Seaweed was an American

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band from

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia ...

, who were active throughout the 1990s. Their style of music was a combination of different rock subgenres, including

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. Like the term " post-punk", the term "post-hardcore" has been applied to a broad conste ...

and

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

. They were signed to various notable record labels, such as

Sub Pop Records Sub or SUB may refer to: Places * Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia, IATA code SUB People * Bottom (BDSM), or "sub" for "submissive" * Substitute teacher Christianity * Sub tuum praesidium, an ancient hymn and prayer dedicated ...

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expand ...

, and

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...

. The band released six albums between 1989 and 1999, followed by a hiatus that lasted until 2007. They then disbanded a second time in 2014.

History

''Seaweed'' and ''Despised'' (1989–1991)

The band started out in 1989, consisting of vocalist Aaron Stauffer, guitarist Clint Werner, guitarist Wade Neal, bassist John Atkins, and drummer Bob Bulgrien. All five members were still attending high school at the time, and most of them were already active in other local bands. Their early influences included a wide variety of bands, such as

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 ...

Dag Nasty Dag Nasty is an American hardcore punk band from Washington D.C., formed in 1985 by guitarist Brian Baker of Minor Threat, drummer Colin Sears and bassist Roger Marbury, both of Bloody Mannequin Orchestra, and vocalist Shawn Brown (later of ...

Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guita ...

, Black Flag,

Hüsker Dü Hüsker Dü () was an American punk rock band formed in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1979. The band's continuous members were guitarist/vocalist Bob Mould, bassist Greg Norton, and drummer/vocalist Grant Hart. They first gained notability as a hardc ...

Soul Asylum Soul Asylum is an American rock band formed in 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their 1993 hit " Runaway Train" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The band was originally called Loud Fast Rules, with a lineup consisting of Dave Pirner ...

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

, Misfits, 7 Seconds,

Melvins Melvins (sometimes the Melvins) are an American rock band formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal. Primarily a trio, they have also performed as a quartet, with eith ...

Screaming Trees Screaming Trees were an American rock band formed in Ellensburg, Washington, in 1984 by vocalist Mark Lanegan, guitarist Gary Lee Conner, bassist Van Conner, and drummer Mark Pickerel. Pickerel was replaced by Barrett Martin in 1991. Screami ...

Beat Happening Beat Happening was an American indie pop band formed in Olympia, Washington, in 1982. Calvin Johnson, Heather Lewis, and Bret Lunsford have been the band's continual members. Beat Happening were early leaders in the American indie pop and lo-f ...

, 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 ...

. Their first major tour was alongside the band Superchunk. Throughout 1989 and 1990, the band would release various one-off singles. Later on in 1990, a smaller label known as Tupelo (known for releases by the bands Jawbreaker,

, and

The Melvins ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

) approached the band to release their first album. Instead, the band compiled their previous singles, and recorded one new song, to release ''Seaweed''. As stated in later interviews and the name of the band's 1993 album, ''Seaweed'' was considered to be the band's first major release. In 1990, Seaweed signed to the thriving 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 ...

. The label wanted a single but the band wanted a full-length album. They met halfway, and released the EP ''Despised''. Six songs were brand new tracks, recorded with producer

Jack Endino Jack Endino (born Michael M. Giacondino; 1964) is an American producer and musician based in Seattle, Washington. Long associated with Seattle label Sub Pop and the grunge movement, Endino worked on seminal albums from bands including Mudhoney, ...

. The remaining four tracks were slightly remixed from their previous release, ''Seaweed''; thus, angering their former label Tupelo. On foreign editions of the album, the aforementioned four tracks were not included. A music video was created for "One Out of Four" off of ''Despised'', which was the band's first music video of their career.

''Weak'' and ''Four'' (1992–1994)

The band continued their relationship with Sub Pop, releasing their third major release (and first actual full-length album) in 1992, titled ''

Weak Weak may refer to: Songs * Weak (AJR song), "Weak" (AJR song), 2016 * Weak (Melanie C song), "Weak" (Melanie C song), 2011 * Weak (SWV song), "Weak" (SWV song), 1993 * Weak (Skunk Anansie song), "Weak" (Skunk Anansie song), 1995 * "Weak", a son ...

''. Again produced by Endino, the band supported the album with a summer U.S. tour, followed by a condensed European tour with the band Pavement, stretching 69 shows over 71 days. Also in 1992, the band made an in-studio appearance on the radio program hosted by

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

. John Peel Sub Pop Sessions 1989-1993

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

After the exhausting touring schedule, the band went home to record their follow-up album. After impressing Sub Pop with their self-production work on a single titled "Measure", the label allowed the band to self-produce their 1993 effort ''Four'' (the title referred to the album as the band's fourth major release). Sub Pop promoted the album more heavily than their past albums, releasing more versions of this album and having their songs featured on more compilations. Around this time, Seaweed toured with the bands

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilities and ...

and

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

, a tour that Green Day bassist

Mike Dirnt Michael Ryan Pritchard (born May 4, 1972), better known by his stage name Mike Dirnt, is an American rock musician who is the co-founder, bassist, backing vocalist, and occasional lead vocalist of Green Day. He has also played in several other ...

joked as "The BadGreenWeed Tour". ''Four'' contained the single "Kid Candy", which was most prominently featured in a season four episode of the TV show ''

Beavis and Butt-head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...

