Jason Grimes has taken his lifelong passion for music to extremes in recent years, becoming a driving force in Seattle’s current underground rock n’ roll community.

A tastemaker from the start, Jason began his secondary career as a vital Northwest impresario in 1994 when he booked Black Happy, a seminal post-grunge funk/metal band from Coeur d’Alene, ID, to play at the University of Idaho. Since then, he’s arranged hundreds of popular musical events across Washington and Oregon at a wide array of venues, including the Crocodile Cafe, El Corazon, Neumos, the Sunset Tavern, the Nightlight, the Factory, Chop Suey, High Dive, Nectar Lounge and the Ash Street Saloon.

Jason’s association with rising Seattle stars Thee Emergency, working as their manager and booking agent throughout 2005 and ’06, brought his talents (and the band’s) to a broader national audience. His efforts put the band onstage at several high profile local events - most notably Seattle’s renowned arts showcase Bumbershoot in 2006 - and eventually landed them a coveted Austin City Limits after-party with Ghostland Observatory at the Mohawk.

Recently, Jason has been promoting his weekly Thursday Night Rock showcase at Fremont’s Nectar Lounge, documenting his love for the current wave of rock groups and electronica musicians through his photos and blogs, and continuing to tirelessly network with the best of Seattle’s infrastructure of writers, artists and other creative individuals.

Ultimately, Jason Grimes is a visionary who helps keep the underground community of fertile minds in this city excited about what we’re doing. His dedication to bringing overlooked talent to the forefront makes him invaluable, but it's his keen ear for what really rocks that makes him important.

- Bio by Matt Brown

Some of the art from the past couple of years courtesy of Jon Smith.