These Streets

(Gretta Harley & Sarah Rudinoff)

Mitch Ebert, Drums
Mary Genova, Bass
Gretta Harley, Acoustic Guitar & Vocals
Ron Nine, Electric Guitars

In 2011, the media celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the grunge music revolution. There were books, magazine covers and television specials. My bandmate in We Are Golden, Gretta Harley, had been in Seattle bands in that era and we realized that once again the history was focused on the same dozen bands, most of them filled with men. Gretta is one of my musical heroes. She is a classically trained pianist, a rock guitarist, a composer (including writing operas!) and is always pushing her creative boundaries.

Gretta and I went on a writing retreat to work on a new batch of songs, and it turned into the beginnings of writing a play about a more diverse scene in Seattle in the early 90’s, one where women were front and center. We interviewed over forty musicians and with our writing partner Elizabeth Kenny, created and performed in a play filled with music from that time, mostly written by women.

These Streets played at ACT Theatre in 2013 to sold-out crowds and this was the title song that we wrote for the show. I was also in Seattle in the early 90’s, making theatre at Annex and Re-bar and lots of places where the music scene overlapped. The play’s characters were seen in the early 90’s and the present day—wrestling with what happened to their scene and their city.

We are joined by seasoned musicians, all multi-instrumentalists, and songwriters: Ron Nine of Love Battery, Mitch Ebert (Landlord’s Daughter) and Mary Genova (Heavy Mothers). It was incredible to have rock musicians on stage each night with us—you don’t always get a killer rock band in the theatre.

Mary Genova, Gretta Harley, Sarah Rudinoff, Ron Nine, Mitch Ebert

These Streets was a play inspired by women rock musicians in Seattle during the famed grunge years. Spearheaded by musician, Gretta Harley, performer Sarah Rudinoff and playwright Elizabeth Kenny. The show played to sold out crowds at ACT Theatre in 2013. In addition to the theater piece, the project also included a history component that archived the work of bands led by women in Seattle in the 90’s. This archive can be found at thesestreets.org.

Gretta Harley was named one of the "50 Women Who Rock Seattle” by the Seattle Weekly. Harley, a native New Yorker, began her Seattle music career in 1990 as the guitarist, songwriter and singer of hard-rocking Maxi Badd. Gretta was co-founder, co-songwriter and singer of the band Love and Fury and her current band, Mettle Lark performs her original music in the Seattle area. Gretta released her first solo album, Element 115 (Uup), in June 2015, premiering the work with a 10-piece ensemble.

In 1993, Gretta co-founded Home Alive, an organization still offering a variety of affordable self-defense classes to people. She produced Home Alive's first record, The Art of Self-Defense, on Epic/SONY Records, featuring artists Joan Jett, Ann and Nancy Wilson, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Soundgarden, 7 Year Bitch, and Harley, among many others.

THE BAND

Mitch Ebert is a drummer, vocalist, pianist, banjo player and more. His band Landlord’s Daughter released multiple records of original music.

Mary Genova is a bass player in Seattle. Known for her band Heavy Mothers, Mary also plays in many side projects around town.

Ron Nine, the founder of the legendary NW band Love Battery, is known for his searing and soulful guitar sounds, his garage rock vocals, and his role as one of the godfathers of the 90s Seattle sound.

THESE STREETS TRAILER