.
Dan - The New Strychnines & The Brotherhood Of Electric
2.9.- What are Mudhoney’s Influences?
According to Mark: “We like Punk Rock, Rock and Roll, Rock, Folk music, Country music, Irish music, Blues, Jazz, reggae, etc. I really like old punk rock, 60s garage and psyche, 60s folk, old country/hillbilly...pretty obvious stuff and a lot of obscure stuff. Non musical influences? People, books, sex, dogs, cats, bikes, desire, pot, beer, fear, snow, skateboards, money, work, ego, gardening, talking, greed, lust, jealousy, anger, self pity. To understand why Mudhoney do as they do, and sound as they sound, one must travel back in time to the Punk Explosion of the mid 70's. Now, our heroes were too young to reap the benefits at the time of the Big One, but the residual aftermath (i.e. late 70's "Post-punk" and early 80's "hardcore") had a profound impact on the then youngsters who would later join as one to become Mudhoney. Bands like Devo, Gang of Four, Black Flag, Flipper, Void, Minor Threat, Joy Division, the Adolescents, Pil, the Birthday Party, and the Angry Samoans charged the young and impressionable Mudhoney minds. These bands pointed back to the bands of the Punk Explosion, you know, like the Ramones, Sex Pistols, Damned, Suicide, Dead Boys, Motorhead, Saints, and Pere Ubu etc. And these bands had left signposts that pointed at other bands even farther like the Stooges, MC5, Velvet Underground, New York Dolls, Neil Young, Alice Cooper, Blue Cheer, the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, Hawkwind, Can, the Sonics and hundreds of 60's garage and psychedelic bands that existed long enough to maybe record one single”.
2.10.- What’s the band relation with Sub Pop?
Well first of all, they are once again Mudhoney’s label and the next album will be on Sub Pop. But Mark and Steve already knew Bruce Pavitt (Sub Pop’s founder) before he started the label, when he first move from Olympia he lived two blocks away from Mark and they sometimes get together and listen to records they liked, Steve would join them once in a while and hang out too. Years later when Steve and Mark were on Green River, Bruce Pavitt got them on Homestead Records, along with The U-Men, and Homestead put out the first Green River EP (“Come On Down”). Then, when Bruce Pavitt finally started Sub Pop, the first release by a single band was Green River’s “Dry As A Bone” and when Mudhoney first recorded demos with Jack Endino on early 1988, Bruce offered them to put out a single, which was the “Touch Me I’m Sick” single. The band and Sub Pop stayed together until 1991 after “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge” was released, but at the time Sub Pop was having severe money troubles and they didn’t pay Mudhoney, and even they offered them stocks but the band didn’t want them so they leaved. But even after what happened they continued to be good friends and Sub Pop put out the split single with Jimmy Dale Gilmore and in late 99/early 2000 after the band was dropped by Reprise, Sub Pop put out “March To Fuzz” the long awaited Mudhoney Anthology. Also on August 20, 2002 they will release Mudhoney’s new album “Since We’ve Become Translucent”.
2.11.- Why did Matt leave?
Because he said to the others band members that he didn’t enjoyed touring anymore and his heart wasn’t into playing music anymore. The first retirement was in 1999 after the tour for “Tomorrow Hits Today”, but at the end of 2000 Matt and the band regroup for a tour, and Matt last show with Mudhoney was on January 20, 2001 at Graceland in Seattle. After that the band left to Brazil to play some shows and Steve Dukich (former Steel Wool guitarist) filled in.
2.12.-Who’s Guy Maddison?
Guy Maddison is Mudhoney’s new bass player, his first show with the band was on the Tex Games 2001 and he recorded the new album. His previous band are: Bloodloss, on which he played with Mark and also played trumpet, and Lubricated Goat. He is currently in college and that’s one of the reasons why Mudhoney won’t be doing much touring to support the album. If you want to know some things about his playing, Jack Endino has said that “he’s awesome” and Mark has said that, compared to Matt’s style, Guy’s more fluid.
2.13.-Who’s Steve Dukich?
Steve Dukich (formerly of Steel Wool) is a friend of the band and was brought in to be the new bass player but after Dan and Steve spent months teaching him all of Mudhoney’s songs and the 2001 Brazilian Tour he said that he didn’t want to continue, so Steve and Dan had to start all over again teaching the songs to Guy. You can hear Mudhoney with Steve Dukich on the song “Who’ll Be The Next In Line” recorded for the Kinks tribute album “Give The People What They Want” he also recorded with the band “Behind The Door” for an unreleased Circle Jerks tribute album.
