Bundle of Hiss c/o Loveless Records 1122 E. Pike St. #1361 Seattle, WA 98122

Bundle of Hiss, one of the lost Seattle God Bands hailing from the near-prehistoric days before Subpop and grunge, helped create what would come to be called the Seattle Sound, along with the likes of The U-Men, Green River, Soundgarden, Skinyard, Feast, The Melvins, Coffin Break, Malfunkshun, H-Hour, Chemistry Set, Mother Love Bone, Room Nine, Screaming Trees, 64 Spiders, Vexed, Pure Joy, and many others. When the Seattle hype machine tilted and flew into a manic phase, it produced propaganda at a staggering rate, influenced pop culture on a global scale, and catapulted some bands to the top of the charts. It was a great time to play in a band, especially if you were from Seattle. Many bands got the opportunity to document their songs on vinyl and/or CD, if not actually sell a lot of records. The "Seattle Sound" became a viable niche market. Bundle of Hiss recorded a lot of material which was never released, except for a few isolated tracks included on obscure compilations. These unreleased recordings document the development of a heavy punk sound that many bands worldwide would later copy, not directly from Bundle of Hiss, but via their contemporaries, with whom BOH shared influences and musical elements. BOH played gigs at the original Fabulous Rainbow for Jon Penman's KCMU night, the UCT Hall (with Feast and Pure Joy), the Lincoln Arts Center (with Room Nine), and at Gesco in Olympia (with Feast). Bundle of Hiss also played with the Vandals, Tales of Terror, March of Crimes, Soundgarden, Malfunkshun, Green River, Skin Yard, Nimbus, Crypt Kicker Five, Chemistry Set, Vexed, Roger Miller and Napalm Beach. BOH also began a long tradition of practicing at the Dutchman, using a room that they shared with Feast and which Tad would later share with Mudhoney, Nirvana, Love Battery, and others. However, even more important than similarities BOH shared with various bands that emerged from Seattle at that time were the facets of Bundle of Hiss that distinguished them from any other Seattle rock act of that era. BOH rocked with a sophisticated frenzy not often heard. For one thing, Bundle of Hiss incorporated more postpunk influences into their unique song stylings than did their cohorts, creating spare and minimalist soundscapes that had as much in common with Gang of Four and Joy Division as they did with the Stooges, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, or Black Sabbath. The bass and drums were in the forefront of the BOH sound, providing a landscape for the windshear guitars and the mirror-world vocals. Seattle in the 80's was fertile time for music; but it was a volatile time too. Bands constantly broke up to form new bands. Bundle of Hiss was not immune to this phenomenon. One consolation for those lost bands is that they sometimes take on a legendary status. Kurt and Dan shamelessly contributed to the growing BOH mythology whenever they got a chance to mention BOH in Mudhoney and Tad interviews. Soon, fans of both bands knew about Bundle of Hiss, but now they wanted to hear them. The question was, would they ever get the chance? Neither Kurt nor Dan could say, because they simply did not know. That is, until now. Bundle of Hiss: myth or reality? Only a sound document can prove that Bundle of Hiss is not a myth, that it is real, that Kurt and Dan have not been inventing and inflating the bogus history of a bogus band all these years. And not only that, but that the music of the legendary Bundle of Hiss is worth more than just a cursory listen. When Bundle of Hiss broke up, spawning Mudhoney and Tad, they had yet to release any of the many songs they had recorded. That prevented them from selling millions of records--or from even having any kind of release available in stores. This CD attempts to remedy that intolerable and even appalling situation. Bundle of Hiss has been fermenting for almost twelve years. Take a taste of a vintage band bottled for your listening pleasure. Check out the Bundle of Hiss page on the Experience Music site: www.experience.org/nw_passage.