WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.140 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are stripping 00:00:03.140 --> 00:00:06.679 away the flannel -clad mythology of the 1990s. 00:00:06.759 --> 00:00:09.240 You know the image I'm talking about, the MTV 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:12.019 unplugged specials, the glossy magazine covers. 00:00:12.300 --> 00:00:14.779 The whole Seattle sound that eventually got packaged 00:00:14.779 --> 00:00:17.480 and sold at the mall. Yeah, exactly. We are not 00:00:17.480 --> 00:00:20.140 doing that today. We are going back to the dive 00:00:20.140 --> 00:00:24.160 bars that smelled like stale beer, sawdust, and 00:00:24.160 --> 00:00:26.579 sweat. The places where the floor was sticky 00:00:26.579 --> 00:00:30.800 and the, I mean, the danger felt... It's a necessary 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:32.939 distinction. There was the Seattle the world 00:00:32.939 --> 00:00:34.939 saw, and then there was the Seattle that actually 00:00:34.939 --> 00:00:37.079 existed on the ground. For sure. And the band 00:00:37.079 --> 00:00:38.759 we were talking about today, Seven Year Bitch, 00:00:38.960 --> 00:00:42.399 they lived and breathed in that ground level 00:00:42.399 --> 00:00:45.079 reality. They really did. And frankly, they often 00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:47.159 get left out of the montage. When people list 00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:49.200 the heavy hitters, they say Nirvana, Pearl Jam, 00:00:49.460 --> 00:00:51.799 Soundgarden. The big four. Right, right. But 00:00:51.799 --> 00:00:53.679 if you talk to anyone who was actually in the 00:00:53.679 --> 00:00:56.659 pit at the off ramp or the OK Hotel, Seven Year 00:00:56.659 --> 00:00:58.899 Bitch was essential. They were heavier, angrier, 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:00.939 and honestly, they had a story that was tragic. 00:01:01.100 --> 00:01:03.000 more intense than almost anyone else in that 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:05.959 zip code. Oh, it's true. Their story is almost 00:01:05.959 --> 00:01:08.480 Shakespearean in its tragedy, but it's played 00:01:08.480 --> 00:01:10.760 at, you know, 200 beats per minute. We're looking 00:01:10.760 --> 00:01:14.760 at a seven year run. from 1990 to 1997. Just 00:01:14.760 --> 00:01:17.640 seven years. And in that time, it encapsulates 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:20.439 the highest highs of creative explosion and the 00:01:20.439 --> 00:01:23.319 absolute lowest lows of grief. So let's unpack 00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:25.459 this. We're talking about an all -female lineup. 00:01:25.959 --> 00:01:28.920 Celine Vigil on vocals, Stephanie Sargent on 00:01:28.920 --> 00:01:31.760 guitar, Elizabeth Davis on bass, and Valerie 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:34.840 Agnew on drums. But they didn't start as Seven 00:01:34.840 --> 00:01:37.000 Year Bitch. No, they didn't. They actually had 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:39.540 one of my absolute favorite pre -fame band names. 00:01:39.859 --> 00:01:41.379 Please tell me you're talking about Barbie's 00:01:41.379 --> 00:01:45.159 dream. Yes. Barbie's dream car. It's such a perfect 00:01:45.159 --> 00:01:47.480 tongue in cheek snapshot of where their heads 00:01:47.480 --> 00:01:49.719 were at. It's, you know, pink and plastic. But 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:51.920 they were playing this grimy punk music. That 00:01:51.920 --> 00:01:53.780 irony. It's right there from the start. It really 00:01:53.780 --> 00:01:56.540 is. And that irony was their calling card. When 00:01:56.540 --> 00:01:59.540 they regrouped in 1990 after their original bassist 00:01:59.540 --> 00:02:02.359 left, bringing in Elizabeth Davis to solidify 00:02:02.359 --> 00:02:05.180 the lineup, they needed a new name. And the story 00:02:05.180 --> 00:02:08.020 goes that their friend Ben London, who played 00:02:08.020 --> 00:02:10.360 in another great local band called Alcohol Funny 00:02:10.360 --> 00:02:14.400 Car, suggested Seven Year Bitch. Which is obviously 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:17.340 a play on the classic Marilyn Monroe movie, The 00:02:17.340 --> 00:02:20.379 Seven Year Itch. Right. But think about the aggression 00:02:20.379 --> 00:02:24.599 in that twist. Itch implies a nuisance, a restlessness. 00:02:25.020 --> 00:02:27.900 Bitch claims space. It's confrontational. Oh, 00:02:27.919 --> 00:02:29.680 yeah. It tells you exactly what you're in for 00:02:29.680 --> 00:02:32.199 before you even drop the needle. And it's worth 00:02:32.199 --> 00:02:34.460 noting, they were forming right at the convergence 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:38.139 of like three massive cultural tectonic plates. 00:02:38.360 --> 00:02:40.219 Okay. What were they? You had the established 00:02:40.219 --> 00:02:42.740 punk scene, the explosion of grunge, and the 00:02:42.740 --> 00:02:44.939 burgeoning Riot Grrrl movement. Let's pause on 00:02:44.939 --> 00:02:46.800 that for a second because Riot Grrrl gets thrown 00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:48.740 around as a buzzword a lot. Yeah. Was Seven Year 00:02:48.740 --> 00:02:51.300 Bitch a Riot Grrrl band? Because sonically they 00:02:51.300 --> 00:02:53.259 feel a little different than, say, Bikini Kill. 00:02:53.460 --> 00:02:55.680 That is a great nuance to catch. They were certainly 00:02:55.680 --> 00:02:57.979 part of that wave and they shared the ethos. 00:02:58.039 --> 00:03:00.520 Okay. You have to remember. The late 80s punk 00:03:00.520 --> 00:03:05.379 scene had become incredibly violent and increasingly 00:03:05.379 --> 00:03:08.240 misogynistic. The mosh pits were dangerous places 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:11.000 for women. Right. Riot Grrrl was a response to 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:13.500 that, a way of saying, we are taking the front 00:03:13.500 --> 00:03:16.699 of the stage. Seven Year Bitch embodied that 00:03:16.699 --> 00:03:20.020 completely, but musically. They were sludgier. 00:03:20.099 --> 00:03:22.159 They had a metallic edge. They were heavier. 00:03:22.340 --> 00:03:23.979 So much heavier. They didn't just want to shout 00:03:23.979 --> 00:03:25.960 slogans. They wanted to outplay the guys in the 00:03:25.960 --> 00:03:27.860 room. You can hear that hunger in their early 00:03:27.860 --> 00:03:30.080 stuff. I was listening to the tracks from their 00:03:30.080 --> 00:03:34.000 debut era and Celine Vigil's voice. It's not 00:03:34.000 --> 00:03:35.919 pretty, and I mean that as a compliment. Oh, 00:03:35.919 --> 00:03:38.000 totally. It's this guttural, throat -shredding 00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:40.860 scream that feels like she's exercising a demon 00:03:40.860 --> 00:03:43.710 in real time. It's visceral. And they sharpened 00:03:43.710 --> 00:03:46.009 that sound quickly. Their very first concert 00:03:46.009 --> 00:03:48.789 was opening for the Gits. Okay, we need to flag 00:03:48.789 --> 00:03:51.389 this. The Gits. You cannot tell the story of 00:03:51.389 --> 00:03:53.270 Seven Year Bitch without talking about the Gits. 00:03:53.469 --> 00:03:55.750 They were the big siblings of the scene. How 00:03:55.750 --> 00:03:59.389 so? Well, their lead singer, Mia Zapata, was 00:03:59.389 --> 00:04:02.729 just a force of nature. She