Mark Lanegan Talks Seattle Grunge Scene, Music Industry Shifts

2012-03-02

Story by Anne Erickson

Lanegan on modern business: ‘Now there are a lot of avenues for expression which I think is really great’

A lot has changed in the music business since Mark Lanegan first joined pioneering grunge outfit Screaming Trees in the ‘80s and ‘90s and cranked out catchy, grungy tracks such as “Nearly Lost You” and “Shadow of the Season.” But, when all is said and done, Lanegan is okay with the dynamic shift in music over the past few decades.

“… I think one of the great things about being around now is that anybody can make a record and anybody can put it out,” Lanegan told Under the Radar. “When I started in the mid-eighties it wasn’t so easy to do that, but now there are a lot of avenues for expression, which I think is really great… ”

Lanegan went on to reminisce about the famed ‘90s “Seattle grunge scene,” which produced a one-of-a-kind era of alternative rock and grunge that forever changed the culture and sound of popular music. He says that although it may have looked warm and fuzzy on the outside, he never really felt like part of the group. “Well, for one thing, I never felt part of a community. I had some close friends who were also in bands, and there were a lot of bands from a really small city who became really popular, and that was weird,” he said. “But I was on the road for a lot of that time. you know. It’s not like everyone got together and barbequed or anything.”

Lanegan recently his latest solo full-length, 2012’s “Blues Funeral,” last month, and he’s eyeing a North American tour set to kick off in May. The trek finds Lanegan playing a dozen U.S. clubs and theaters from May 10 through May 26. Find the complete tour roster on Lanegan’s artist page.

 




Anne Erickson
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Posted by Anne Erickson | Alternative, Grunge, Music, Rock News

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