Nirvana Producer: “Seattle smelled the money” in the ‘90s
When it comes to the Seattle music community, Jack Endino is a household name. The producer, 
engineer, mixer, and musician helped bring albums by the likes of Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, The Supersuckers, to life. He was around during the grunge glory days of the 1990s, but wasn’t always comfortable with what was going on within the scene.
In a new interview with Noisey, Endino is asked to share his thoughts about it.
“At first, it was exciting, then it got painful, and finally it became horrifying, because of the sheer greed and careerism I started seeing all around me,” explained Endino. “Everyone in Seattle smelled the money, and people started getting really weird. I started taking recording gigs in other countries during the 90s just to get away from the slime. I found that people in other places still had some innocence about their music, and also that major labels in other, smaller countries behaved a lot more like our indie labels in the US.”
Endino, who recorded Nirvana’s debut Bleach (plus additional tracks on future releases), was subsequently asked about what it was like to witness the band’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In his response, Endino commented on the sound quality of Nirvana releases, but also shed some light on how the band feels to him now.
“As for Nirvana, I like the songs but still don’t care for the sound of Nevermind that much. I like In Utero a lot, and as for my own recording on Bleach, I just thank god it sounds as good as it does, considering how quickly we had to make it,” offered Endino. “Nirvana is kind of a wound in my life in some ways; Kurt’s suicide was pretty hard to process.”
-Adam Grant
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