None of these bands came out of the northwest. But all of these bands were major influences and each deserve to mentioned in their own right. The following is a handful of bands that may not have lived in Seattle, Portland, or Olympia, but they are just as important.


The Fluid (Denver, Colorado)
A relatively obscure fact to many northwest music fans is that Sub Pop's first single-band full-length album was not Soundgarden, Nirvana, or Mudhoney, but Denver's own Fluid. That's right, Clear Black Paper was this influential northwest label's first full-length. In addition, the Fluid was also Sub Pop's first band outside Washington state. The Fluid was actually a Glitterhouse (German label) band, but Sub Pop liked them so much that they gave Glitterhouse the rights to release Green River's Rehab Doll EP in Europe in exchange for the rights to release Clear Black Paper in the US. This essentially started a bond between Sub Pop and Glitterhouse, and gave Sub Pop credibility in Europe. In addition, the Fluid was a frequent visitor to Seattle, playing many shows up here, including a few gigs with one band named Nirvana.

The Fluid (1985-1993)
John Robinson- lead vocal
James Clower- guitar, vocal
Rick Kulwicki- guitar, vocal
Matt Bischoff- bass, vocal
Garrett Shavlik- drums, vocal


more bands to be featured: Los Angeles' L7 and Babes in Toyland, San Francisco's Dwarves, Cincinnati's Afghan Whigs, England's Billy Childish, as well as others like Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth.

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