Bootsy Holler w/ Troy Nelson, MAKING IT

Photographer Bootsy Holler visits the store for her book Making It: An Intimate Documentary of the Seattle Indie, Rock & Punk Scene, 1992-2008. Holler's photographic time capsule of Seattle's music scene captures the early years of Interpol, Fleet Foxes, Death Cab for Cutie, Foo Fighters and more. She is joined by KEXP DJ Troy Nelson.

As an avid fan of Seattle's music scene during the late 1990s and early 2000s, photographer Bootsy Holler created a remarkable portfolio documenting the little-known bands who later defined a decade in music history. She captured live gigs, band portraits, backstage moments, rapt audiences and more, chronicling the formative years of artists such as Death Cab for Cutie, Fleet Foxes, Interpol, Modest Mouse, Gossip, Beck, Moby, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Foo Fighters. Says Holler: "I was documenting my life. The musicians, promoters and bouncers were my friends, and I went to see bands I enjoyed and places I could get in for free. I didn't know I was in the middle of something new."

With open spine binding and cold glue bright orange thread, this collection of Holler's energetic, raw images, together with her own personal recollections, reflects on the second generation of Seattle's music scene, as the world transitioned from celluloid to digital, grunge to indie. It is a pilgrimage back in time, a nostalgic trip for anyone who cherishes music or yearns for a time when nobody texted or had a camera in their pocket. The book opens with a nod to a truly independent woman, with a foreword from Megan Jasper, CEO of Sub Pop Records.

Bootsy Holler has deep roots in the Pacific Northwest. Having grown up in Washington state and spent her 20s and 30s immersed in Seattle's vibrant music scene, her work serves as a raw, personal chronicle of a generation trying to “make it.” Holler is an multifaceted artist based in Los Angeles. She has long documented her own life and the lives unfolding around her, especially at the intersection of music, friends, and family. MAKiNG iT has been recognized in the Smithsonian Magazine as The Ten Best Photography Books of 2025.

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