METROPOLIS
Seattle, Washington | Film Feature
Documentary, Music
In an eleven-month period, from April 1983 to March 1984, a small all-ages club set the stage for an explosion that would alter the course of rock history. The Metropolis was the incubator for a sound that put Seattle on the map. Help us bring the underground story of the Metropolis to life!
METROPOLIS
Seattle, Washington | Film Feature
Documentary, Music
1 Campaigns | Washington, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $41,384 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
235 supporters | followers
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In an eleven-month period, from April 1983 to March 1984, a small all-ages club set the stage for an explosion that would alter the course of rock history. The Metropolis was the incubator for a sound that put Seattle on the map. Help us bring the underground story of the Metropolis to life!
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
CAMPAIGN ENDS 11am Pacific, Friday April 17th.
***
UPDATE, from Writer/Director Jonathan Evison
April 16, 2026, 10am
With 25 hours left in the crowdfunding campaign, we are just $4040 away from our stretch goal of 50k. THANK YOU ALL for helping us get this far! The support has been incredible!
The operating costs of principal photography is roughly 9k-10k per month. This is working on a shoestring budget, but because of the talent and commitment of this team, and their willingness to work for peanuts, if anything at all, everything looks and sounds as good as it would at 50k per month. I've got interviews scheduled through July. Our production costs through editing will be about the same 9k-10k per month.
The fact that we are producing this film on a minuscule budget is the very reason the film will be completed, where other attempts have failed. If we waited to stack up 500k, we'd be stuck at square one. Instead, with our initial seed money, we've managed to get 30% of our interviews in the can. This crowdfunding campaign gets us a whole lot closer to completion, PARTICULARLY if we can hit our 50k stretch goal.
I truly believe we will deliver much more than a rock doc. This is a story about what's possible when young people are given an opportunity to blossom and thrive. This is a story of enduring friendships, vital creative collaborations, identity, belonging, and pure serendipity. On top of all that, it's a love story about a particular, miraculous time and place. And like that singular venue for which the film is named, Metropolis will be created organically and cooperatively, as it should be--with your help!
THANK YOU ALL for helping us bring this story to life!!!!
xoxo
je
COUNTDOWN TO CAMPAIGN END:
***
The Metropolis Story
In the late summer of 1991, all hell broke loose for Seattle music. With the release of Pearl Jam’s Ten, and Nirvana’s Nevermind a few week later, suddenly the entire world’s eyes and ears were on Seattle. In addition to Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Seattle bands Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Screaming Trees were all signed to major labels, while Sub Pop bands like Mudhoney and Tad were also riding this wave of international attention. You couldn’t turn on MTV without hearing the word Seattle. You couldn’t open The New York Times culture page without hearing about Seattle, America’s hottest destination. Every other city in America—LA, San Diego, Portland— was deemed by industry execs as “the next Seattle,” as A&R reps from the big labels scoured the country trying to recreate the Seattle music phenomenon.
"The best days of my life.
I actually moved to Seattle because of the Metropolis."
-Jeff Ament, Pearl Jam
But trying to create the next Seattle out of thin air was an enterprise doomed to fail. For, what happened in Seattle was not manufactured. All the label money in the world couldn’t create the “next Seattle,” because what happened in Seattle was organic, a cultural and musical evolution that started nearly a decade earlier in all ages punk clubs like The Graven Image, and The Gray Door, the Eagles Nest, and Munro’s. But no club was more influential or instrumental in creating the sensation deemed “grunge” and “the Seattle Sound” than The Metropolis, an all-ages club in gritty Pioneer Square that was only open for eleven months between April of 1983 and March of 1984. When French owner, Hugo Piottin, gave the kids the keys to the asylum, something singular occurred, and a scene blossomed that would later inform an entire generation.
It is impossible to overstate The Metropolis’s significance in the emergence of Seattle as an international powerhouse in music. The roster of names who cut their teeth musically at The Metropolis is a who’s-who of rock ‘n roll. And not just musicians—renowned painters, artists, photographers, and filmmakers also emerged out of the zeitgeist that was The Metropolis. Quite simple put: The Metropolis was THE place to be. Without The Metropolis it’s hard to imagine Nirvana, or Soundgarden, or Pearl Jam, or Mudhoney, or Sub Pop Records existing. For, the Metropolis, more than any other time and place was where this cultural explosion took seed and began to blossom. Over forty years later, many of these friendships and musical associations endure.
