THE GODFATHER OF GRUNGE

Buzz Osborne has fronted one of the most influential, underrated bands of all time. Since 1983, singer/guitarist Osborne and drummer Dale Crover have been the foundation of The Melvins, a trio of the American Northwest that have seen over a dozen musicians stand in as bassist in more than 30 of their albums. This February, not only did the band rerelease some of their most classic albums but a new full-length, Working With God, blessed the record store bins as well.

Osborne recently told Goldmine about his passion for supporting music collectors, his opinion on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (everyone’s got one) and the reason why you might not hear his band on any radio station in America.

GOLDMINE: Where did the name for the album Working With God, and its artwork, come from?

BUZZ OSBORNE: My wife does the art for our albums. She has been doing that for almost 30 years. As far as the album name, I knew I wanted it to be something with God and then I came up with Working With God. I thought that that was a good name. I started talking with my wife about the possible artwork and what should be on the cover. She pointed out to me that God means many things and does many things if you believe those kinds of things. Then she said, “How about tornados?” Well, that’s God also. So, we’re working with God tearing the sh*t out of the earth with tornados. God looks down on all the stuff, all the torture and misery and smiles. He’s into the famine, and he’s obviously into this plague. Wife beating, child molestation… God smiles. Probably as well as the bad, it’s all there, you know, you have to take it. You can’t have one without the other. We thought it was a good name for the record, and then we decided to start off the album with a song called “I F**k Around.”

GM: A phenomenal (re-imagining) cover of the classic Beach