BEHIND THE GREY DOOR - 1984

Behind The Grey Door
3rd Ave S. & Washington

Behind the Grey Door was an unlicensed club run by Don Cooper in the basement of the We B Arts building, which was open from March 1984 to August 11, 1984. 

Scott Ledgerwood from the band Bam Bam described it thusly: "It was an underground hall, literally under-fucking-ground. It was a non-sanctioned nightclub in the heart of underground Seattle. The front entrance, which was like a quarter of a block back and 2-3 floors above the stage and dance floor, was an unmarked steel door painted grey. No sign or markings whatsoever. ... Inside it was predictably dark and dank. You had to walk several flights of stairs, ducking under beams, piping and shit, then it opened into a big space with a hardwood dance floor and the stage at the far end. The band Cannibal squatted there, living under trap doors in the floor, in cement cubby holes in the wall. You'd see motorcycles burning tirees around the dance floor, people chugging bottles, passing 'round bongs and burning blunts. There was a couple skateboard ramps off to one side for kids to rip on, and a potpourri of graffiti on a scale most real clubs would never allow. Oh, and those effervescent porty-pots. Yeah! It was like a cliche movie set. Seriously though; a very fucking cool piece of Seattle history."

Sources: Pacific Northwest Music Archives Facebook page (w/intro text by Karl Braun), The Sonic Mosquito Soup blog interview with Bam Bam's Scott Ledgerwood and Tommy Martin (posted 4/24/19, and The Rocket.

1984

March

24 - Fastbacks

31 - Accused. March Of Crimes, Malfunkshun

April

6 - Two different flyers with different lineups exist for this date. 

Animal Slaves, The Altered, Feedback, PMA

A Western Family, Ministry Of Love, Feast Of Friends, Crypt Kicker Five 

13 - March Of Crimes, Malfunkshun, Rejectors

14 - Bopo Boys, R Gang, On The Rocks, Malfunkshun

28 - Personality Crisis (Winnipeg), R Gang, River Bank Action

May

5 - Bam Bam, Cannibal, Melvins (This was Melvins’ 1st Seattle show. Kurt Cobain was their roadie.)

12 - On The Rocks, Malfunkshun, Dr. Albert, Carnivorous Chicken Band

18 - Riverbank Action (Calgary), Rejectors, Bopo Boys

19 - U-Men, R Gang, Melvins

26 - 10 Minute Warning, On The Rocks, A Western Family

June

23 - Death Sentence (Vancouver), Rejectors, False Liberty

30 - The Fitz and ??

July

6 - Dr. Love, Bam Bam, Liquid Generation

7 - Tales of Terror (SF), False Liberty, R Gang

20 - Maalox (?), R Gang, Redemption

28 - U-Men, Bam Bam

August

10 - Refuzors, Bam Bam, Homewreckers

11 - Green River, Melvins, R Gang, False Liberty