The Melvins

Alright, so I'm not gonna come on here and bullshit y'all like I know tons about The Melvins (aka the Godfathers of grunge music), but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna write about them.  My brother introduced me to them a while back, and I've done what I can to get an idea of who they are, but they've been around for so long that it's quite the task.  I'll give you internet people what I can, but this is going to be a pretty basic post.  If I forget anything that you either know already or would like to know, leave it in the comment box at the bottom.

Formed in 1983, The Melvins have gone through a decent amount of members in their 27 years of existence, so I'm just going to focus on the core.  Guitarist/vocalist Buzz Osborne (the dude with the hair, from now on known as King Buzzo) and drummer Dale Crover have played with 6 bass players in their time together, and played as a two-piece for a small part of their career.  In 2006, without a bassist, they collaborated with another two-piece, Big Business, who were made up of bassist Jared Warren and drummer Coady Willis.  Crover is right handed, Willis is left handed, so they made two drum kits into one really big drum kit, sharing some of the toms and cymbals in the middle.  Later that year it was announced that Warren and Willis were officially members of The Melvins, and they have been touring with them ever since.  King Buzzo does most of the lead vocals, but all four members sing gang vocals.

The combination of two drummers and all four guys singing in deep, beefy voices leads to one of the biggest sounds I have ever experienced in concert.  Crover and Willis typically play the same drum parts, giving the kit an illusion of being mirrored in the middle.  Wild stuff, man.

Fun fact: While still in high school, Kurt Cobain used help them load gear, and would generally just follow the band around.  That's right, Kurt Cobain was The Melvins's roadie before Nirvana was even conceived.

I was disappointed to have to leave part way through their show at this past Bonnaroo, but The Dead Weather was about to play, and my man-crush on Jack White wouldn't allow me to miss any of that show.  Luckily, the kind people at Bonnaroo released a decent amount of videos of The Melvins show (and The Dead Weather, for that matter).  Here's a couple of highlights.

Anaconda

Black Bock

This one isn't from Bonnaroo, but it's my favourite Melvins song, so I had to post it. Wicked double-drummer action in this one. The Kicking Machine, live at Amoeba Records in 2008.