itunes.apple.com/artist/bam-b...
buttocksproductions.com/bam-bam
• Bam Bam - Ground Zero... (cleaner copy)
Founded in Seattle by guitarist/producer Tommy Martin in 1983, Bam Bam's original line up included Pearl Jam & Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron*, Called In Sic singer/guitarist Scotty Buttocks, & the stunning rock Goddess Tina Bell on vocals; the first Black woman to front a hard rock, punk/grunge band in the US.
Bam Bam were musical pioneers in Seattle; experimenting with sludged rhythms, chopped timings, odd scales, tunings & styles.
Their 1984 EP "Villians (Also Wear White)" was one of the first recordings released on the early Seattle grunge scene; the first from Chris Hanzsek & Jack Endino's famed Reciprocal Recording Studio. Bam Bam's single "Ground Zero" came out later the same year (also produced at Reciprocal Recording).
{Billboard Magazine: The Lessons of Grunge. Sept 17, 2011, pg 17}
worldradiohistory.com/Archive...
Producers Chris Hanzsek & Jack Endino refer to Bam Bam as "part of Seattle history" while confirming Bam Bam was one of the 1st to work at Reciprocal Recording. The "D" Show April 2, 2015. • Welcome To The D Jack ...
"Toying with off-kilter timings & slow, sludgy rhythms nearly 10 years before the Seattle sound hit the mainstream, Bam Bam not only provided reference material for the movement, they were the 1st Seattle band to lay down tracks at Reciprocal Recording- the location of Nirvana’s famous demo session for songs featured on Bleach and Incesticide" .
TINA BELL’S HIDDEN LEGACY: THE BLACK WOMAN WHO CREATED THE SOUND OF GRUNGE. Jen Larson, writing for Please Kill Me. Sept 3, 2020.
pleasekillme.com/bam-bam-tina...
"The sound that Bam Bam made in the mid-1980s opened space for bands like Nirvana & Alice in Chains in the 1990s". Tania Seles, Sopa Alternativa Oct 24, 2017
sopaalternativa.com.br/tina-be...
"A year prior to the birth of Green River, Seattle made acquaintance with an equally sludgy sound, the sound of Bam Bam. Fronted by the powerful voice of Tina Bell..Bam Bam are definitely a hidden gem of the Northwest & one of the most influential bands of the ’80s’ Seattle." SMS, Feb 19, 2019
thesonicmosquitosoup.wordpres...
"As we look to Black artists who contributed to music genres that have historically swept their names aside when the history books are written.. Bell is not the only Black trail blazer whose name has been strangely missing from the common rock music history". EastCoast Entertainment - Black Music History Month: Punk, Metal, & Hardcore. Jenny Langer.
www.bookece.com/blog/2020/06/...
Om Johari writes: "The unwritten voice of grunge in the Seattle scene...(Tina Bell's) presence and the band she fronted, Bam Bam, starting a musical genre that would later forget she existed."
omjohari.wordpress.com/2015/1...
"It's so sad that even though they are among the first bands who made this style of rock music, Bam Bam has never received the recognition they deserve. It’s time to fix that". Never Mind The Nirvana & Pearl Jam, Here Is Bam Bam". Hrvoje Bubić - KLFM.org.
klfm.org/evermind-the-nirvana-...
With Kurt Cobain as roadie, The Melvins started their first tour opening for Bam Bam on May 5, 1984.
Bam Bam performed at the first two Hempfests, Sounds Of Seattle 1990, Pain In The Grass Festival, toured and/or played with Alice In Chains, Temple of the Dog, Guns n Roses, Bob Mould, Ywengie Malsteen, Soundgarden, Faith No More, NoMeansNo, Fastbacks, U-Men, Skin Yard, Napalm Beach, SadHappy...
Film school friends gave Bam Bam the chance to make videos; a rare opportunity in the 80s.
Bam Bam were one of the first NW bands on tv (NW Rocks, & The Spud Goodman Show), & were twice honored as Best NW Band on KCMU/KEXP listener polls.
In 2012 TJ Martin, son of Bam Bam's Tina Bell & Tommy Martin, won the Academy Award for Best Director of a Feature Length Documentary for his film Undefeated. ABC aired portions of Tina Bell's last interview on the Academy Awards broadcast that year.
Bam Bam endured for nearly ten years despite racism & misogyny, a "squatter" tour of Europe, busted in England, personnel changes, & passionate internal pressures.
Sadly, singer Tina Bell didn't live long enough to see her musical legacy realized. We carry her loving memory & her music forever in our hearts. Founder guitarist Tommy Martin died October 16, 2019.
In 2021 Bam Bam signed with Bric-a-Brac Records to reissue the Villains ep remastered by Jack Endino.
*Replaced by Tom Hendrickson, later by Mike Peterson of the Accused. Other Bam Bam alumni: Nick Rhinehart (Jerry Cantrell), Paul Hinklin (SadHappy).
Adam Burke vid director. (C)Buttocks Productions ASCAP.
10 май 2010
