We’ve been gearing up lately for the grand opening of our newest cafe and it’s going to be pretty damn spectacular. In a few short weeks, we’re unveiling our Seattle location. Opening in Seattle is incredibly exciting, but it’s also pretty daunting. The Emerald City is one of the great American rock ‘n’ roll towns, so we know we’ve got to come correct. It can be difficult to select the proper artifacts for a city with the type of music scene Seattle has enjoyed since the jazz age, but we’re pretty sure we’re up to the task. Though we’ll have plenty of great pieces from our usual faves, like the Beatles, Elvis, the Stones and the Who, we’ve amassed a pretty great selection from Seattle artists to pay tribute to this great American city. Let’s look at a few here. You can also see each piece in it's full glory over at our interactive memorabilia website. Or at Hard Rock Cafe Seattle, when it opens at the beginning of February. Either one is an incredible experience.

HENDRIX STRAT

A few months ago, we ran a piece about doing tech work on Jimi Hendrix’ 1969 Fender Stratocaster. Now this pristine axe is going to find a new home in Jimi’s hometown of Seattle. When it comes to music memorabilia, nothing is more iconic than a Hendrix Strat. Jimi used this one with both the Experience and the Band of Gypsies. All the wear on the lower bout is from Hendrix’ forearm. How cool is that?

MUDHONEY DRUMHEAD

Nobody defines the Seattle sound that became known as “grunge” more than Mudhoney. They’re so blistering, so exciting, and so reckless they just might be the best American rock band of the last 30 years. Their sound leans heavily on influences like the Stooges, the MC5, and mid-sixties Seattle proto-punk icons The Sonics, but Mudhoney somehow always manage to create unique and vital-sounding rock ‘n’ roll. Ask any of the now-legendary musicians who made it huge from the grunge scene which band best defines the Seattle sound and every single one of them will say Mudhoney without a moment’s hesitation. All four members signed this drumhead.

ANDREW WOOD GUITAR

This is a Yamaha 12-string acoustic that belonged to Andrew Wood – the frontman for Mother Love Bone. Mother Love Bone formed from the ashes of Green River – the seminal Seattle group that featured future Pearl Jam members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, and future Mudhoney guys Mark Arm and Steve Turner. Mother Love Bone had all the elements of what became known as the Seattle sound, but with Andrew on vocals, they had a much more colorful and exuberant style. Andrew didn’t project the dour persona that so many of the ‘90s Seattle musicians seemed to revel in, he was much more of a Freddie Mercury/Marc Bolan-type character. Love Bone made a great album for Mercury records in 1989, but unfortunately Andrew died just a few days before it was released. He was only 24 years old. This guitar is a poignant symbol of lost potential.

KRIST NOVOSELIC BASS

What we have here is an Ibanez Black Eagle bass that belonged to Nirvana bassist and all-around good guy Krist Novoselic. He used it on Nirvana’s In Utero tour in 1994, but his unbridled rock action resulted in some on-stage damage to the instrument’s neck. Fortunately for Krist, his road crew was able to affect a pretty impressive repair. They replaced the neck and even went so far as to duplicate the headstock cutouts that make these old Ibanez basses so unique. We acquired this bass when Krist auctioned it off to benefit Music for America – a grassroots organization focused on getting young people more involved in the political process. Krist has been extremely active politically in his post-Nirvana career. He’s like a punk rock statesman and he’ll probably become the first elected leader who ever smashed a bass onstage.

SEAN KINNEY KIT

This old DW drumkit is one of the defining instruments of the Seattle scene. It belonged to Alice in Chains drummer Sean Kinney and he used it to record their masterpiece - 1992’s Dirt. That one album absolutely defined the grunge/metal connection and is wildly influential to this day. Sean also used these drums on the 1993 Lollapalooza tour which saw AIC headlining the mainstage along with Primus. When the group reformed with vocalist William DuVall for 2007’s ReEvolution tour, Sean dusted these old drums off and took them on tour once again. These tubs are like some sort of grunge talisman – they’ve seen more stage dives and flannel-shirted slackers than you can possibly imagine.

KURT GUITAR

This guitar originally belonged to Kurt Cobain’s aunt Mari Earl. It’s an Ovation Folklore model – and a pretty nice little axe. Mari was a professional musician and Kurt would often use her equipment while he was developing as a player and songwriter. In fact, he cut a pre-Nirvana demo at her home that’s become legendary amongst Nirvana fans as the Fecal Matter tape. Kurt continued to play this guitar after his rise to fame whenever he’d visit his aunt in Aberdeen, Wa. Though Mari kept it strung right-handed, lefty Kurt would simply flip it over and play it strung in reverse.

COURTNEY LOVE LETTER

This bit of scrawl is a letter Courtney Love wrote to Spin magazine in 1996. A few months earlier, she had crashed Kurt Loder’s interview with Madonna at the Video Music Awards in a bit of spectacle that will forever be remembered as one of the craziest moments in the history of live television. Madonna was not pleased. In fact, she speculated in a Spin interview that drugs had destroyed Courtney’s brain. Courtney fired off this scathing letter in response to Madonna’s comments. Take some time to read the full letter on our interactive memorabilia site. It’s hilarious.

ERIC ERLANDSON SETLIST

This set list is from Hole guitarist Eric Erlandson. It’s from the late-‘90s and was probably used by Eric’s guitar tech during performances. The handwritten notations indicate which guitars to use on each song. Eric has some pretty cool guitars. This list is heavy on Fender Telecasters, but on two songs, “Celebrity Skin” and “Use Once and Destroy”, Eric busted out one of his original Veleno guitars. These are rare, handmade axes crafted from aircraft aluminum. They’re highly coveted and you almost never see them on stage. Eric owns three of them. Here’s one from our collection: http://memorabilia.hardrock.com/?item=028713

NANCY WILSON OUTFIT

Heart’s Nancy Wilson rocked this pseudo-baroque outfit on stage with the group in the mid-seventies. This kind of look was popular with women rockers during the Carter administration – can’t you picture Stevie Nicks in something similar? Come to think of it, there were plenty of dudes that would have loved this outfit in the ‘70s. Marc Bolan probably had the same thing in his closet.

HENDRIX PURSE

This is a purse that belonged to Jimi Hendrix. We could get all fancy and call it a satchel, or a “European shoulder bag”, but let’s be honest – this thing is a purse. Jimi needed this to carry around the accouterments of the late ‘60s rock star - stuff like lyric sheets, guitar picks, extra bandannas, exotic Middle Eastern hookahs, - you get the picture. When we acquired this piece, we excitedly opened it up and rifled through it hoping to find some leftover Jimi goodies. No luck.

There’s going to be a million more great pieces in the new Hard Rock Cafe Seattle, and we’re also unveiling our new audio memorabilia tour. So if you’ve been putting off a trip to the Pacific Northwest, now’s the time make it happen.