Bruce Pavitt Books

In 1979, Bruce Pavitt moved from Chicago to Olympia, Washington, and began programming a show called Subterranean Pop on local community radio station KAOS-FM. In 1980, he launched Subterranean Pop magazine, dedicated to the unsung punk, new wave, and experimental regional bands of the Pacific Northwest and Midwest. In 1986, Pavitt put his ideas into practice, launching Sub Pop Records with the historic Sub Pop 100 compilation and Soundgarden's first release, Screaming Life. While the Sub Pop Records legacy is today legendary, his groundwork is collected here for the first time.

Experiencing Nirvana is a photo journal, grunge rock micro-history and an inside look into a crucial eight-day period in the touring life of Nirvana. In this brief period, the young band goes from breaking up in Rome to winning over the influential British music press at Sub Pop's LameFest U.K. showcase in London, setting the stage for their imminent popularity. Opening for Tad and Mudhoney at the Astoria Theatre in 1989, Nirvana's heart-pounding performance won over the crowd and changed the band's fate.

"Along with a lot of bruises and broken equipment, Peterson got something that was unique and true, what live rock music is all about: a commotion of hair, sweat, guitars, drums, and wires, which he juggled using classical compositional elements all rendered in glorious black and white. Somehow he managed, in the midst of the chaos, to snap photographs that are works of art..." --Michael Azerrad, Screaming Life