Why was The Metropolis so special? How did all these artists happen to converge at the same place at the same time? How exactly were these long-lasting bonds formed? Who were these artists before the Metropolis, what happened to them at The Metropolis, and how did it change each and every one of them? That is what Metropolis the documentary aims to capture.
In addition to musical and archival footage, Metropolis will feature interviews with Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam, Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden, Mark Arm and Steve Turner of Mudhoney, Buzz Osborne of The Melvins, Kim Warnick and Kurt Bloch of The Fastbacks, Sub Pop Records founder Bruce Pavitt, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver, rock photographer Charles Peterson, New York Times Bestselling author Jonathan Evison, and many other celebrated Seattle artists who experienced firsthand the watershed moment that was The Metropolis.
PROJECT TIMELINE & BUDGET
We now have the full team in place. We've made substantial inroads so far, with archival research, contracts, and licensing. Our primary interviews are all scheduled and filming begins March 2026. We expect to have the project complete and ready to shop for distribution by Spring 2027.
Our initial Seed & Spark goal is $30k. This will fund crew, gear rental, and honoraria through the bulk of filming, March to July 2026. At that point we'll build new/improved reels to appeal to larger donors and forge partnerships which will finance the lengthy editorial process and costly licensing. Our Seed & Spark stretch goals are $50k, and $100k.
JOIN THE METROPOLIS TEAM
CONTRIBUTE
This is where it all starts! We need you in the band. We've put together rewards for your participation at various levels,
and we hope you'll join us in bringing the Metropolis documentary to life.
SPREAD THE WORD & FOLLOW
Help us spread the word about the film! Follow us on socials, share the Metropolis graphic, and join our mailing list.
See you in the mosh pit!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Filming & Marketing Expenses
Costs $30,000
$30K for filming our remaining interviews and covering upcoming marketing costs.
Spare Change
Costs $1
You can always just dig deep down in between the couch cushions and help us that way too!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Jonathan Evison - Writer/Director (aka Munkeyseeker) is an award-winning author of 10 novels -- his novel, Lawn Boy, is one of the most frequently banned books in America. His book, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, was made into the Netflix film The Fundamentals of Caring starring Paul Rudd and Selena Gomez. At fourteen, he was the front man of the 80s punk band March of Crimes, along with Stone Gossard (of Pearl Jam fame) and future Soundgarden alum Ben Shepherd. Being among one of the younger participants in the scene (picture Eddie Munster in wingtips) Jonathan offers us a starry-eyed and emotional-charged perspective on the Metropolis, which he credits for "really solidifying my sense of identity and belonging."
Marcus Bastida - Executive Producer, with his camera around his neck, was a fixture at the Metropolis. In 1989, he relocated to Los Angeles to attend law school at USC. His legal career began in the employ of Roger Corman's film production company, Concorde-New Horizons, releasing two feature-length films per month meet the high demand of direct-to-cable and home video retail markets. Marcus has provided production and legal work for countless independent feature films and documentaries. He served on the board directors for the Huntington Beach Art Center, Grand Central Art Forum and Grand Central Art Press. In Seattle, he volunteered for the Center on Contemporary Art.
Alex Shumway - Producer moved to Seattle at age sixteen and attended The Northwest School along with other future Seattle notables as Steve Turner (Mr. Epp, Green River, Mudhoney), Stone Gossard (Green River, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam). His band, Spluii Numa, played under the slogan "hardcore you can hum to." After the breakup of Spluii Numa he helped co-found Green River along with the afore mentioned Steve Turner, Stone Gossard, also Mark Arm (Mr. Epp, Mudhoney) and Jeff Ament (Deranged Diction, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam). Alex has lived in Japan, been in films, worked in politics and still makes music to this day.
Jeff Feuerzeig - Consulting Producer is an award-winning director and non-fiction filmmaker whose feature The Devil and Daniel Johnston won top documentary directing honors at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed theatrically by Sony Pictures Classics. Coming out of the fertile '80s punk and independent music underground and its pervasive do-it-yourself aesthetic, Feuerzeig began his career as a film editor before successfully transitioning to commercial directing.
Tup Wright - Cameraman/Editor is a Seattle-based filmmaker, director, producer, editor, and cinematographer with extensive experience across music videos, corporate, documentary, and live broadcast production. He is the founder of Tup Studios, working hands-on through every stage of production, from cinematography and producing to editorial, with a strong focus on clear, story-driven visuals. He is an active music video filmmaker for several local Seattle bands and has produced work for clients including Microsoft, Starbucks, Boeing, Red Robin, Rosetta Stone, and the Seattle Seahawks, where his in-stadium video content played live to crowds of more than 65,000 people. Tup’s documentary work includes the feature-length film Labor Wars of the Northwest, which was selected for numerous film festivals and screened to sold-out audiences at MOHAI. Whether behind the camera or in the edit, he brings a seasoned, technically grounded approach to filmmaking.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
CAMPAIGN ENDS 11am Pacific, Friday April 17th.
