Want to Subscribe?
Sign In or Sign Up now!

The Fluid reunites for summer 2008 performances

The members of the legendary and influential alternative rock band The Fluid have announced that the group is reuniting to perform at Sub Pop Records 20th Anniversary Festival in Seattle this July and at selected dates in Denver, Colorado.

Forged in the gritty, unforgiving depths of the Denver punk scene in 1985, The Fluid was one of the most powerful and hardest-hitting acts of the late '80s and early '90s. Comprised of vocalist John Robinson, drummer Garrett Shavlik, bassist Matt Bischoff, and guitarists James Clower and Rick Kulwicki, the band was the first non-Seattle signing by the initially provincial Sub Pop label, which released the group's scorching sophomore album, Clear Black Paper, in 1988. This release was Sub Pop's first LP with a single artist and undeniably helped set the hard-rocking tone the label would become known for.
(The quintet's debut, Punch N Judy, was released on Denver's Ray-On Records in 1986 and was later reissued on Germany's Glitterhouse imprint.)
It was The Fluid's relationship to Glitterhouse that bridged Europe and became an early conduit through which Sub Pop's acts, and the label itself, found success overseas.

Due to timing and the band's associations with Sub Pop and various acts of the Northwest underground scene—the group were early boosters of Nirvana, and the two acts even shared a split single in 1991—The Fluid has long been lumped in with the period's so-called grunge movement. But in actuality the outfit's unapologetically rock 'n' roll sound bypassed the shallower sludge metal and hardcore punk influences of its contemporary brethren, reaching deeper to hint at the classic styles of forbears like the New York Dolls, The Stooges, the MC5, the Rolling Stones, and the garage bands of the 1960s. Over the course of its four albums and numerous EP and single releases, the group worked with noted producers Jack Endino (Nirvana, Mudhoney, Soundgarden) and Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Garbage). In a long string of "firsts", 1989 saw The Fluid being the first of the Sub Pop roster to choose Butch Vig in his small Midwest studio to record their 1990 release, Glue. The sonic quality of that recording lead other Sub Pop acts to also choose Vig, the next of which was Nirvana who then recorded what would become Nevermind, released only a year later.

The Fluid's utterly devastating live sets are the stuff of legend. Backed by Kulwicki's and Clower's wall of wah-wah-laced, cinder-block guitar crunch and the overpowering, locomotive drive of Bischoff and Shavlik, the unhinged, wild-eyed Robinson was a man possessed, a sweat-soaked collision of primordial id and hypnotic transcendence. It's no wonder The Fluid has been cited as a huge influence by dozens of younger bands and a favorite act of many of the group's own peers. The magnetic draw of their blistering shows created a visceral proving ground for new bands to test their mettle. Opening slots were highly coveted and those winning the honor include Nirvana, The Afghan Wigs, Hole, The Flaming Lips and L7.

The Fluid's upcoming shows at Seattle's Marymoor Park on July 12th &13th for the Sub-Pop Records 20th Anniversary Festival and at The Bluebird Theater in Denver on Friday June 20, 2008 will bring together all five of the band's original members for one of the most rabidly anticipated musical reunions in years—and one that will give fans the rare chance to once again experience firsthand the band's singular brand of timeless and powerful rock 'n' roll.