was bluesy, gritty, 00:04:02.810 --> 00:04:05.729 incredible charisma. For Seven Year Bitch to 00:04:05.729 --> 00:04:08.909 open for them, that was an endorsement. It linked 00:04:08.909 --> 00:04:11.090 their fates together immediately. So they have 00:04:11.090 --> 00:04:12.870 this momentum. They released the single Lorna 00:04:12.870 --> 00:04:16.430 in 91. They signed CZ Records. And then in 1992, 00:04:16.730 --> 00:04:19.449 they dropped the debut album Sickum. Yes. If 00:04:19.449 --> 00:04:21.050 you haven't heard this record, describe the vibe 00:04:21.050 --> 00:04:23.990 for us. Sickum sounds like a car crash in slow 00:04:23.990 --> 00:04:27.889 motion. It's raw. It's unpolished. The guitar 00:04:27.889 --> 00:04:31.189 tone is muddy but driving. It really is. It captures 00:04:31.189 --> 00:04:34.470 that specific energy of a band that has played 00:04:34.470 --> 00:04:37.310 100 basement shows and just wants to capture 00:04:37.310 --> 00:04:40.930 that live ferocity on tape. It's promising. It 00:04:40.930 --> 00:04:42.870 sounds like the beginning of a long career. But 00:04:42.870 --> 00:04:44.810 it wasn't, or at least not the career they thought 00:04:44.810 --> 00:04:46.329 they were having, because almost immediately 00:04:46.329 --> 00:04:48.810 after Sickum comes out, the first tragedy hits. 00:04:49.029 --> 00:04:53.449 June 27, 1992. Stephanie Sargent, the guitarist 00:04:53.449 --> 00:04:55.490 and a founding member, passed away. She was only 00:04:55.490 --> 00:04:58.550 24. 24 years old. Just as the album was hitting 00:04:58.550 --> 00:05:01.550 the shelves, she died after a party, a combination 00:05:01.550 --> 00:05:03.529 of alcohol and a small amount of heroin, and 00:05:03.529 --> 00:05:05.790 she passed out on her back and asphyxiated. Just 00:05:05.790 --> 00:05:08.410 a senseless, accidental tragedy. Exactly. It 00:05:08.410 --> 00:05:10.589 just freezes everyone in their tracks. I can't 00:05:10.589 --> 00:05:12.370 even imagine the headspace of the rest of the 00:05:12.370 --> 00:05:14.790 band. You finally hold your debut record in your 00:05:14.790 --> 00:05:17.689 hands. You're ready to tour. And suddenly your 00:05:17.689 --> 00:05:21.550 guitarist, your friend, is gone. Most bands would 00:05:21.550 --> 00:05:23.649 just fold, right? You'd think so. You'd pack 00:05:23.649 --> 00:05:25.870 it up. Yeah. And there was a period of intense 00:05:25.870 --> 00:05:29.680 grieving and uncertainty. But... And this is 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:31.660 where we start to see the steel in their spines. 00:05:31.740 --> 00:05:35.360 They didn't stop. No. In fact, they moved with 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:37.519 a speed that might seem shocking to an outsider. 00:05:38.240 --> 00:05:41.220 They recruited Royzen Day as the new guitarist 00:05:41.220 --> 00:05:43.279 later that same year. That feels complicated. 00:05:43.399 --> 00:05:45.879 On one hand, it shows incredible resilience. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:48.139 On the other, did people judge them for moving 00:05:48.139 --> 00:05:50.920 on so fast? There's always that tension. But 00:05:50.920 --> 00:05:53.279 you have to understand, for them, the music was 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:55.600 likely the only thing holding them together. 