Bootsy Holler photographed what she lived: Seattle’s rock and roll lifestyle. #k5evening
SEATTLE — A new photography book celebrates Seattle’s legendary music scene through the lens of someone who lived it firsthand.
“Making It,” by photographer Bootsy Holler, features more than 100 photographs from Seattle’s vibrant ’90s and 2000s music era. The book launched recently at Easy Street Records, where many in the audience were friends from that time.
“I love Seattle. I mean the book is a love letter to Seattle,” Holler said.
For Holler, the Seattle music scene wasn’t just something to document—it was her life. She was part of a tight-knit community, often walking through back doors carrying drumsticks, joking she was the tambourine player.
The book’s title speaks to a universal dream that seemed possible then.
“When you’re in your 20s and you’re in a band, you’re trying to make it,” Holler said. “And I also was trying to make it.”
The collection includes intimate portraits of musical artists who made up the small community, from newly formed Fleet Foxes to Pearl Jam at a surprise 2003 Easy Street Records performance. Readers will find Death Cab for Cutie and Reggie Watts before they became household names—and many bands whose dreams went unfulfilled.
“The book is about the people that have the passion to do the work,” Holler said. “To keep on creating, even when you don’t make it.”
Her portraits of women in the scene are particularly striking, capturing strength and vulnerability through genuine connection and trust.
“Making It” is available at Easy Street Records and Third Place Books.
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