Sub Pop Records co-founder Bruce Pavitt is arguably the man who shaped the face of modern rock. After losing out on Soundgarden and Green River, Sub Pop’s two earliest aces in the hole, Pavitt placed his faith in a little garage band called Nirvana, signing them for a $600 record deal that he couldn’t even follow up on. Along with Tad and Mudhoney, Nirvana was part of a triad that Pavitt and his business partner, Jonathan Poneman, had bet on breaking the so-called “Seattle sound” to the mainstream, a triad that is the focus of Pavitt’s new photo journal Experiencing Nirvana: Grunge In Europe, 1989.
Due to the poor atmosphere of pre-internet American journalism, Pavitt and Poneman decided to take their label’s repertoire overseas to Europe, hoping to win over the continent’s highly influential publications who would, in turn, help popularize grunge music in the United States. The resulting ‘Heavier Than Heaven’ tour makes up the bulk of Pavitt’s new memoir. The hardcover, also featuring guest contributors from Dan Burke, Keith Cameron, and photographer Steve Double, collects rare spur-of-the-moment photographs taken by Pavitt.
While the visuals dominate much of the two hundred thirty page book, Pavitt also offers various anecdotes from the tour in a day-by-day format, recounting a disastrous Nirvana performance in Rome and Mudhoney’s acquaintance with cult musician Billy Childish. Closing out the vignette-style text sections and photograph collections is a collection of quotes from European zines who predicted that “Kurdt” Cobain showed potential, though some believed Tad would ultimately be the band with the most longevity. Wisely, Pavitt markets the book as a “microhistory” of grunge and a “photo journal”; ultimately, the book is a great coffee table piece, though its rapid-fire vignettes and somewhat high price tag may offput those looking for a real read. However, its still worth a read through for the hardcore Seattle grunge scene fans and acts as a great holdover for Pavitt’s truly exciting project, a compilation of Sub Pop’s fanzines due in mid-2014.