00:05:55.800 --> 00:05:58.300 A lifeline. Exactly. If they stopped playing, 00:05:58.459 --> 00:06:00.339 they would just be sitting in the silence of 00:06:00.339 --> 00:06:04.220 that loss. Playing was a way to keep Stephanie's 00:06:04.220 --> 00:06:07.000 work alive, to keep the entity they built together 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:09.680 breathing. And a risen day, stepping into that 00:06:09.680 --> 00:06:12.560 situation. An impossible situation. But she fit. 00:06:12.699 --> 00:06:14.540 She brought a slightly different energy, maybe 00:06:14.540 --> 00:06:16.699 a bit more technical, but she kept the machine 00:06:16.699 --> 00:06:19.300 moving. So they are back on their feet. They 00:06:19.300 --> 00:06:21.259 are navigating this new normal. They are writing 00:06:21.259 --> 00:06:26.360 new songs. It's 1993. And then... The unthinkable 00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:28.899 happens. It's hard to overstate how devastating 00:06:28.899 --> 00:06:31.740 this next event was, not just for the band, but 00:06:31.740 --> 00:06:33.819 for the entire Pacific Northwest. We were talking 00:06:33.819 --> 00:06:37.759 about Mia Zapata. July 7th, 1993. Mia Zapata, 00:06:37.899 --> 00:06:39.959 the frontwoman of the Gits, the woman who had 00:06:39.959 --> 00:06:42.519 mentored them, befriended them, the heart of 00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:45.060 the scene. She was raped and strangled to death 00:06:45.060 --> 00:06:47.120 while walking home late at night in Seattle. 00:06:47.300 --> 00:06:50.259 It is just horrific. And the timing, it was almost 00:06:50.259 --> 00:06:52.680 exactly a year after Stephanie died. A year and 00:06:52.680 --> 00:06:56.180 10 days. So seven year bitch is barely out of 00:06:56.180 --> 00:06:58.019 the woods from mourning their own guitarist. 00:06:58.019 --> 00:07:00.519 And now their closest ally is murdered in this 00:07:00.519 --> 00:07:03.100 brutal, violent way. The psychological siege 00:07:03.100 --> 00:07:05.379 on them must have been immense. Immense. And 00:07:05.379 --> 00:07:07.300 not just them, but the women of Seattle in general. 00:07:07.709 --> 00:07:09.910 The city didn't feel safe anymore. The darkness 00:07:09.910 --> 00:07:11.649 wasn't just in the lyrics. It was on the street 00:07:11.649 --> 00:07:14.670 corner. This is where the story pivots from band 00:07:14.670 --> 00:07:18.110 biography to something much deeper. Because their 00:07:18.110 --> 00:07:21.829 response wasn't just to write sad songs. No. 00:07:21.970 --> 00:07:24.410 They got angry. Fury is the right word. Their 00:07:24.410 --> 00:07:27.790 second album, released in 1994, is titled Viva 00:07:27.790 --> 00:07:31.129 Zapata. A tribute. A tribute to both Stephanie 00:07:31.129 --> 00:07:33.879 and Mia. But if you go into this album expecting 00:07:33.879 --> 00:07:36.740 a tearful acoustic ballad, you are going to be 00:07:36.740 --> 00:07:39.319 shocked. It's not that at all. This album screams. 00:07:40.060 --> 00:07:42.800 It is an artistic confrontation with death and 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:45.899 violence, the cover art, the lyrics. It's the 00:07:45.899 --> 00:07:48.139 sound of women who are backed into a corner and 00:07:48.139 --> 00:07:50.459 are coming out swinging. But they didn't just 00:07:50.459 --> 00:07:52.759 limit it to the art, did they? This is the part 00:07:52.759 --> 00:07:55.779 of the deep dive that really blew me away. They 00:07:55.779 --> 00:07:57.399 took that anger and turned it into infrastructure. 00:07:58.550 --> 00:08:00.649 Let's talk about Home Alive. Yes. This is their 00:08:00.649 --> 00:08:03.730 most tangible legacy. Valerie Agnew, the drummer, 00:08:03.870 --> 00:08:06.170 didn't just want to mourn. She wanted to change 00:08:06.170 --> 00:08:08.649 the equation. She co -founded Home Alive. And 00:08:08.649 --> 00:08:10.649 this wasn't just a raise awareness campaign where 00:08:10.649 --> 00:08:12.829 people wear a ribbon, was it? No, no. It was 00:08:12.829 --> 00:08:15.129 practical. It was visceral. Home Alive was an 00:08:15.129 --> 00:08:17.689 organization dedicated to anti -violence and 