Before The Gold Rush: Memories of the Seattle Music Scene, 1977-1991 Paperback – November 1, 2025

This 600-page book is a hybrid combination of an autobiographical memoir by a native of Seattle who was there then, and a well-researched academic history of the Seattle music scene from the late ‘70s through the 1980s. It’s part “Mommie Dearest,” part “I’m With the Band,” part “Please Kill Me,” and part Arnold J. Toynbee’s “A Study of History,” only applied to the history of the Seattle music scene.It’s a project that I’ve worked on for over 12 years since 2013, when I first made a series of self-interview videos and posted them on YouTube under the series name “Before The Gold Rush.”More than anything else, this is the tale of Seattle’s pre-1991 Grunge Explosion, when in my honest opinion Seattle’s music scene had far more diversity, creativity, and originality, but also much less commercial success, if there were any at all. As such, this book is almost 100% free of Grunge. You won’t read much about Nirvana.However, you will learn a lot of information about two dozen important Seattle bands you might not have ever heard of, such as the Telepaths, the Lewd, the Mentors, Clone, The Cheaters, the Blackouts, the Vains, Solger, the Fags, the Moberlys, the Heats, the Cowboys, PsychoPop, the Zipdads, the Silly Killers, the U-Men, 10 Minute Warning, On The Rocks, Cheating Death, Feast, Green River, the Crotch Rockets, Crisis Party, and S.G.M., among others; as well as venues such as the Showbox, the Hippodrome, the Gorilla Room, the Graven Image, the Grey Door, the Metropolis, the Lincoln Arts Center, the Gorilla Gardens, and the Central Tavern, among others. There are also biographical sketches of a half dozen denizens of the 1980s Seattle music scene who died too young, including a long essay on Upchuck.As central themes, the book follows the musical careers of seminal figures in the 1980s Seattle music scene such as Tom Hansen, Paul Solger, and Slats, as well as my own life as a music journalist, concert promoter, club booking agent, and band manager.Eric N. Danielson is a native of Seattle who was the music critic for the Western Front newspaper in 1983-1984, was later a band manager, concert promoter, and club booking agent, and ran the Penetration Presents live music booking agency in 1984-1990. He has a B.A. and an M.A. in World History. He’s the author of four previous music books on Napalm Beach, The Wipers, The Lewd, and The Silly Killers. Read more