Batter Dean
Sun Sept 29 at the Central Saloon.

If you are one of the handful of Seattle populace who read this fish wrapper religiously, chances are you remember a time, brief though it was, when yours truly hacked out this here column with regular glee. We shall call this time the Glory Years: A Special Moment in History, A Glimmer of Profound Music Journalism (or GY:ASMHAGPMJ for short), because that is exactly what it was--glorious, profound, a glimmer.

But then, to the distinct sorrow of many, One-Night Stand was mercilessly plucked from my spectacularly talented digits and handed to our new music editor, Jennifer Maerz. Why? I dunno, though one suspects there were incriminating Polaroids involved, but the result was an end to GY:ASMHAGPMJ, and without a doubt The Stranger has suffered for it. Frankly, how they've managed to continue publishing baffles me.

However, now I have returned, for one week and one week only, and for my shimmering return I bring you Batter Dean.

Who the hell are Batter Dean? Technically, they are Chris Junker (pronounced "Yunker," and he's the singer), Michael Daly (guitar), Gavin McGeorge (bass), and David Pisvecj (drums)--four pleasant chaps who like their rock and/or roll dripping with early-'90s Seattle Special Sauce. In short, they are grunge.

Or, to put it another way, Alice in Chains are alive and well and they played the Central last Sunday.

Am I being snide? Absolutely not, for if you'd watched Batter Dean play, this is exactly what you would've said. They are a throwback, all hair and thunder and noise, with a metal soul and a distinctly "alternative" flavor. Hence: grunge--the type of music all us grandparents listened to 10 years ago when we were fresh from high school, before cynicism trumped idealism, back when Seattle was the center of... something. Just what that something was (or became) is up for debate, but there's no denying that for a heartbeat the Emerald City was the shit 10 years ago, and it is this shit that Batter Dean strive to maintain.

Again, I'm not being snide. The Batter Dean boys love their music, and they're very good at it. Their set was tight and noisy, with Michael Daly being a definite standout on guitar, and Chris Junker giving the type of heartfelt belting--not screaming, but actually singing--that Batter Dean's early-'90s counterparts (Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, the aforementioned Alice in Chains) were known for. It's just that... well, here's the thing:

I have a photo of myself, circa 1992, where I'm decked out in flannel and boots and shorts and long johns. I have long hair, and I look like an idiot. This photo is a reminder of my pre-jaded self, back when I had just helped elect the first Democratic president in 12 years (in my first election, no less), and the music I listened to was suddenly taking over MTV. It was a time when I felt like I was part of some gigantic movement, a looming social shift, with Seattle--my hometown--being the epicenter.

But that was 10 years ago, and how stupid it all turned out to be. After Clinton had his knob polished by an intern and sold out the Democratic Party, after "alternative" music was swept away in a hail of hiphop and boy bands, years 1991-1995 now leave a bad residue. Looking back, it all just seems too silly. And watching Batter Dean, that silliness came back to me.

This doesn't mean Batter Dean were bad, or even silly. It's just that they exist in a sort of time capsule, fully embracing a sound from the (not so distant) past, a sound that was once vastly important to me, but that now incites more than a few cringes of memory.

But enough bluster. Are Batter Dean good? Yes. For what they do they are very good, and if nostalgia is a trip you're looking for (or if you've never let go of the '90s), then you should definitely seek them out. I'm sure they're probably cursing me right now for labeling them a grunge throwback, but that is exactly what they are. They rock in a Singles soundtrack kinda way, and God bless 'em for it.