2.14.- Did any of the band members went to collage?
Mark has a degree in English that he earned in March, 1985 after graduating form the University Of Washington, but although he finished the school, he did not attend to his graduation.
Steve has a degree in Anthropology which he earned in 1990 after graduating from the Western Washington University.
Guy is currently pursuing a nursing degree…
2.15.- What is the marital status of the band members?
Matt, Dan and Mark are married and Steve is single.
2.16.- Do any of them have children?
Dan has a child.
2.17.- Where is the band from?
Seattle, Washington.
2.18.- In what band were the boys before of Mudhoney?
Before starting Mudhoney, Mark was on Green River, Matt with The Melvins, Steve in The Throw Ups and Dan in Bundle Of Hiss. Before his short tenure with Mudhoney, Steve Dukich played on Steel Wool. Before joining Mudhoney, Guy Madisson played on Bloodloss and Lubricated Goat.
2.19.- What was the first song released by the band?
“Twenty Four” on the Dopes, Guns and Fucking in the street compilation on Amphetamine Reptile.
2.20.- Is the Pearl Jam song “Lukin” about Matt?
Yes, Eddie Vedder is a friend of Matt and he wrote the song about the great experience of hang around Mr. Lukin. "to how fun is to hang around with him".
2.21.- Is it true that the band went to the white house?
Yes they went on April 9th 1994 with Pearl Jam, and at some point Bill Clinton (by then the president of the USA) asked Eddie Vedder: “Now, who are these Mudhonies, and are they popular with the MTV?". If you want to read an article written by Mark about the visit click here.
2.22.- What’s the deal with Inside Job?
Well, Inside Job is the song released by Mudhoney in April 2000 as a free MP3 on MusicBlitz.com, at first it was supposed that Steve will overdub the bass parts but when they were in the studio recording with Jack Endino, Music Blitz A&R and song producer, Wayne Kramer (also the guitarist of the MC5) asked the band if he could play bass on the song and all agree. Now the song can be found in the Music Blitz compilation: Wayne Kramer Presents Beyond Cyberpunk.
2.23.- In which movies did Mudhoney appears?
Singles, Black Sheep and Hype!.
On Singles Matt and Mark appear very briefly during one scene.
On Black Sheep they appeared playing on a political rally and they get to say a few lines; when the band was asked about how they get on the movie they said: “Bad Religion wanted too much money…”
On Hype! They played “Touch Me I’m Sick” and Mark and Steve get interviewed.
2.24.- What is Super Electro Sound Recordings?
Super Electro Sound Recordings is Steve’s records label and has released albums by great artist such as: Mr Epp And The Calculations, Kent 3, The Wellwater Conspiracy; Fall Outs and some Mudhoney singles and vinyl release. For more information visit the official Super Electro Site: http://www.superelectro.com
2.25.- Who is Bob Whittaker?
He’s the band manager since they singed to Reprise and then he went on tour with them and he’s still with them.
2.26.- Who is Ed Fotheringham?
He used to be the singer of The Thrown Ups and also is an artist; he designed most of Mudhoney album covers, like the covers of “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge”, “My Brother The Cow” and “March To Fuzz”.
2.27.-What is B.t.V.o.t.U?
Beneath the Valley of the Underdog was the pseudonym under which Mudhoney played in late 1997, during those shows they played mainly new songs, the ones that eventually would turn into “Tomorrow Hits Today”.
2.28.-Is it true that Mark invented the term “grunge”?
We’ll he didn’t invented it but he used the term “grungy” to describe the sound of the band on the early days of Mudhoney and the northwestern explosion. The term was already being thrown around in Australia in the mid-'80s to describe bands like King Snake Roost, the Scientists, Salamander Jim, and Beasts of Bourbon.
2.29.-Why did Mudhoney sing with a major label?
Because at the time that “Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge” came out, Sub Pop wasn’t paying them any money, so they feel the need of get both, better distribution and some retribution for their work.
2.30.-What’s the deal with Overblown?
