Andrew Wood
Andrew Wood was the frontman for two Seattle based Grunge bands, Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. Wood is looked back on as the musical prodigy whose impact on the Seattle music scene of the late 80’s and early 90’s is immeasurable. His death in 1990 was considered a great tragedy by his friends, fellow musicians, and fans alike.
As teenagers, Wood and his brother Kevin formed the band Malfunkshun in 1980, while living on Bainbridge Island in Washington State. Though Malfunkshun continuously played live shows, they formally released only one track during their active years. The track, titled “With Yo’ Heart Not Yo’ Hands,” was featured on the album Deep Six, a Grunge compilation issued by the C/Z Records label in 1986. Malfunkshun’s complete lack of a proper studio album is often attributed to Andrew’s long time struggle with heroin addiction, which led Wood to check himself into rehab in 1985. It was after returning from rehab that Malfunkshun morphed into Mother Love Bone, dropping some members and adding Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, formerly of Green River. It was Gossard who, in 1995, put together Malfunkshun’s only album, a compilation of recordings made over the course of the band’s existence; the album was released on Gossard's own label, Loosegroove Records.
Though a much shorter lived band, Mother Love Bone was markedly more successful than Malfunkshun had been. The band released only three albums, Shine (EP), Apple, and Stardog Champion/Mother Love Bone, with Apple reaching number 34 on the Billboard’s “Top Heatseekers” chart in 1992, and Stardog Champion hitting number 77 on the Billboard “200” chart in 1993 (www.billboard.com). The success of the albums was true testament to the musical genius of Andrew Wood, who had passed on before either album was released.
Today, Wood and his bands are considered the founders of Grunge music sound that developed in Seattle in the late 80’s and early 90’s. He is considered a musical prodigy, responsible for inspiring many of the singers and musicians who achieved success during the Grunge era, many of whom have said so outright. Though both Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone were more “Glam” and refined than most Grunge bands were known to be, the musical elements and lyrical traits that became Grunge are clearly present in their music. According to David Neilsen of Brunching Shuttlecocks (www.brunching.com), Mother Love Bone is known in the Seattle area as having been responsible for creating the Grunge era.
Neilsen writes,
“The Grunge scene began in this historical café (Java ‘Tude) in 1986 when (Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament), who would later start Mother Love Bone, the (godfather) of the Grunge scene, remarked how their (lives) just totally sucked. Legend has it that the youngsters proceeded to scream uncontrollably until the proprietor of the establishment removed “Hip to be Square,” by Huey Lewis and the News, from the juke box. (Gossard and Ament) claimed they had no way to identify with such happy music in their soggy little town.”
Wood continued to struggle with drug addiction throughout his career, eventually entering rehab again in late 1989. Tragically, Andrew Wood passed away on March 19th 1990, following complications from a heroin overdose and cerebral hemorrhage. Wood had been found three days earlier in an incoherent state in his apartment by his then fiancé, Xana LaFuente. Andrew was rushed to the hospital and placed on life support, but ultimately did not survive; he was 24.
The loss of Andrew Wood hit the Grunge community hard. Mother Love Bone disbanded; with Gossard and Ament joining Eddie Vedder, then frontman for Bad Radio, and others to eventually form Pearl Jam. Many Grunge musicians knew and loved Wood, including frontmen Kurt Cobain and Chris Cornell, of Nirvana and Soundgarden, respectively. Cornell, Wood’s former roommate, approached Gossard and Ament about doing a joint musical tribute to Wood. The result was a band called Temple of the Dog, which produced their first and only album in 1991. The self-titled album initially sold only 70,000 copies and did not chart during the year of its release. Eventually the album reached number 5 on the Billboard’s “Top 200” and sold to platinum status by the end of 1992, following the advent of Mtv and the successes of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Other bands soon followed suit, paying tribute to Wood through song. One such band was Alice in Chains, and on their 1992 album, Dirt, the band dedicated the track titled "Would?" to Andrew.
Mother Love Bone’s music, as well as video footage of a graffitied brick wall in Seattle depicting their logo, are featured in 1991’s, Singles, a Cameron Crowe film about twenty-something life in Seattle during the Grunge era.
Wood’s brothers, Kevin and Brian, have remained in the music business, finding success with bands such as the Fire Ants and Devilhead. Kevin now maintains a website (www.wammybox.com) dedicated to archiving and releasing Andrew’s previously unreleased audio and video material.
In 2005, director, and long time Grunge fan, Scot Barbour debuted his film, Malfunkshun: The Andrew Wood Story, to film festival audiences the world over. The film includes rare footage from Andrew’s life and interviews from the likes of Chris Cornell, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Bruce Fairweather. The film is currently pending a DVD release.
Late in 2006, Kevin Wood and the surviving members of Malfunkshun got together to form the band Subfunkshun. The band decided to write new music to accompany existing and unused lyrics written by Andrew during his time with Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. The band dropped the name Subfunkshun and adopted From the North as their permanent name. Currently, the band has put out ten tracks available for purchase on their MySpace Music webpage.
Nearly twenty years have passed since Andrew left us, and those who loved him have worked tirelessly to cement his legacy in both music and film; time, it seems, has proven that he is as important to people now as he was then. Andrew Wood is truly missed, and the man and his music shall be remembered forever.
