The book tells the whole story: from the founding of the Deep Six bands to the worldwide success of grunge's big four (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains) from the rise of Seattle's cash-poor, hype-rich indie label Sub Pop to the major-label feeding frenzy that overtook the Pacific Northwest from the simple joys of making noise at basement parties and tiny rock clubs to the tragic, lonely deaths of superstars Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley. Everybody Loves Our Town captures the grunge era in the words of the musicians, producers, managers, record executives, video directors, photographers, journalists, publicists, club owners, roadies, scenesters and hangers-on who lived through it. But it wasn't until five years later, with the seemingly overnight success of Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' that grunge became a household word and Seattle ground zero for the nineties alternative-rock explosion.

Though it sold miserably, the record made music history by documenting a burgeoning regional sound, the raw fusion of heavy metal and punk rock that we now know as grunge. In 1986, fledgling Seattle label C/Z Records released Deep Six, a compilation featuring a half-dozen local bands: Soundgarden, Green River, Melvins, Malfunkshun, the U-Men and Skin Yard. Twenty years after the release of Nirvana's landmark album Nevermind comes Everybody Loves Our Town: An Oral History of Grunge, the definitive word on the grunge era, straight from the mouths of those at the center of it all.

Everybody loves our town book