Jack Endino (born Michael M. Giacondino; 1964) is an American producer and musician based in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington. Long associated with Seattle label

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

and the

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands including

Mudhoney Mudhoney is an American rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, on January 1, 1988, following the demise of Green River (band), Green River. Its members are singer and rhythm guitarist Mark Arm, lead guitarist Steve Turner (guitari ...

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...

and

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

. He was also the guitarist for Seattle band

Skin Yard Skin Yard was an American grunge band from Seattle, Washington, that was active from 1985 to 1992. The group never gained a mainstream audience but were an influence on several of their grunge contemporaries, including Soundgarden, Screaming Tr ...

, which was active between 1985 and 1992. Endino currently manages a studio in Seattle calle
Soundhouse
owned by Mike Sebring.

Early career

In 1985, Endino and Daniel House started the grunge band

. Though originally a drummer, Endino played guitar and Matt Cameron played drums until he left for

. In 1986, Skin Yard contributed two songs to C/Z Records' grunge compilation '' Deep Six''. In July 1986, Endino left his basement recording studio to found Reciprocal Recording with Chris Hanzsek, the ''Deep Six'' sound engineer, where he used his self-taught recording skills to produce, engineer, and mix Skin Yard's 1987 debut album ''

''. His skill and low fees meant that he was soon an engineer of choice for up-and-coming Seattle grunge bands, and in 1988, he recorded Nirvana's debut album ''

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color from (i.e. to whiten) fabric or fiber (in a process called bleaching) or to disinfect after cleaning. It often refers specifically t ...

'' in 30 hours for $606.17, using

reel-to-reel Reel-to-reel audio tape recording, also called open-reel recording, is magnetic tape audio recording in which the recording tape is spooled between reels. To prepare for use, the ''supply reel'' (or ''feed reel'') containing the tape is plac ...

8-track machine. The album did well in the underground, and after the success of 1991's ''

Nevermind ''Nevermind'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana (band), Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991, by DGC Records. It was Nirvana's first release on a Record label#Major versus independent record labels, major label an ...

'' it went platinum. After Reciprocal Recording closed in July 1991, Endino continued as a freelance producer and engineer, producing several albums including Bruce Dickinson's '' Skunkworks''. He appeared in the 1996 grunge documentary '' Hype!'', where he's humorously referred to as "the godfather of grunge." Endino was also interviewed at length for the 2009 book, ''Grunge is Dead: The Oral History of Seattle Rock Music''.

Recording and production work

Endino is known for his stripped down recording practices and his dislike of over-produced music with effects and remastering. Largely because of the success of albums like Soundgarden's ''

Screaming Life ''Screaming Life'' is the debut EP by American Rock music, rock band Soundgarden, released in November 1987 by Sub Pop. It was later combined with the band's next EP, ''Fopp (EP), Fopp'' (1988), and released as the ''Screaming Life/Fopp'' compil ...

'' and Nirvana's ''Bleach'' in the mainstream, the resulting raw, unpolished sound is still seen as a defining characteristic of the grunge movement.

As an artist

Endino released his first solo album, ''Angle of Attack'', in 1989. Skin Yard disbanded in 1992, and he released a second solo album, ''Endino's Earthworm'', in 1993. In October 2005, he released his third solo album, ''Permanent Fatal Error''. He is currently second guitarist in the band Kandi Coded, which also features Volcom snowboarding pro Jamie Lynn. He also plays bass in Seattle band Slippage. In March 2013, Fin Records released Endino's EP ''Rumble'', featuring a cover of the April 1958 single " Rumble" by Link Wray & His Ray Men. Since 2015, Endino has played lead guitar in Seattle rock band MKB ULTRA, and also with the improv-psych trio Beyond Captain Orca.

References

External links

*
Full discography with notes and album coversJack Endino Interview on RocknRollDating.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Endino, Jack 1964 births Living people American audio engineers American male singer-songwriters American rock songwriters American rock singers American rock bass guitarists American rock drummers American rock guitarists American male bass guitarists Record producers from Connecticut Grunge musicians 20th-century American drummers American male drummers 20th-century American bass guitarists Skin Yard members 20th-century American male musicians Drummers from Connecticut