History
Bruce Pavitt was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1959, the second of six kids to Robert and Ruth Pavitt. After a happy childhood, Pavitt moved from Illinois to Washington State to attend Evergreen State College in Olympia. Once there, he immediately started an indie radio show called Subterranean Pop on KAOS-FM in fall of 1979. In 1980, he started a zine of the same name, the first to focus specifically on small label, independently released American records. Three cassette compilations were released through the fanzine.
In 1983, Pavitt moved to Seattle and started a record store, Fallout, as well as writing a Sub Pop column for The Rocket, and hosting an independent-label specialty show on KCMU. 1986 saw the release of Sub Pop's (the "-terranean" was dropped earlier from the name) first LP: the Sub Pop 100. Green River's Dry As a Bone EP followed in 1987.
Pavitt initially met Jonathan Poneman in 1986, when Poneman invited Pavitt for an on-air interview on KCMU, to promote Sub Pop 100. In 1987, Kim Thayil of Soundgarden suggested that the two join forces. Pavitt and Thayil had both attended Rich East High School in Park Forest, Illinois in the mid-1970s. Subsequently Soundgarden's Screaming Life EP was released, and the grunge phenomenon quickly followed.
He is also credited with signing Nirvana to Sub Pop. He became a multimillionaire from this move. In 1996, Pavitt parted company with Sub Pop records. Contributing factors in his decision to leave are reported to have been disagreements between Pavitt and fellow Sub Pop partner Johnathan Poneman on the direction of the label's future; also, the unease Pavitt felt with the change in business environment following the selling of 49% of Sub-Pop's shares to Warner Bros Records.
Bruce currently lives on Orcas Island WA, with his family. He keeps engaged in music by periodically speaking at conferences and festivals, consulting with artists and music lables, and as a DJ. A true music fan, Bruce continues to study music history in every genre.
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