''. "Losing Skin" was also released as a single from this album, and would be more prominently featured on the soundtrack for the video game ''

NHL 2K7 ''NHL 2K7'' is an ice hockey video game made by 2K, and published on the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Xbox 360 consoles. It features San Jose Sharks centre Joe Thornton on its cover. Bob Cole and Harry Neale return from NHL 2K6 t ...

'' 13 years later. Seaweed also got another shot at exposure, as their cover of

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

's hit song "

Go Your Own Way "Go Your Own Way" is a song by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac from their eleventh studio album, '' Rumours'' (1977). The song was released as the album's first single in December 1976 in the United States. Written and sung by L ...

" was featured in the 1994 film ''

Clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...

'' and its soundtrack, despite being recorded a year earlier.

''Spanaway'' and ''Actions and Indications'' (1995–1999)

After fulfilling their contract to Sub Pop, Seaweed signed a contract with the major record label

. Their 1995 album ''

Spanaway Spanaway is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 35,476 at the 2020 census, up from 27,227 in 2010. Spanaway is an unincorporated area near Tacoma, and is often identified together with ...

'' became the band's major label debut, and their most successful to date. The single "Start With" became Seaweed's only appearance on a ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart, peaking at No. 38 on the

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-play ...

chart in 1995. "Free Drug Zone" and "Magic Mountainman" also got released as promotional singles. In the summer of that year, Seaweed was notable as being a part of the lineup for the first ever ''

Vans Warped Tour The Warped Tour is a touring rock music festival that toured the United States and Canada each summer from 1995 until 2019, and returned in 2025 for its 30th anniversary. By 2015, Warped was the largest traveling music festival in the United S ...

''; however, unlike many of the other bands, they would not make anymore appearances after that year. They also opened for

throughout 1996. Despite the label's initial large financial advance and marketing promises, the album did not sell well as expected. It took the band over a year to be released from their contract. Afterwards, the band experienced their first lineup change as drummer Bulgrien left the band. He was replaced by

Quicksand Quicksand (also known as sinking sand) is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it crea ...

drummer Alan Cage. The band then decided on the label

as their next home. The label was putting out albums by Seaweed's friends such as Superchunk and

Neutral Milk Hotel Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed by Jeff Mangum in Ruston, Louisiana, in 1989. They were active until 1998, and then from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock and psy ...

, and so the transition was seamless. The band's final album, '' Actions and Indications'', came out in early 1999; however, the exposure from their previous two albums had diminished, and the band was exhausted from touring. After playing an anniversary show for Merge Records in the summer of 1999, Seaweed disbanded.

Reunion (2007–2014)

In 2007, Seaweed reunited to play sporadic shows, including Sub Pop's 20th anniversary show in 2008. The reunited lineup included new member Jesse Fox on drums. The band had mentioned a new album was being recorded, titled ''Small Engine Repair''. The album never came to fruition, as the band did not have a creative drive, and also did not want to extensively tour. A few songs from the sessions were later released in 2011, as the "Service Deck"/"The Weight" single. A third song was later released in the summer of 2014, "Rusty Ranch", on a compilation titled ''MAWP Comp Volume 1''. Seaweed played various shows and festivals from 2007 to 2014, but no full tour. Their last show was in May 2014. Frontman Stauffer later worked as a nurse in Northern California and said in an interview that "It’s hard to play a show because it hurts me physically. I only have one show in me. I can't do two." Since Seaweed's albums spanned different labels, the only release to see a reissue to date is 1999's ''Actions and Indications'', which also included three unreleased bonus tracks as a download.

Band members

*Aaron Stauffer –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

(1989–1999, 2007–2014) *Clint Werner –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

(1989–1999, 2007–2014) *Wade Neal –

(1989–1999, 2007–2014) *John Atkins –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

(1989–1999, 2007–2014) *Bob Bulgrien –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

(1989–1996) *Alan Cage –

(1996–1999) *Jesse Fox –

(2007–2014)

Discography

Albums

*''Seaweed (EP)'' (1990, Leopard Gecko/Tupelo) *''Despised (EP)'' (1991, Sub Pop) *''

'' (1992, Sub Pop) *''Four'' (1993, Sub Pop) *''

'' (1995, Hollywood Records) *'' Actions and Indications'' (1999, Merge Records)

Singles

*Seaweed 7" (1989, Leopard Gecko) *#"Inside" *#"Stargirl" *#"Re-think" *#"Love Gut" *''Just a Smirk 7"'' (1990, Leopard Gecko) *#"Just a Smirk" *#"Installing" *''Seaweed/Superchunk/Geek"'' (1990, Leopard Gecko) *#"Patchwork" *''Deertrap'' 7" (1991,

K Records K Records is an independent record label in Olympia, Washington, founded in 1982. Artists on the label included early releases by Beck, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill. The record label has been called "key to the development of independent mu ...

