Olympia
1991–2002·Olympia, WA
The PNW's underground capital. Kill Rock Stars, K Records, riot grrrl, and a DIY ethic that borders on religion. Evergreen State College pumps out a steady stream of kids who want to start bands and buy zines and book house shows. Unwound is the great noise-rock band of the operation; Sleater-Kinney is the great everything-else band, a two-guitar riff factory that started in '94 and is still going three decades later. Both on Kill Rock Stars alongside Bikini Kill, Elliott Smith, and half a dozen other bands that defined the PNW underground. Olympia values politics and process as much as sound and its best bands embody that ethos.
