‘I’m Now: The Story of Mudhoney’ Affectionately Chronicles History Of The Definitive Grunge Band

Grunge forever. Forever grunge. I am a proud veteran of the Grunge Wars, 1988 – 1994. I flew the flannel. I grew out my hair. I wore a chain wallet. I DID NOT wear army fatigue cutoffs over long johns or mosh in Birkenstocks but I did see most of those bands live and bought their limited edition colored vinyl. In 1991, in the false dawn before “punk broke” with the release of Nirvana‘s Nevermind, if you asked anyone who the biggest and best band out of Seattle was, the answer would have been Mudhoney.

The 2012 documentary, I’m Now: The Story of Mudhoney, is currently available for streaming on Amazon Prime and affectionately chronicles their history. To hear the band members tell it, it’s a story almost too good to be true. Over 30 years later, Mudhoney still enjoy playing music with each other, still enjoy each other’s company, and are thankfully all still alive. Sure, there were drug problems and disappointments, but the band persevered. If they never tasted the same success as other bands of the era, the fall back to Earth wasn’t as hard, and enabled them “to do whatever the fuck we want, despite the crowds,” according to singer and guitarist Mark Arm.

Grunge may have been codified in Seattle, but its elements were already floating in the ether of ‘80s underground rock, most notably Black Flag’s move away from fast hardcore and a long line of Australian bands who bowed down at the alter of long haired ‘60s punk like The Stooges and MC5. The members of Mudhoney all cut their teeth in the Pacific Northwest punk scene before coming together on January 1, 1988, to form the band that would spread the “Seattle sound” around the world, or at least to the other side of the Atlantic.

Arm and “hip nerd” guitarist Steve Turner first played together in Green River, which also featured Pearl Jam‘s Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament. Artistic differences led to a split, which Gossard amusingly describes as, “The two sellouts went one direction and the purists went the other.” Joined by the hard drinking rhythm section of Matt Lukin on bass and drummer Dan Peters, things moved fast for the band, who took their name from a big-breasted Russ Meyer exploitation flick. 

Disgusting guitar sounds, moronic lyrics, a monster hook, a photograph of a toilet on the cover and released on “dog shit brown” vinyl, Mudhoney’s debut single, “Touch Me I’m Sick,”  was an instant classic. It was quickly followed by Superfuzz Bigmuff, named after the archaic ‘70s fuzz pedals Arm and Turner used, which hadn’t been in fashion since the band members took their first bong hits. The band had been together for less than a year.

As Mudhoney’s fortunes rose, so too did those of its label, Seattle based Sub Pop Records. However, by the time of their second album, the label was on the verge of bankruptcy. The band left indie rock for the supposed greener pastures of a major label, but their innately underground tendencies assured they were never going to be as big as former opening acts like Nirvana and Soundgarden. Ever the punk rock pragmatists, though, they realized if they recorded their albums under budget they could pocket the leftover cash, a detail their lawyer told them not to share with the label.

Over the course of the 1990s, Mudhoney found themselves selling fewer records and drawing smaller crowds, though, ironically, getting bigger advances, thanks to their label deal. They were dropped in 1998 and Lukin retired from music soon after. After a couple years licking their wounds, they returned with affable Australian punk bassist and registered nurse Guy Maddison, and re-signed with Sub Pop. “It felt like a homecoming,” says current Sub Pop CEO and longtime employee Megan Jespers.

Mostly shot on video, and running a little long, I’m Now: The Story of Mudhoney is about on the same level of production as your average Mudhoney record and, like the band itself, perfectly enjoyable and presented without pretense. It also captures the essence of the band, the bullet points of the history and makes it clear success for a rock n’ roll band isn’t always about the size of their bank account. As Arm says, “Music is an end in and of itself.”

The film ends with the band playing Black Flag’s “Fix Me” to an adoring audience as Sub Pop founder Jonathan Poneman says, “as long as those guys want to make records, I’m gonna put ‘em out. Hopefully they’re not going to want to make too many of them too quickly.” Last year, Mudhoney released a live album and a new full length and just last month put out a new 7-song EP, Morning in America. They are currently on tour. Grunge forever. Forever grunge.

Benjamin H. Smith is a New York based writer, producer and musician. Follow him on Twitter:@BHSmithNYC.

Where to stream I'm Now: The Story of Mudhoney