That’s the Mudhoney song that appears on the “Singles” Soundtrack. Originally there were only songs by Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, etc… So Mark, Steve and Bruce Pavitt talked to Cameron Crowe (movie’s director) about having a Mudhoney song to offer a different representation of the “Seattle Music”. Crowe accepted and gave the band $ 20,000 dollars to record it but they record it at Conrad Uno’s Egg Studios by only $ 167 dollars.
2.31.-What’s the deal wit Freak Momma?/
Freak Momma is the song in which Mudhoney teams up with Seattle Rap Star, Sir Mix A Lot, it appears on the “Judgment Night” Soundtrack, in that soundtrack all the songs are performed by Rock and Rap stars together, like Cypress Hill & Pearl Jam, Cypress Hill & Sonic Youth, Helmet & House Of Pain, etc…. In the song Mudhoney plays the rhythm and Sir Mix A Lot raps over it. When Mark was asked about how did he get hooked up with Sir Mix A Lot, he said: “He's the only really well known Seattle rap star and we both share an affection for Big Butts.”
2.32.-Is it true that there’s an old Steve’s Big Muff pedal at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?
Well, back when Seattle was “Grunge City” they asked for it and the band send them “some broken crap”. According to Mark they really wanted the original lyric sheet for Touch Me I’m Sick, which doesn’t exist. Apparently the Northwestern Rock display has been shut-down but the pedals are still there.
2.33.-How/Where did Steve and Mark meet?
They meet at a TSOL concert at The Showbox in Seattle, and also at that same show Mark met “a kid in his philosophy class” named Kim Thayil (Soundgarden’s guitarist).
2.34.-Whats Butterfly Stroke about?
It’s about Michael Jackson, at the time they wrote it, Mark had just read a booked called “I Was Michael Jackson’s Teenage Lover” which is about the boy who accused Michael Jackson of molesting him.
2.35.-What is Motorhoney?
Motorhoney was the name given to the collaboration between Mudhoney and the Fastbacks. The band consisted of Mudhoney with Kim Warnick and Lulu Gargiulo from the Fastbacks. They only recorded one song “Psychomania” by the Damned which appear on the CD version of “Another Damned Seattle Compilation - A Northwest Tribute To The Damned”.
2.36.-What’s Alice Mudgarden?
That’s the name given to the collaboration between Alice In Chains, Mudhoney and Soundgarden, which is really more like a guest appearance made by Mark and Chris Cornell (of Soundgarden) singing backup vocals on the Alice In Chains song “Right Turn” on their Sap EP.
2.37.-What’s Better Than Your Music?
That’s the name under which Mudhoney publishes their musical work. Steve and Mark use it since the Green River days. Most musicians have their own publishing name, but since Mudhoney splits their royalties they only have one name for all four of them.
2.38.-What’s the Mudd Clubb?
The Mudd Clubb is/was the Official Mudhoney Fan Club. They sent out three free newsletters on winter 1994, spring 1995 and spring 1996 and then nothing… I’m not sure if it’s still active or not but you can write them to the address that appear on most of their records, you can also find the address on the Internet Resources section of this page.
2.39.-What’s that at the beginning of In ‘N’ Out Of Grace?
The introduction that goes: “We wanna be free, we wanna be free to do what we wanna do, we wanna be free to ride, we wanna be free to ride our machines without been hassled by the men...and we wanna get loaded” comes from a scene in Peter Fonda’s movie “Hell’s Angels”.
2.38.-Is it true that Mudride was going to be on a commercial?
The makers of Immodium wanted to use “Mudride” in an ad campaign and when Mudhoney were ready to sing the contract because in Mark’s words: “we would've made a shitload (so to speak)” the company realized that the song has nothing to do with diarrhea…
2.39.-What’s Our Band Could Be Your Life?
“Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From The American Indie Underground 1981-1991” (the name is taken from a line from the Minutemen’s song “History Lesson Part II”) is a book written by Michael Azerrad (the same author who wrote “Come As You Are: The Story Of Nirvana”) and on it he covers the story of some of the best underground bands of the 1980’s, the bands featured are: Black Flag, The Minutemen, Mission Of Burma, Minor Threat, Hüsker Dü, The Replacements, Sonic Youth, The Butthole Surfers, Big Black, Dinosaur Jr, Fugazi, Mudhoney and Beat Happening.
Last Updated: June 29, 2002