In its first practice sessions in early 1984, Green River's members were vocalist
Mark Arm, guitarist
Steve Turner, drummer
Alex Vincent (also known as Alex Shumway) and bassist
Jeff Ament. Prior to joining Green River, they had played for a variety of rock, punk, and hardcore groups, often with overlapping lineups. Arm and Turner had played together in Mr. Epp and the Calculations and the
Limp Richerds. Determined to start a new band together, they first recruited Vincent, whom Turner had briefly played with in
Spluii Numa, as drummer, and then set about convincing Ament to join. He and Turner worked at the same Seattle coffeeshop, and Arm had befriended him after a DJ set by Ament at Metropolis, a local club. Ament had a low opinion of Mr. Epp, but agreed to join the new band due to Turner's persistence and Ament's frustration with Deranged Diction, his band at the time. The first Green River rehearsal was at the Turner home on Mercer Island. By the time the band finished the record in mid-1985, Steve Turner had left the group. Turner has attributed this to his increased interest in 1960s
garage rock,
Billy Childish, and
the Replacements, and dislike of the band's new more
hard rock and
heavy metal material. He was replaced by former Deranged Diction guitarist
Bruce Fairweather. In late 1985, the band embarked on its first nationwide tour to promote
Come on Down. Release of the record was delayed, however, thus negating the purpose of the tour. From all accounts the experience was less than positive, though it helped cement alliances with other emerging American
indie rock bands. Among them was
Sonic Youth, who later quoted the song "Come on Down" on its own composition "
Nevermind (What Was It Anyway)". After the tour,
Come on Down was finally released by the New York-based
Homestead Records. The record was released to little fanfare, and did not sell well. However it is often considered the first record to be released by a "grunge" band, as it predated both the
Melvins debut EP and the
Deep Six compilation album. In 1986, the band continued to play in and around the
Pacific Northwest to steadily larger crowds (especially in the band's hometown of Seattle). Early in the year, the now legendary
Deep Six compilation album was released on the local
C/Z Records label. Alongside two Green River songs, the compilation features the music of fellow Washington bands
Malfunkshun,
Melvins,
Skin Yard,
Soundgarden, and
The U-Men. Kathleen C. Fennessy of
AllMusic stated that the compilation "documents a formative period in Northwest rock history". {{Listen Almost immediately following the release of
Dry as a Bone, the group re-entered the studio to begin production on its first full-length album,
Rehab Doll. Band in-fighting, though, took center stage over the music. A stylistic division developed between Ament and Gossard on one side, and Arm on the other.
Reunions A Green River reunion occurred on November 30, 1993 during a
Pearl Jam concert in
Las Vegas,
Nevada. Participating in the reunion were Arm, Turner, Gossard, Ament and
Chuck Treece, who filled in on drums for Vincent, who at that time was living in Japan. The band performed the songs "Swallow My Pride" and "Ain't Nothing to Do." Green River reunited for four shows in 2008, featuring all six of its members from the 1980s. The first show was a warm-up show on July 10, 2008 at the Sunset Tavern in Seattle. The band next played on July 13, 2008 at
Marymoor Park near Seattle to honor Sub Pop's 20th anniversary. ==Band members==