***
UPDATE, from Writer/Director Jonathan Evison
April 16, 2026, 10am
With 25 hours left in the crowdfunding campaign, we are just $4040 away from our stretch goal of 50k. THANK YOU ALL for helping us get this far! The support has been incredible!
The operating costs of principal photography is roughly 9k-10k per month. This is working on a shoestring budget, but because of the talent and commitment of this team, and their willingness to work for peanuts, if anything at all, everything looks and sounds as good as it would at 50k per month. I've got interviews scheduled through July. Our production costs through editing will be about the same 9k-10k per month.
The fact that we are producing this film on a minuscule budget is the very reason the film will be completed, where other attempts have failed. If we waited to stack up 500k, we'd be stuck at square one. Instead, with our initial seed money, we've managed to get 30% of our interviews in the can. This crowdfunding campaign gets us a whole lot closer to completion, PARTICULARLY if we can hit our 50k stretch goal.
I truly believe we will deliver much more than a rock doc. This is a story about what's possible when young people are given an opportunity to blossom and thrive. This is a story of enduring friendships, vital creative collaborations, identity, belonging, and pure serendipity. On top of all that, it's a love story about a particular, miraculous time and place. And like that singular venue for which the film is named, Metropolis will be created organically and cooperatively, as it should be--with your help!
THANK YOU ALL for helping us bring this story to life!!!!
xoxo
je
COUNTDOWN TO CAMPAIGN END:
***
The Metropolis Story
In the late summer of 1991, all hell broke loose for Seattle music. With the release of Pearl Jam’s Ten, and Nirvana’s Nevermind a few week later, suddenly the entire world’s eyes and ears were on Seattle. In addition to Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Seattle bands Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, and Screaming Trees were all signed to major labels, while Sub Pop bands like Mudhoney and Tad were also riding this wave of international attention. You couldn’t turn on MTV without hearing the word Seattle. You couldn’t open The New York Times culture page without hearing about Seattle, America’s hottest destination. Every other city in America—LA, San Diego, Portland— was deemed by industry execs as “the next Seattle,” as A&R reps from the big labels scoured the country trying to recreate the Seattle music phenomenon.
"The best days of my life.
I actually moved to Seattle because of the Metropolis."
-Jeff Ament, Pearl Jam
But trying to create the next Seattle out of thin air was an enterprise doomed to fail. For, what happened in Seattle was not manufactured. All the label money in the world couldn’t create the “next Seattle,” because what happened in Seattle was organic, a cultural and musical evolution that started nearly a decade earlier in all ages punk clubs like The Graven Image, and The Gray Door, the Eagles Nest, and Munro’s. But no club was more influential or instrumental in creating the sensation deemed “grunge” and “the Seattle Sound” than The Metropolis, an all-ages club in gritty Pioneer Square that was only open for eleven months between April of 1983 and March of 1984. When French owner, Hugo Piottin, gave the kids the keys to the asylum, something singular occurred, and a scene blossomed that would later inform an entire generation.
It is impossible to overstate The Metropolis’s significance in the emergence of Seattle as an international powerhouse in music. The roster of names who cut their teeth musically at The Metropolis is a who’s-who of rock ‘n roll. And not just musicians—renowned painters, artists, photographers, and filmmakers also emerged out of the zeitgeist that was The Metropolis. Quite simple put: The Metropolis was THE place to be. Without The Metropolis it’s hard to imagine Nirvana, or Soundgarden, or Pearl Jam, or Mudhoney, or Sub Pop Records existing. For, the Metropolis, more than any other time and place was where this cultural explosion took seed and began to blossom. Over forty years later, many of these friendships and musical associations endure.
Why was The Metropolis so special? How did all these artists happen to converge at the same place at the same time? How exactly were these long-lasting bonds formed? Who were these artists before the Metropolis, what happened to them at The Metropolis, and how did it change each and every one of them? That is what Metropolis the documentary aims to capture.
In addition to musical and archival footage, Metropolis will feature interviews with Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam, Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden, Mark Arm and Steve Turner of Mudhoney, Buzz Osborne of The Melvins, Kim Warnick and Kurt Bloch of The Fastbacks, Sub Pop Records founder Bruce Pavitt, Soundgarden and Alice in Chains manager Susan Silver, rock photographer Charles Peterson, New York Times Bestselling author Jonathan Evison, and many other celebrated Seattle artists who experienced firsthand the watershed moment that was The Metropolis.
