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Mark Arm (born Mark McLaughlin on February 21, 1962) is the vocalist for the grunge band Mudhoney. He is also credited with coining the term "grunge" to describe his (and other Seattle rock groups) style of rock music (although Kurt Cobain claimed that Sub Pop executive Jonathan Poneman created the term). His former group, Green River, is, arguably, the first grunge rock band.

Contents 1 Early career 2 Mudhoney 3 Solo and side projects 4 External links

Mark Arm first entered the Seattle rock scene in 1980, after he formed a high school band called "Mr. Epp and the Calculations". The band did not play their first show until 1981, opening for the band Student Nurse. The band was credited with being "the worst band in the world". In 1982 the band released a 7" EP. The next year they added a second guitarist Steve Turner, and released a cassette. Mr. Epp and the Calculations came to an end the following year.

After Mr. Epp and the Calculations ended, Mark Arm and Steve Turner (who had become close friends) joined the band Limp Richerds for a few weeks. Afterward, Arm and Turner took on future Pearl Jam members Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard, as well as Alex Vincent, to form the band Green River. Green River released two EPs and a full length album before disbanding. Steve Turner left the band to finish college, and Arm was forced to find a new band again. After Turner returned from schooling, they resumed their Green River side project, the Thrown Ups.

Arm and Turner took on drummer Dan Peters, and bassist Matt Lukin, formerly of The Melvins. The new band renamed themselves Mudhoney. In 1988, Sub Pop released Mudhoney's first single, "Touch Me, I'm Sick". After extensive touring and an EP album, Mudhoney released their eponymous full length debut in 1989. Their next album, Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge came out soon after, just before the explosion of grunge flanked by Nirvana's seminal Nevermind. In 1992, they signed to a major record label, Reprise and released Piece of Cake. The album did not sell well, due to a combination of the band's uncompromising sound and an oversaturation of the genre.

Although they never achieved the fame of some of their contemporaries, Mudhoney is one of the few Grunge bands that continue to release albums. In 2002 they released Since We've Become Translucent. Their most recent album, Under a Billion Suns, has been released in March 2006 on the Sub Pop label. Arm and Mudhoney's contribution to grunge music is especially significant.

Arm released "The Freewheelin' Mark Arm", a solo single in 1990.

He was a singer and guitarist for the group Bloodloss and singer for the Seattle supergroup The Monkeywrench. He has also made guest appearances on several albums, most notably on Alice in Chains' 1992 EP Sap.

In 1998, he made an appearance on the motion picture soundtrack for the film Velvet Goldmine with Ron Asheton, Mike Watt, Thurston Moore, and Steve Shelley under the name Wylde Ratttz.

In 2004, he toured with MC5, standing in for the late Rob Tyner on vocals.

For more information about Mark Arm refer to Our Band Could Be Your Life by Michael Azerrad.

• Mark Arm Interview on skinnymag.co.uk (February 2006)