Sub Pop co-founder looks forward to next 25 years, wishes for more surprises
Posted Aug 12, 2013 08:00:03 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SEATTLE – Having just celebrated 25 years of Sub Pop Records, co-founder Jonathan Poneman isn’t sure what the future holds.
And that’s fine with him.
Asked about his hopes for the quarter-century ahead, Poneman says: “That it be surprising.”
“I don’t want to plan things out and follow some sort of scheme,” he said in an interview in his office. “I want life to surprise me and life to surprise us all.”
The 52-year-old Poneman in no stranger to life’s surprises. He revealed in May he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
“And of course, while I wish that I didn’t have it, now that I do have it it’s been an interesting adventure in life. And interesting adventures come in weird packages,” he added, stretching out the word “weird.”
“You take weird paths and sometimes it leads you to some pretty amazing wonderful situations. So that’s what I want — amazing and wonderful.”
Poneman has already achieved that at Sub Pop, the legendary label that helped launch Nirvana and Soundgarden and define the iconic Seattle sound.
Sub Pop’s other godfather is Bruce Pavitt. Poneman calls him the label’s creator, noting Sub Pop had existed “in Bruce’s bedroom and in his magazine columns and his cassette tape series,” before the two formally established the company in 1988.
Canadian bands who have found a home at Sub Pop include the Constantines, Eric’s Trip, Handsome Furs, Hardship Post, Hot Hot Heat, Jale, and Zumpano.
Toronto’s Metz is one of the label’s brightest stars today.
“Bruce and I are in agreement that they’re the best live rock ‘n’ roll band in the world right now,” Poneman said. “I think the record that they made for us is extraordinary but I still think that live (the music) is transcendant … As great as that record is, I would say they’re even greater live. And that’s not to diminish the record, it’s more to exult the live experience.”
The label found out about Metz after the band toured with longtime label member Mudhoney.
Sub Pop sits on the third floor of a non-descript building in downtown Seattle, above a killer bakery.
Posters and memorabilia adorn the walls like badges of honour. But they also serve as a reminder of the label’s limitation. A journalist is asked not to film Nirvana and certain other posters because Sub Pop no longer has their rights.
Still the label has provided to be a survivor. In part due to Nirvana.
When the band moved to Geffen/DGC for its second album “Nevermind,” Sub Pop received a buyout of Nirvana’s contract royalties on future albums.
Poneman says Sub Pop prefers to look forward rather than back.
“The reason why I think the label survives is because me and other people at the label are not so consumed by what was, (we’re) much more engaged with what’s coming forward,” Poneman said.
“New artists doing vital things,” adds Poneman. It could be Sub Pop’s mission statement.
Poneman’s office is small and efficient. Because of his Parkinson’s, he chooses to stand during the interview. There is no chair by his desk, although an exercise bike is parked by the wall.
In the open-plan portion part of the office, one cubicle is surrounded by towering walls of paper towels. The space belongs to an employee — somewhat of a neat freak, it seems — who came back from a short sabbatical to find her space redesigned. It’s a Sub Pop tradition.
The good news is you can always grab some paper towels before heading home. Nearby, a wall is covered by autographs and messages from label musicians.
On the wall of the lunch room, Polaroid-like shots of the label’s musicians fill a wall.
Pavitt sold his shares in the company some years ago but Poneman says he is taking a more active role and currently sits on the board of directors.
Poneman calls him his “partner emeritus” and a good friend of the label who serves a “crucial advisory role.”
Warner Bros. Records currently owns 49 per cent of the label. There is a time limit on the 1995 deal with both sides able to reconfigure it as desired.
“From my perspective, the relationship’s been going just fine,” said Poneman. “They’ve been wonderful partners in that they help us when we need help.”
Poneman calls Sub Pop’s silver jubilee “the third best day of my life, behind getting born and getting married.”
Mudhoney played atop the Space Needle. “Sublime,” Poneman said contentedly.
Many other bands played closer to ground, drawing a crowd estimated from 20,000 to 40,000 last month. One of Poneman’s favourites that day was Tad, a peer of Nirvana and Mudhoney, who performed some songs from back in the day with his new band Brothers of the Sonic Cloth.
“That was a new and vital experience, but it was informed by a kind of a nostalgic bent because of the material he chose to play,” Poneman said.
The former music promoter and public radio DJ isn’t sure how many bands he has on the label these days. He is unconcerned by the number, saying “artists cycle in and cycle out.”
The Sub Pop menu is truly a smorgasbord in 2013. Poneman doesn’t think there is specific Seattle sound these days and is not sure there ever was one.
“I would argue that even back in the ’80s when we were marketing music as a definitive Seattle sound, that even that was a marketing strategy,” he said. “This is a sophisticated city with a lot of different musicians. There’s no monolithic sound per se, but there are a lot of great artists in this city.”
Asked to recommend some current bands on the Sub Pop roster, Poneman offers up Metz, Seattle bands Rose Windows and the Head and the Heart, and Atlanta’s Washed Out.
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www.subpop.com