PROJECT TIMELINE & BUDGET
We now have the full team in place. We've made substantial inroads so far, with archival research, contracts, and licensing. Our primary interviews are all scheduled and filming begins March 2026. We expect to have the project complete and ready to shop for distribution by Spring 2027.
Our initial Seed & Spark goal is $30k. This will fund crew, gear rental, and honoraria through the bulk of filming, March to July 2026. At that point we'll build new/improved reels to appeal to larger donors and forge partnerships which will finance the lengthy editorial process and costly licensing. Our Seed & Spark stretch goals are $50k, and $100k.
JOIN THE METROPOLIS TEAM
CONTRIBUTE
This is where it all starts! We need you in the band. We've put together rewards for your participation at various levels,
and we hope you'll join us in bringing the Metropolis documentary to life.
SPREAD THE WORD & FOLLOW
Help us spread the word about the film! Follow us on socials, share the Metropolis graphic, and join our mailing list.
See you in the mosh pit!
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Filming & Marketing Expenses
Costs $30,000
$30K for filming our remaining interviews and covering upcoming marketing costs.
Spare Change
Costs $1
You can always just dig deep down in between the couch cushions and help us that way too!
Cash Pledge
Costs $0
Direct link:
Share this update!
About This Team
Jonathan Evison - Writer/Director (aka Munkeyseeker) is an award-winning author of 10 novels -- his novel, Lawn Boy, is one of the most frequently banned books in America. His book, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, was made into the Netflix film The Fundamentals of Caring starring Paul Rudd and Selena Gomez. At fourteen, he was the front man of the 80s punk band March of Crimes, along with Stone Gossard (of Pearl Jam fame) and future Soundgarden alum Ben Shepherd. Being among one of the younger participants in the scene (picture Eddie Munster in wingtips) Jonathan offers us a starry-eyed and emotional-charged perspective on the Metropolis, which he credits for "really solidifying my sense of identity and belonging."
Marcus Bastida - Executive Producer, with his camera around his neck, was a fixture at the Metropolis. In 1989, he relocated to Los Angeles to attend law school at USC. His legal career began in the employ of Roger Corman's film production company, Concorde-New Horizons, releasing two feature-length films per month meet the high demand of direct-to-cable and home video retail markets. Marcus has provided production and legal work for countless independent feature films and documentaries. He served on the board directors for the Huntington Beach Art Center, Grand Central Art Forum and Grand Central Art Press. In Seattle, he volunteered for the Center on Contemporary Art.
Alex Shumway - Producer moved to Seattle at age sixteen and attended The Northwest School along with other future Seattle notables as Steve Turner (Mr. Epp, Green River, Mudhoney), Stone Gossard (Green River, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam). His band, Spluii Numa, played under the slogan "hardcore you can hum to." After the breakup of Spluii Numa he helped co-found Green River along with the afore mentioned Steve Turner, Stone Gossard, also Mark Arm (Mr. Epp, Mudhoney) and Jeff Ament (Deranged Diction, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam). Alex has lived in Japan, been in films, worked in politics and still makes music to this day.
Jeff Feuerzeig - Consulting Producer is an award-winning director and non-fiction filmmaker whose feature The Devil and Daniel Johnston won top documentary directing honors at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and was distributed theatrically by Sony Pictures Classics. Coming out of the fertile '80s punk and independent music underground and its pervasive do-it-yourself aesthetic, Feuerzeig began his career as a film editor before successfully transitioning to commercial directing.
Tup Wright - Cameraman/Editor is a Seattle-based filmmaker, director, producer, editor, and cinematographer with extensive experience across music videos, corporate, documentary, and live broadcast production. He is the founder of Tup Studios, working hands-on through every stage of production, from cinematography and producing to editorial, with a strong focus on clear, story-driven visuals. He is an active music video filmmaker for several local Seattle bands and has produced work for clients including Microsoft, Starbucks, Boeing, Red Robin, Rosetta Stone, and the Seattle Seahawks, where his in-stadium video content played live to crowds of more than 65,000 people. Tup’s documentary work includes the feature-length film Labor Wars of the Northwest, which was selected for numerous film festivals and screened to sold-out audiences at MOHAI. Whether behind the camera or in the edit, he brings a seasoned, technically grounded approach to filmmaking.