Impertinent Impresario with Larry Reid
In this first of a two-part series, Larry Reid, a pivotal figure in the Pacific Northwest’s cultural renaissance, takes us back to the transformative 1970s and ’80s to explore the roots of the region’s rise to prominence. Larry’s stories reveal how the Pacific Northwest's creative explosion in the 1990s—through movements like grunge and Riot Grrrl—was deeply rooted in earlier artistic and social currents that fused homegrown creativity with global influences, setting the stage for its cultural impact.
In this episode, Larry Reid uncovers how graphic and comic art, LGBTQ+ expression, punk rock, and feminist voices converged with post-war fine art movements like pop art and post-modernism, creating fertile ground for innovation. This interplay of “high” and “low” art gave the Pacific Northwest its distinct cultural edge, imbuing it with a more conceptual framework that set it apart from other underground scenes across the country and laid the groundwork for the explosive creativity of the 1990s.
From founding Rosco Louie, a groundbreaking art space in Seattle’s Pioneer Square, to leading the Center on Contemporary Art (CoCA), Larry’s visionary leadership united artists, writers, and performers who redefined the region’s identity. His vivid reflections in this episode bring the era to life, uncovering how the Pacific Northwest's underground culture became the foundation of a global artistic movement.
Host: Edward Krigsman
Guests: Larry Reid
Sound Engineering: Daniel Gunther
Recording Studio: Jack Straw Cultural Center, Seattle
Photography: Travis Lawton & Rob Fraser
Administration: Mary Mansour
Series music: Theme by Tomo Nakayama as performed Grand Hallway. Additional music by Andrew Weathers
Episode Music: Featuring tracks by Ze Whiz Kidz, The Tupperwares, The Lewd, The Faction, Jody Foster’s Army, The U-Men and The Fastbacks
We record on the traditional lands of the Coast Salish peoples. Special thanks to Tom Price and Kurt Bloch. This episode is dedicated to the memory of Tomata du Plenty.
“Back then, Seattle was still relatively small and isolated. Our counterculture scene probably consisted of 200-300 people. There were very few spectators. Almost everyone involved was a participant. It was an exciting time to be in Seattle for that formative period of what later had a huge influence globally on pop culture.”