00:08:17.689 --> 00:08:19.629 self -defense training. They were teaching women 00:08:19.629 --> 00:08:21.790 how to fight. How to break a hold, how to be 00:08:21.790 --> 00:08:24.310 aware of their surroundings. All of it. They 00:08:24.310 --> 00:08:26.670 offered sliding scale classes to ensure anyone 00:08:26.670 --> 00:08:29.339 could access them. That is such a profound shift 00:08:29.339 --> 00:08:32.960 to go from we are musicians to we are going to 00:08:32.960 --> 00:08:34.919 teach you how to survive an attack. It was a 00:08:34.919 --> 00:08:37.419 necessity. The police investigation into Mia's 00:08:37.419 --> 00:08:40.899 murder was dragging on. It actually went unsolved 00:08:40.899 --> 00:08:43.379 for a decade. And the community felt abandoned. 00:08:43.899 --> 00:08:46.299 So Home Alive was the community saying we protect 00:08:46.299 --> 00:08:48.320 us. That seven -year bitch was right at the center 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:51.100 of that. Absolutely. They organized benefit shows, 00:08:51.299 --> 00:08:53.559 notably the Rock Against Domestic Violence show 00:08:53.559 --> 00:08:56.519 in April 94. Who was on that bill? It was a powerhouse 00:08:56.519 --> 00:08:59.490 lineup. You had Seven Year Bitch, Babes in Toyland, 00:08:59.750 --> 00:09:02.570 Jack Off Jill. Wow. These were bands that were 00:09:02.570 --> 00:09:05.269 loud, unapologetic, and completely uninterested 00:09:05.269 --> 00:09:07.950 in being nice. They were using the mosh pit as 00:09:07.950 --> 00:09:10.309 a recruitment ground for self -empowerment. So 00:09:10.309 --> 00:09:12.750 in the mid -90s, you have this band that has 00:09:12.750 --> 00:09:15.389 weathered two massive tragedies, produced two 00:09:15.389 --> 00:09:17.970 intense albums, and helped build a self -defense 00:09:17.970 --> 00:09:20.929 organization. They are arguably the most credible 00:09:20.929 --> 00:09:23.190 band in existence at this point. You're hard 00:09:23.190 --> 00:09:25.580 -pressed to find one more so. And then... The 00:09:25.580 --> 00:09:28.019 major labels come knocking. It was inevitable. 00:09:28.179 --> 00:09:32.720 By 1995, every A &R guy in a suit was scouring 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:35.700 Seattle for the next Nirvana. Seven -year bitch 00:09:35.700 --> 00:09:38.080 signed with Atlantic Records. The big leagues. 00:09:38.179 --> 00:09:40.679 And this leads to one of the weirdest pop culture 00:09:40.679 --> 00:09:42.419 crossovers of the decade. Do you remember the 00:09:42.419 --> 00:09:44.980 movie Mad Love? Drew Barrymore and Chris O'Donnell. 00:09:45.080 --> 00:09:48.500 Of course. A very Hollywood. teen romance on 00:09:48.500 --> 00:09:51.059 the run movie. And somehow Seven Year Bitch ends 00:09:51.059 --> 00:09:53.120 up on the soundtrack. Not just on the soundtrack, 00:09:53.340 --> 00:09:56.100 they are featured. The Scratch and Icy Blue are 00:09:56.100 --> 00:09:58.419 in the film. It's this jarring juxtaposition, 00:09:58.419 --> 00:10:01.179 isn't it? You have this gritty, trauma -hardened 00:10:01.179 --> 00:10:04.259 punk band providing the backdrop for a mainstream 00:10:04.259 --> 00:10:06.799 Drew Barrymore movie. Just shows you how weirdly 00:10:06.799 --> 00:10:09.019 commodified that whole scene was becoming. So 00:10:09.019 --> 00:10:11.299 did that major label shift change their sound? 00:10:11.460 --> 00:10:13.639 They released their third album, Gato Negro, 00:10:13.860 --> 00:10:17.320 in 1996. Gato Negro is polished, certainly more 00:10:17.320 --> 00:10:20.220 so than Sikkim, but it hasn't lost its teeth. 00:10:20.419 --> 00:10:23.519 It's perhaps a bit more groovy, a bit more rhythmic. 00:10:23.720 --> 00:10:26.000 Right. You can hear the maturity in the songwriting. 