On their own terms

Paul Saitowitz

The Melvins -- originally hailing from Aberdeen, Wash. -- are on tour

celebrating the milestone of reaching 20 years of rollicking around

the globe in a rickety van together as a band.

What’s more impressive than the two decades of playing their

version of dissonant, semi-melodic punk is that they’ve done it in

spite of basically everything and everyone. There’s hardly a blip of

mainstream, commercial or even much underground success on their

collective radar, yet somehow most any rock music fan between 18 and

40 has heard of them.

The Melvins are a band that has always been around -- they’ve

opened for Kiss, White Zombie, Tool and Primus, just to name a few.

Kurt Cobain grew up in the same town as them and was a big fan, and

they often get mentioned as being an influence by larger, more

popular bands -- but how many fans do the Melvins really have?

“We hear stuff about being an influence, but not many bands

actually act upon it and do anything for us,” bass player Kevin

Rutamanis said. “I think more than anything, we’re just a band that

has been a thorn in everyone’s side.”

That thorn is fronted by a lead singer named Buzz “King Buzzo”

Osborne, whose trademark hair resembles the bride of Frankenstein’s,

and is rounded out by drummer Dale Crover. That thorn has put out 18

albums and shows no sign of stopping or even slowing down any time

soon. That thorn is still on the road after 20 years, playing small

clubs and bars after tasting life on a major label.

“There were three albums on Atlantic Records, and no one has

anything bad to say about that experience,” Rutamanis said. “But it

seems like we’re more suited for independent labels.”

Or are they?

During the early and mid-1990s, it seemed like every band that

came out of the Pacific Northwest was on its way to playing stadiums

and being known throughout the world. Cobain’s Nirvana, Pearl Jam,

Screaming Trees and Alice in Chains were all formed after the Melvins

had already been around for years.

“The reason the Melvins left that area was because no one could

stand us,” Rutamanis said. “Not the industry, the fans, other bands

... we moved away to San Francisco because we did not fit into the

scene.”

Except for Pearl Jam, all the above-mentioned bands are defunct,

and yet the Melvins keep trucking on. Maybe there is something to be

said for true artists making their art regardless of the reaction it

receives from others. To the Melvins, music doesn’t seem to be about

a scene or an industry, it seems to be about the music.

“The truth is, is that this is an extremely hard working band,”

Rutamanis said. “We’re obviously not in it for any kind of fame or

money. It’s something that we do because we love it, and honestly,

I’m having more fun now than I ever have. People ask me if the band

is gonna stop soon, and I can’t even fathom that. I mean, how do you

retire from making music? It’s not something I could ever stop

doing.”

The Melvins will be at Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa on Sunday night.