Comments

1
So lovely to read these stories. My time haunting Re-Bar in the nineties never really came to much, but getting to know a few regulars a little was such a treat.
2
i was the dj in the booth. and yes.. those children were very very drunk..and yes this all very very true.
3
Thats funny, some of my most memorable night at Re-Bar include Riz controlling my booty, Sarah and Nick blowing my mind with the Hedwig production, and what hasn't been mentioned yet - Flammable, quite possibly the longest running house night in the country.
Can anyone babysit this Sunday so I can go see Jeno?
4
@2 I was there, too. Met Kurt and Krist for the first and last time. After getting kicked out, Krist hung out in the parking lot for awhile, chatting with some of us (and sharing his stash).
5
I launched two bands at Re-Bar in the early ā€˜90s. Maxi Badd opened for Sister Psychic and my nervous-partner-at-the-time Tess played our first few songs facing the wall, her back to a full house. (A skiddish musician playing with her back to the audience was featured in ā€˜These Streetsā€™ in 2013 by a character played by Hollis Wong-Wear). Anyone who remembers the band knows that Tessā€™ stage fright didnā€™t last long, her playing and presence on stage was a force of nature! Maxi Badd enjoyed many many subsequent shows at ReBar. Especially Steve and Grady always made us feel at home and always welcomed us. After one of our shows I sat in a booth with Scott Griggs (who booked the music at the time), and my friend and fan of Maxi Badd, Alan Pruzan and his friend (soon to become mine), visual artist Eleanor Jones. Eleanor and Alan wanted to be in a band. Neither played an instrument at the time. We each had copious amounts of alcohol in our systems and in front of us while we discussed starting a band. Griggs had his calendar on the table and right then and there we drunkenly booked a show 3 months out. We laughingly dubbed ourselves PHuJ, an acronym of our last names (the ā€œuā€ being written as a smiley face). We started practicing in Griggsā€™ basement. Alan on the bass, Eleanor on guitar and me on drums (an instrument I had never played). After two rehearsals Lisa Pritchard, who worked with me at CZ Records (home of 7 Year Bitch, Hammerbox, Gits, etc etc) expressed a desire to also debut an instrument. Adding her last name initial to the front of our moniker, we became PPHuJ, which was a little harder to say without spitting. Lisa wanted to play bass, so she and Alan split up bass duties thusly: Lisa on the D and G strings, and Alan on the E and A. Our entrance to rockdom too quickly arrived and Alan brought cupcakes to Rebar to hand out to our prospective fans, each sunk with a stick holding a piece of paper with our ā€œlogoā€ on it. These, he said, were to shield your friend when you said the name of our band. We had 3 original songs and one Sonic Youth cover. We opened for Butt Trumpet and the place was packed. It turned out that a writer from the punk rock zine, ā€˜Flipsideā€™ was there to review the show. When his review revealed that PPHuJ was just another pretentious Seattle band who couldnā€™t play their instruments (this was during the Nirvana phenomenon and the corporate masses and cynicism were abundant) I cut out the review, blew it up and sent the lone piece of paper around as our press kit. PPHuJ went on to play a West Coast tour, and several shows around town, growing our set list, audience and our confidence. I was eventually kicked out of the band because I ā€œalready had a band,ā€ Griggs replaced me on drums. The band later changed their name to ā€˜Isidor,ā€™ after the wonderful man who checked your IDā€™s at ReBar. The rest- they say- is historyā€¦
6
FLAMMABLE
7
guy thought it was his job, no, his god-given right, to get up on the speakers, take off most of his clothes and shake his scrawny body and stringy hair in time to the music.

I so remember this guy. He was at every queer disco.
8
Two of my best friends got married at the Re-Bar. Steve covered every surface in artificial flowers, and the bridesmaids included Jackie Hell, Ursula Android, and myself. It was magnificent! There was a post apocalyptic backdrop left over from Pho Bang, and my only regret was that we didn't take wedding photos before everyone got drunk.
9
It's not "The Re-Bar"... It's just plain Re-bar!... lol
10
Just a minor note to the infamous Nirvana story...Geffen Records put that "modest" party on as Nevermind was not on Sub Pop. The entire debacle was a blast, thanks to what I believe to be due to Susie Tennant.

Re-bar is one awesome place and continues to be so...I saw Joey Arias, the Headcoats, some great early 90's punk shows (hello Lake Union Pub bands), Dina and many other good times there! A real Seattle treasure!!
11
I stand corrected... Thanks!

Steve

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