00:10:26.019 --> 00:10:27.600 They weren't just reacting anymore. They were 00:10:27.600 --> 00:10:29.919 composing. Right. But the cracks were starting 00:10:29.919 --> 00:10:33.139 to show in the foundation. Right. Because after 00:10:33.139 --> 00:10:35.759 the Gato Negro tour, Roisin Dunn, who had been 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:38.700 the rock for them on guitar since Stephanie died, 00:10:38.980 --> 00:10:42.240 decides to leave. She'd put in four intense years. 00:10:42.519 --> 00:10:44.740 And once again, the band faces that question. 00:10:45.539 --> 00:10:48.980 Do we replace the guitarist again? And they tried. 00:10:49.100 --> 00:10:51.940 They brought in Lisa Fabidi. Who was family to 00:10:51.940 --> 00:10:54.220 them. She had been their live sound engineer. 00:10:54.399 --> 00:10:55.820 It makes sense. When you've been through that 00:10:55.820 --> 00:10:57.840 much trauma, you don't hold auditions for strangers. 00:10:58.059 --> 00:10:59.639 You turn to the people who are there on the bus 00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:02.539 with you. Exactly. But even with Lisa, it wasn't 00:11:02.539 --> 00:11:04.779 enough. It feels like the energy just ran out. 00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:07.419 Well, it was partly exhaustion and partly geography, 00:11:07.720 --> 00:11:10.649 right? By 96, 97, they weren't all in Seattle 00:11:10.649 --> 00:11:13.289 anymore. That's right. Elizabeth Davis and Valerie 00:11:13.289 --> 00:11:16.389 Agnew moved to San Francisco. Celine Vigil moved 00:11:16.389 --> 00:11:19.049 to Los Angeles. The classic band killer. It's 00:11:19.049 --> 00:11:21.309 hard to maintain that us against the world gang 00:11:21.309 --> 00:11:23.909 mentality when you have to fly to see each other. 00:11:24.009 --> 00:11:26.629 Exactly. They did one final tour with a band 00:11:26.629 --> 00:11:29.830 called Lost Goat. And then in early 1997, it 00:11:29.830 --> 00:11:32.409 was over. And here is where the universe delivers 00:11:32.409 --> 00:11:37.169 that final ironic punchline. The timeline. Formed 00:11:37.169 --> 00:11:40.830 in 1990. disbanded in 1997 they lasted exactly 00:11:40.830 --> 00:11:43.710 seven years they lived the seven -year itch they 00:11:43.710 --> 00:11:46.629 fulfilled their own prophecy it's poetic but 00:11:46.629 --> 00:11:50.110 it's also just exhausting to think about seven 00:11:50.110 --> 00:11:53.029 years of fighting grieving recording and touring 00:11:53.840 --> 00:11:55.860 They packed a lifetime into that window. They 00:11:55.860 --> 00:11:58.039 really did. The band dissolves. And usually in 00:11:58.039 --> 00:11:59.980 these deep dives, we do a quick, where are they 00:11:59.980 --> 00:12:02.440 now? But with this group, the aftermath feels 00:12:02.440 --> 00:12:05.539 really significant. It is. It shows how different 00:12:05.539 --> 00:12:08.100 people process that kind of intensity. You see 00:12:08.100 --> 00:12:10.620 a fracture in the trajectories. Also. On one 00:12:10.620 --> 00:12:12.639 side, you have the rhythm section. Elizabeth 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:15.000 Davis. She couldn't stop playing. She went right 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:16.899 back into the grind. She joined a band called 00:12:16.899 --> 00:12:19.480 Clone and later was a founding member of Von 00:12:19.480 --> 00:12:22.340 Ava. So she stayed very present in the music 00:12:22.340 --> 00:12:24.840 scene. Kept that pulse alive. But then you look 00:12:24.840 --> 00:12:28.039 at Celine Vigil, the voice, the one who had to 00:12:28.039 --> 00:12:29.879 scream out that trauma every night. Her path 00:12:29.879 --> 00:12:32.820 was quieter for a long time. A long time. She 00:12:32.820 --> 