''Jonathan from Sub Pop called me up, “Hey, I have this band from Olympia I want my partner to hear. Can you put them on?”''
Few people experienced the rise of the Seattle music scene from as many angles as Jan Gregor. A musician, booking agent, tour manager, stagehand, pyrotech, billposter, follow-spot operator, caterer and film maker, Gregor spent 15 years immersed in the Pacific Northwest’s thriving rock community, playing in bands including Variant Cause, Next Exit, Sweet Madness and Koo Dot Tah.
In this interview, Gregor shares the remarkable Nirvana booking story before they became global icons, along with personal memories of Chris Cornell, Matt Cameron, Eddie Vedder, and Alice in Chains during the formative years of the Seattle explosion. He also reflects on the emergence of grunge, the pivotal role of Sub Pop, and what it was really like to witness one of the most influential musical movements in history from the inside.
Jan Gregor also discusses the latest chapter in his musical journey with the new Variant Cause album a continuation rather than a reunion. Originally formed in Seattle in 1985, Variant Cause built a reputation for its distinctive sound, sharing stages with artists including The Blasters, Hunter/Ronson, X, Nico, The Godfathers and Iggy Pop before the changing music landscape brought the band to an end. He set himself the challenge of writing songs that could have been hits in another generation - songs, as he puts it: “for other bands to cover, songs for the world.”
