BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Melvins are a band with an impressive legacy and they'll be bring their legendary live show on Sept. 7th to Bakersfield's Temblor Brewing Company.
Tickets are available for their 7 p.m. show on Ticketweb's website.
Starting out in the '80s, they carved out a sound that influenced the grunge movement in Seattle as well as numerous punk and rock bands.
And over the span of nearly 40 years The Melvins have made their way to Bakersfield several times.
"We've played there a number of times," said Osborne. " I can't remember the first time we played there. I believe we played there at an arena one time with Tool. We've done our own shows six or seven times. We've played the brewery once right before the pandemic. Before the world ended."
There's also a Bakersfield music icon that Buzz is quite fond of: Buck Owens.
"I think Buck Owens was very progressive," explains Osborne. "I think a lot of country music fans gave him crap because of that. He wasn't as traditional as they would have liked even though he was fully capable of doing that. He expanded out and did a lot of odd sounds like fuzz guitar and songs like 'Memphis' that may be a lot of country folks thought was too rock sounding.
"I think there even was a 'Live At Carnegie Hall' recording where they did 'Twist And Shout' after The Beatles covered his cover of 'Act Naturally.' "
I think his stuff and Don Rich's stuff were two of the best country artists ever. I read a thing with Buck that when Don died, tragically he never got over it that was his partner. They wrote amazing music together...
"Not only would Buck Owens be one of my favorite country artists, he's one of my favorite artists. By far."
The Melvins stayed active as the pandemic hit with the release of the career-spanning, 36 track acoustic album "Five Legged Dog" and the 13-track full length "Working With God." Fans can also look forward to "Bad Mood Rising" coming out sometime this year on Amphetamine Reptile Records (preorders were available and are sold out but no release date has been announced.)
Going back to The Melvins influence on grunge, Kurt Cobain was a huge fan of the band. A young Cobain even played in a band with The Melvins' Dale Crover called Fecal Matter and in Brown Towel with Osborne.
"Me and [Cobain] did something earlier than [Fecal Matter] called Brown Towel that I thought was pretty funny," said Osborne.
"... That was a long time ago and all kind of blurs together. Dale, the drummer, and I will go 'Well, I know such and such happened but did I do that or say that or did you? It's hard to remember. The whole thing with him is tragic. It ended so badly with all the horrible stuff and horrible people surrounding him."
Without The Melvins, the music landscape could have been way different. And definitely less interesting which is all the more reason to catch their live show at Temblor.