00:12:35.940 formed a project called Sistine in 2000, which 00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:38.779 was gothic and psychedelic. But she didn't release 00:12:38.779 --> 00:12:43.190 a proper solo album until 2010s. That was then. 00:12:43.350 --> 00:12:46.169 That's a 13 -year gap from the breakup. That 00:12:46.169 --> 00:12:49.250 silence speaks volumes. Sometimes, after you've 00:12:49.250 --> 00:12:51.529 given that much of yourself, you just need to 00:12:51.529 --> 00:12:53.789 step back. And we have to mention Lisa Fabiti, 00:12:53.850 --> 00:12:56.269 who joined right at the end. Lisa had a fascinating 00:12:56.269 --> 00:12:58.649 creative life. She worked in film. She played 00:12:58.649 --> 00:13:01.190 in a band called Smoochnub. She had a solo act. 00:13:01.590 --> 00:13:04.990 But tragically, the shadow of early death that 00:13:04.990 --> 00:13:07.649 haunted this band... wasn't quite done. Lisa 00:13:07.649 --> 00:13:10.970 passed away in 2011. It's heavy. When you look 00:13:10.970 --> 00:13:13.909 at the whole picture, Stephanie, Mia, Lisa, it 00:13:13.909 --> 00:13:15.909 feels like the music was almost secondary to 00:13:15.909 --> 00:13:17.889 the survival. I think that's the key takeaway 00:13:17.889 --> 00:13:20.269 here. If you just look at the charts, Seven Year 00:13:20.269 --> 00:13:22.590 Bitch is a footnote. They didn't sell 10 million 00:13:22.590 --> 00:13:25.009 records like Pearl Jam. But if you look at the 00:13:25.009 --> 00:13:27.909 fabric of the scene, they were the steel reinforcement 00:13:27.909 --> 00:13:30.529 bars in the concrete. They're the ones who proved 00:13:30.529 --> 00:13:32.889 you could keep going. Right. They took the Seattle 00:13:32.889 --> 00:13:36.320 sound. which everyone associates with rain and 00:13:36.320 --> 00:13:39.279 heroin and vague angst, and they gave it a spine. 00:13:39.879 --> 00:13:42.000 They showed that the community wasn't just about 00:13:42.000 --> 00:13:44.320 partying together. It was about protecting each 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:46.960 other. Then home alive. Home alive saved lives. 00:13:47.179 --> 00:13:50.100 That is a legacy that charts can't measure. It 00:13:50.100 --> 00:13:52.200 brings up a question I've been mulling over while 00:13:52.200 --> 00:13:54.379 reading through these notes. We talk about how 00:13:54.379 --> 00:13:57.220 the environment shapes the art, the gray skies, 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:00.799 the isolation. But listening to Viva Zapata, 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:04.200 I have to ask. How much of that legendary Seattle 00:14:04.200 --> 00:14:07.980 sound was actually shaped by funerals? That is 00:14:07.980 --> 00:14:10.500 the uncomfortable truth, isn't it? We romanticize 00:14:10.500 --> 00:14:12.899 the angst, but a lot of it was born from very 00:14:12.899 --> 00:14:15.679 real, very ugly trauma. The aggression in the 00:14:15.679 --> 00:14:17.980 music wasn't an act. It was a necessary release 00:14:17.980 --> 00:14:20.539 valve. Without that release, the city might have 00:14:20.539 --> 00:14:22.659 just imploded. It might have. Well, that is something 00:14:22.659 --> 00:14:24.980 to chew on the next time you put on a 90s alternative 00:14:24.980 --> 00:14:28.220 playlist. Don't just skip to the hits. Go find 00:14:28.220 --> 00:14:31.600 Sikkim. Go find Viva Zapata. Listen to what survival 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:33.840 sounds like. It's worth a listen. Thanks for 00:14:33.840 --> 00:14:35.460 going down this road with us. It wasn't an easy 00:14:35.460 --> 00:14:37.840 one, but it was necessary. We'll see you on the 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:38.480 next Deep Dive.