Nick Pollock
Musician - Alice N’ Chains, My Sister’s Machine
Nick Pollock’s story runs through Seattle’s formative heavy-music years. In 1985–86, he joined Sleze, the teenage metal band with Layne Staley, Jim Sheppard, and James Bergstrom. As the lineup shifted, the band became Alice N’ Chains, a glam-leaning precursor to Alice in Chains. They recorded two demos and played local shows before dissolving in 1987. Pollock’s role is well documented, and Jerry Cantrell later credited him with introducing him to Layne Staley, a connection that shaped Seattle music history.
Afterward, Pollock spent a year in a funk band before forming My Sister’s Machine in 1989 with Owen Wright, Chris Ivanovich, and Chris Gohde. With no dedicated singer, he became frontman and lyricist, writing while working at a gas station. The band released Diva and Wallflower, both critically noted as part of grunge’s heavier edge, and toured nationally until label issues led to their breakup in 1994. Pollock later formed Tanks of Zen and continued performing, with his legacy anchored in Alice N’ Chains and My Sister’s Machine.
Photo by Rachel Crick at Post Alley; alleyways were for hangouts and band photos
Transcript
One particularly cool memory I have of the days before everything blew up in Seattle happened on August 21st, 1991.
It involved members of my band, My Sister's Machine, Pearl Jam, Sean Smith, and a few other folks. The idea was to get a bunch of us to play cover songs to raise money for a charity. We all brought in songs we wanted to play or thought people would like to hear us play. For our part, My Sister's Machine played a great cover of "Mississippi Queen" from Mountain and "Green Eyed Lady" from Sugarloaf.
What really makes the story memorable for me was that we did a couple of journey covers with Sean Smith singing. To give you an idea of the timing of this, Pearl Jam was just about to release 10. My Sister's Machine was within a few months of releasing our first record, "Diva." We all ended up on the road after that for the foreseeable future.
It was still the old Seattle we all loved and grew up playing local shows. None of us had any idea of what was to come. It's the Seattle I like to remember most and serves as a dividing line before the explosion that was to come.