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===Sub Pop: 1988–1991=== Turner wanted to start a band that practiced before playing to a live audience. He and Arm began songwriting with [[Bundle of Hiss]] drummer [[Dan Peters]]. The trio decided that [[Matt Lukin]], who had recently left [[Melvins]], should join the band as bassist.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography">{{cite book| first= Martin C.| last= Strong| year= 2000| title= The Great Rock Discography| edition= 5th| publisher= Mojo Books| location= Edinburgh| pages= 676–677| isbn= 1-84195-017-3}}</ref> The band's first practice with its full original lineup was on January 1, 1988 and their first show took place later that year, on April 19.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=May 20, 2008 |title=Mudhoney: Superfuzzy Memories (An Oral History) |url=https://magnetmagazine.com/2008/05/20/mudhoney-superfuzzy-memories-an-oral-history/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250120052332/https://magnetmagazine.com/2008/05/20/mudhoney-superfuzzy-memories-an-oral-history/ |archive-date=January 20, 2025 |access-date=March 23, 2025 |website=[[Magnet (magazine)|Magnet]]}}</ref> The band named themselves after the [[Russ Meyer]] film ''[[Mudhoney (film)|Mudhoney]]''.<ref name=":0" /> Early on, Mudhoney's sound would reflect such influences as [[the Stooges]], [[Spacemen 3]], [[Wipers (band)|Wipers]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024 |title=THE MAKING OF SUPERFUZZ BIGMUFF by mudhoney - FEATURING Mark Arm and Steve Turner |url=https://lifeoftherecord.com/mudhoney-notes |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241228011414/https://lifeoftherecord.com/mudhoney-notes |archive-date=December 28, 2024 |access-date=December 28, 2024 |website=Life of the Record}}</ref> [[Dinosaur Jr.]], [[Neil Young]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cohan |first=Brad |date=September 8, 2021 |title=Superfuzz Forever: Mudhoney in Conversation |url=https://tidal.com/magazine/article/mudhoney-in-conversation/1-80685 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010112807/https://tidal.com/magazine/article/mudhoney-in-conversation/1-80685 |archive-date=October 10, 2021 |access-date=October 24, 2023 |website=Tidal}}</ref> [[Black Flag (band)|Black Flag]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Floyd |first=Jamison |date=April 6, 2023 |title=Back to Work With Mudhoney |url=https://popwell.net/back-to-work-with-mudhoney/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230406172454/https://popwell.net/back-to-work-with-mudhoney/ |archive-date=April 6, 2023 |access-date=October 24, 2023 |website=Popwell |quote=Black Flag’s My War – I swear, that record instantly made the Melvins slow down to a crawl. (...) And I know it was a huge influence on us as well.}}</ref> and [[the Scientists]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Boulton |first=Martin |date=March 17, 2023 |title=How Australian music influenced Seattle's '90s grunge rock scene |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/how-australian-music-influenced-seattle-s-90s-grunge-rock-scene-20230315-p5cs8e.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230330212203/https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/how-australian-music-influenced-seattle-s-90s-grunge-rock-scene-20230315-p5cs8e.html |archive-date=March 30, 2023 |access-date=October 24, 2023 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |quote=The Scientists had a profound influence on Mudhoney… we also tried to look like them}}</ref> In early 1988, Arm played [[Sub Pop]] founder [[Bruce Pavitt]] a poor boombox recording Mudhoney had made.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=J. Eric |date=March 21, 1998 |title=Interview with Mark Arm of Mudhoney (1998) |url=https://jericsmith.com/1998/03/21/interview-with-mark-arm-of-mudhoney-1998/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325102147/https://jericsmith.com/1998/03/21/interview-with-mark-arm-of-mudhoney-1998/ |archive-date=March 25, 2023 |access-date=April 26, 2025 |website=J. Eric Smith}}</ref> Pavitt suggested the band record with producer [[Jack Endino]] and offered to release it on Sub Pop. This recording session resulted in Mudhoney's first single, "[[Touch Me I'm Sick]]".<ref name=":1" /> The band recorded and released their debut EP, ''[[Superfuzz Bigmuff]]'', also [[Sub Pop]].<ref name="The Great Rock Discography" /> Mudhoney quickly became Sub Pop's flagship band. [[Sonic Youth]], who were fans of Mudhoney, took the band out on a tour of the West Coast and the Southwest, followed by a two-week jaunt through the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Azerrad |first=Michael |title=Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 |publisher=[[Little, Brown and Company]] |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-316-78753-6 |location=New York City |pages=432 and 433 |language=en}}</ref> According to Arm, their association with Sonic Youth endeared British audiences to them: "The U.K. was crazy, and Sonic Youth, at that point, were like total walking gods. The previous tour, they had [[Dinosaur Jr.]] with them, which made that band in the U.K. They could bring someone over and basically anoint them."<ref name=":0" /> After this tour ''Superfuzz Bigmuff'' entered the British [[indie music|indie]] charts and the band received a respectable amount of press coverage. {{Listen |filename=Mudhoney - Touch Me I'm Sick.ogg |title="Touch Me I'm Sick" |description=Sample of "[[Touch Me I'm Sick]]", a single by Mudhoney. The sample illustrates the song's high tempo, main guitar riff, heavy use of distortion and frenetic drumming. Also heard are band frontman Mark Arm's self-deprecating and sarcastic lyrics.}} Upon returning from Europe, Mudhoney played the Sub Pop-organized Lamefest alongside [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]] and [[Tad (band)|Tad]] on June 6, 1989.<ref name=":0" /> The festival, held at Seattle's [[Moore Theatre]], sold out, and is seen by Bruce Pavitt as "the definitive turning point in the Seattle music scene."<ref name=":0" /> The band released their first album, ''[[Mudhoney (album)|Mudhoney]]'' that same year. Kurt Cobain listed ''Superfuzz Bigmuff'' as one of his favourite albums in his journal in 1993.<ref name="joyfulnoiserecordings.com">{{cite web|title=Top 50 by Nirvana [MIXTAPE]|url=http://www.joyfulnoiserecordings.com/journal/top-50-by-nirvana/|access-date=May 8, 2013}}</ref> They released their second album, ''[[Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge]]'', in 1991.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book |title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music]] |date=1997 |publisher=[[Virgin Books]] |isbn=1-85227-745-9 |editor=Colin Larkin |editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |edition=Concise |page=883}}</ref> After the album's release they were offered a deal with [[Reprise Records]], and they joined the label in 1992.<ref name="The Great Rock Discography"/>
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