When the grunge sound of Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam brought alternative rock into the mainstream in the early 1990s, major record labels rushed to sign a slew of bands with a similar sound. Although many of these musicians had only their underdog status and relative geographic location in common-many of them hailing from Seattle, Washington, and surrounding areas-this was enough to displace the hair metal and glam rock that had dominated the 1980s. Many bands from the Pacific Northwest, including Screaming Trees, Tad, Alice In Chains and Mudhoney, benefited from this windfall of major-label signings, but one of the most surprising signings was the Melvins.