Seattle Superheroes: Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Seattle Superheroes is a regular series on seattlemag.com wherein artists depict standout people in our community as superheroes. While we’ve taken some artistic license with the narratives, the sentiment behind them is very real. 

Once upon a time, a young man found himself in his dorm room tinkering with a few ideas. The college? Evergreen. The man? Bruce Pavitt. The scenario? A breakup that led the young student to make a music ‘zine to keep his mind occupied. The result? Twofold: the very early beginnings of the now famous (and infamous) Sub Pop brand and the birth of one of music’s great superheroes. 

Long before Pavitt signed Kurt Cobain, long before the ladies of THEESatisfaction laced lyrics over celestial tremors, long before there was a record store with Sub Pop on the marquee at Sea-Tac Airport, Pavitt was tinkering. He wrote music reviews, hosted a college radio show and, unbeknownst to anyone, started to create his super suit. 

From basic speakers and amps, Pavitt constructed a lightweight suit that can lull a foe to sleep with dulcet tones, stun them with loud, hard forceful sounds or topple an enemy with a sonic boom. Affixed to his sides, Pavitt has endless chords and wires, which he can use to lasso and subdue any villain. These are the tools he uses for anyone trying to take advantage of a city that, perhaps more than anything else, loves its music. 

And, in his spare time, Pavitt has undergone a few new endeavors, including a new digital music venture and a couple books. So, Seattle, let us be thankful for this hero of ours and for his undying efforts to keep our city’s music safe and thriving. 

About the artist: Ben Horak is a Seattle-based cartoonist and graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies. Ben’s art has appeared in periodicals including The Stranger, Seattle Weekly and is a regular contributor to Intruder comic newspaper. Find out more at Grumptoast.com.