) *#"Deertrap" *#"Carousel" *''Bill'' 7" (1992, Subpop) *#"Bill" *#"Pumpkin (Wwax)" *''Bill'' 12"/CD (1992, Subpop) *#"Bill" *#"Pumpkin (Wwax)" *#"Squint: The Killerest Expression" *''Measure'' 7" (1992, Subpop) *#"Measure" *#"Turnout" *''Measure'' 12"/CD (1992, Subpop) *#"Measure" *#"Turnout" *#"Taxing" (demo version) *''Go Your Own Way'' CD (1993, Subpop) *#"Go Your Own Way" *#"Losing Skin" (remix) *#"Card Tricks" *#"She Cracked" *''Go Your Own Way'' 7"/CD (1993, Subpop) *#"Go Your Own Way" *#"Losing Skin" (remix) *#"She Cracked" *''Kid Candy'' PROMO CD (1993, Subpop) *#"Kid Candy" (radio edit) *#"Sing Through Me" *#"Shephard's Pie" *''Start With'' PROMO CD (1995, Hollywood) *#"Start With" *''Free Drug Zone'' 7" (1996, Hollywood) *#"Free Drug Zone" *#"Losing Skin" (live) *''Free Drug Zone'' CD (1996, Hollywood) *#"Free Drug Zone" *#"Losing Skin" (live) *#"Baggage" (live) *''Magic Mountainman'' PROMO CD (1996, Hollywood) *#"Magic Mountain" *''Service Deck/The Weight'' 7" (2011, No Idea Records) *#"Service Deck" *#"The Weight"

Music videos

*''One Out of Four'' (1991) *''Bill'' (1992) *''Squint'' (1992) *''Measure'' (1993) *''Losing Skin'' (1993) *''Kid Candy'' (1993) *''Start With'' (1995)

Compilation appearances

*''The Estrus Lunch Bucket'' (Estrus, 1990) **"Bewitched" *''Three's A Company'' (

Simple Machines Simple Machines was an American independent record label in Arlington, Virginia. The label was founded by Derek Denckla and Jenny Toomey and Brad Sigal while both were living in the Positive Force House in north Arlington, but Sigal and even ...

/Merge Records/Leopard Gecko, 1990) **"Patchwork" *''The Estrus Half-Rack'' (Estrus, 1991) **"Foggy Eyes" *'' International Pop Underground Convention'' (K Records, 1991) **"Bill" *''Fortune Cookie Prize'' (Simple Machines, 1992) **"Foggy Eyes" *''Revolution Come 'n' Gone'' (Subpop, 1992) **"Baggage" *'' International Hip Swing'' (K Records, 1993) **"Deer Trap" *''Alternative Route '94'' (Cargo Records, 1994) **"Losing Skin" *''Jabberjaw No. 4'' (

Mammoth Records Mammoth Records was an independent record label founded in 1989 by Jay Faires in the Carrboro area of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The majority of the acts on Mammoth were executive-produced by Faires and the label's general manager, Steve Balco ...

, 1994) **"My Letters" *''Jabberjaw No. 5 Good To The Last Drop'' (Mammoth Records, 1994) **"My Letters" *''

Sub Pop Sessions'' (Sub Pop, 1994) **"Sit in Glass" **"She Cracked" *'' Music From the Motion Picture Clerks'' (Sony, 1994) **"Go Your Own Way" *''West X North-South'' (

Vagrant Records Vagrant Records is an American record label based in California. It was founded in 1995 by Rich Egan and Jon Cohen. The label focuses on rock music, rock, but features artists in a variety of other genres including folk music, folk, soul music, so ...

, 1995) **"Sing Through Me" *''Oh, Merge'' (Merge Records, 1999) **"Brand New Order" *''Nowcore! The Punk Rock Evolution'' (K-tel, 1999) **"Start With" *''Patchwork Compilation'' (Mere Exposure Records, 2002) **"Days Missed Dearly" *''Old Enough to Know Better'' (Merge Records, 2004) **"Thru the Window" *'' Sleepless in Seattle: The Birth of Grunge'' (Livewire Recordings, 2005) **"Losing Skin" *''SP20: Casual Nostalgia Fest'' (Sub Pop, 2010) **"Baggage" *''MAWP Comp Volume 1'' (MAWP Tacoma, 2014) **"Rusty Ranch" *''Merge Records Fall Sampler 2015'' (Merge Records, 2015) **"Antilyrical"

References

External links

* Seaweed at the AMGbr>Seaweed at Sub PopSeaweed at MySpace
{{Authority control American post-hardcore musical groups American grunge groups Hollywood Records artists Merge Records artists Musical groups established in 1989 Musical groups disestablished in 1999 Musical groups disestablished in 2014 Musical groups from Tacoma, Washington Musical groups reestablished in 2007 Punk rock groups from Washington (state)