Medicine Hat (band)

The bandmembers all went to Edmonds Woodway High School together, and while at Shoreline Community College in 1991, formed a band and started playing shows around 1992 and averaged about 10 shows a month.[1][2] The band got their name when the drummer Jason Legat talked to a venue who demanded a name for the poster and he randomly picked 'Medicine Hat' from a long list of names. The name has no connection to the town from Alberta, Canada.[1] The group preferred performing all ages shows because the attendees were there for the music and not just drinking.[3] The singer Sean Bates was pictured in the Rolling Stone magazine on a spread of the Seattle scene,[1] and was noted that he managed a local record store while expressing concern about Seattle's new found hype: "I don't mind that the whole rest of the world thinks that Seattle's so big, but I really mind that Seattle thinks that Seattle is so big."[4] Eventually, the band was managed by Dean Zelikovsky[5] after their former manager Judy died from a stab wound inflicted by her ex-boyfriend.[4]

Pandemonium magazine described the band's music as progressive, with a tight and intricate rhythm section, and compared them to King Crimson.[1] Another article notes they've been compared to Fugazi, Primus, The Police, and Jane's Addiction.[2] The group recorded their first 3-song demo at Bad Animals studio in Seattle with Don Gilmore, who recorded Pearl Jam, Temple of the Dog and Sweetwater.[1] McAllister described the band's songwriting process as "nothing is ever brought in finished. It's usually music first, then we leave the lyrics up to Sean."[3]

One memorable show involved the band playing in Yakima, Washington at the Knights of Columbus hall. There was a lot of underage drinking and eventually the promoters said they couldn't pay the band. The band members stood their ground and apparently intimidated the promoters just enough that a rumor spread that they beat them up.[1]