STEVE GULLICK - THE NIRVANA DIARY - A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Memories
"The heavy focus of this photographic journal is on Nirvana but I feel the story to be incomplete without the other artists that were an essential part of my musical landscape, the likes of Jesus Lizard, Mudhoney, Melvins, Screaming Trees, Hole, Soundgarden."
If you don’t know the name Steve Gullick you’re either too young to remember Grunge or so old you only remember grunge in reference to the sticky deposits on the bottoms of your shoes after leaving the cinema; in either case you have no business reading my blog.
For those of you still with me, unquestionably some of the most iconic images that come to mind when defining the Seattle sound of the 90’s were taken by photographer, musician, Steve Gullick. Created without pretense - hold the posing, the premeditated artistic introspection and the digital deception; these are the real deal. Whether snapped in the middle of a mosh pit or shot candidly after a show, for over 20 years this hard-working UK photographer has been documenting the music he loves and sharing it with the world via Rolling Stone, NME, Wire and Melody Maker, among many others. Influencing artists from around the globe, Steve has an uncanny ability to capture the essence of his subject matter.
Nevermind the noir lighting, the quirky composition and all the usual encumbrances that differentiate those who take photos from those who are 'photographers' – here, it’s all about honesty, and as an artist and daughter of a photographer, that’s exactly what grabbed my attention so many years ago.
I spent a good part of my youth in Portland and Seattle in the 90’s. After being forewarned to ditch my “L.A. identity,” let alone the license plate of my car, as tolerance of disenfranchised Californians migrating north gobbling up the cheap real estate and polluting the pristine bike paths was wearing thin, I reluctantly morphed into a torn-jeaned, flannel-wearing caffeine connoisseur, albeit Torrefazione (RIP) pre-Starbucks.
But how did this happen? Had I lost my edge? And how was it that nobody under those nebulous skies even cared about the Circle Jerks, hung out at the Zero Club, or had even heard the name Billy Zoom? What did they know about music! Because I was fortunate enough to experience the northwest of the early 90’s, that strange amalgamation of disenfranchised Reagan-era youth and Silicon Valley transplants flush with their Clinton-era money market accounts, I eventually found out exactly what they knew; it was what a 20-something year-old British photographer was smack in the middle of documenting, and it was something that was just about on the verge of changing the world.
But how did this happen? Had I lost my edge? And how was it that nobody under those nebulous skies even cared about the Circle Jerks, hung out at the Zero Club, or had even heard the name Billy Zoom? What did they know about music! Because I was fortunate enough to experience the northwest of the early 90’s, that strange amalgamation of disenfranchised Reagan-era youth and Silicon Valley transplants flush with their Clinton-era money market accounts, I eventually found out exactly what they knew; it was what a 20-something year-old British photographer was smack in the middle of documenting, and it was something that was just about on the verge of changing the world.
Pearl Jam - Photograph Steve Gullick
It’s easy to remember the music that defined this era, even the wicked twist of fate moments listening to the Muzak version of "Negative Creep" at the local supermarket. For some of us, those were the sounds that defined who we were and what we valued...but without the photographs - the imagery, that permanent visual time stamp that completes our mental scrapbooks, remembrance tends to slip away and pale with the passage of time.
Mudhoney - Photograph Steve Gullick - Aug. 1991, London
So the next time you too find yourself tripping back through memory lane, you can attach a name and quietly thank the artist responsible for bringing you so many of those memories.
Or better still, you can pay it forward today by joining me in support of an amazing new photobook –
“Steve Gullick – Nirvana Diary.” http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/nirvanadiary
Or better still, you can pay it forward today by joining me in support of an amazing new photobook –
“Steve Gullick – Nirvana Diary.” http://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/nirvanadiary
There are ONLY 9 DAYS LEFT to make this book a reality. I know you care because you read my blog, so now it’s time to give back…
Nirvana - 1991 Photograph by Steve Gullick
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