“Look at any photo from a moment of supposed zeitgeist in American history, and it will be clear that not everyone in that moment represented the cutting-edge of culture.” –Rolf Potts In this essay episode of Deviate , Rolf talks about why he enjoys listening to Rob Harvilla’s podcast 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s at double-speed, but that he’s disappointed Rob has never alluded to Rolf’s own 1990s grunge band, Swizzlefish (1:45); Rolf describes his move from Kansas to the Pacific Northwest in the year 1990, at a very specific moment in America’s cultural zeitgeist (10:30); the origins of Swizzlefish, and how its formation with Rolf’s friends Ryan and Steve was compromised by the fact that Rolf and Steve were in no way musical virtuosos (18:30); the circumstances of the first Swizzlefish live show, and how it caused an immediate controversy on Rolf’s small Christian college campus (30:00); what Portland’s indie-rock scene was like in early 1993, and what kinds of bands Rolf and his friends saw there (35:00); how the second Swizzlefish concert resulted in the band getting banned from playing on its own college campus (42:00); Swizzlefish’s spring 1993 performance at Portland’s X-Ray Cafe, and how the middle-class normalcy of its fans evoked something true about grunge music (49:00); Rolf’s eventual move to Seattle to work as a landscaper, his experiences at a 1993 Nirvana show there, and the curiously enduring legacy of Swizzlefish more than 30 years later (57:30); and Rolf talks to music journalist Rob Harvilla about Rolf’s brief appearance in the 1992 horror movie Dr. Giggles , their respective experiences with 1990s music, and whether or not Kurt Cobain would have liked them (1:06:25). The 1993 Swizzlefish album Big Time Loser is available for streaming on Spotify. Rob Harvilla ( @harvilla ) is the creator of 60 Songs That Explain the ’90s , a book and a podcast that explore the pop culture of the decade through music. , Bands, musicians, and songs mentioned: “ Love Buzz ” ( Shocking Blue song covered on Nirvana’s Bleach ) Elliott Smith (singer-songwriter from Portland, Oregon) Heatmiser (Portland indie rock band) “ Smells Like Teen Spirit ” (Nirvana song) Jane’s Addiction (alternative rock band from LA) Mother Love Bone (Seattle rock band) Kurt Cobain (lead-singer of Nirvana ) Jackyl (American hair-metal band) “ Princess in a Cobweb ” (song by Drunk at Abi’s) Sprinkler (Portland indie-rock band) “ Should I Stay or Should I Go ” (song by The Clash ) Carrie Brownstein (musician and comedian) Bikini Kill (pioneering “
