Jeff Burlingame

Author Jeff Burlingame was born and raised in Aberdeen, Wash. After college, he returned to his hometown and served as arts and entertainment editor of Aberdeen's newspaper for eight years, winning nearly a dozen Society of Professional Journalism awards during his tenure, including three for his controversial, plain-speaking weekly column, "If You Wouldn't Mind ..."In 1999, he founded the similarly titled independent music public relations firm, If You Wouldn't Mind PR, working with some of the best underground rock bands in the United States, including the Ghetto Monks, Honey Tongue, Susan Robkin Suruda, Earwig, Wes Dando, Creeper Lagoon and more."People always ask me why I used the words, 'If You Wouldn't Mind,' in everything," says Burlingame. "To me, it's symbolic. It's the first phrase of the first line of the first lyric of Nirvana's first studio album. It's also a personal joke because the second part of that lyric is not so nice."In 2004, Jeff co-founded the nonprofit Kurt Cobain Memorial Committee in an attempt to publicly recognize Kurt in his reluctant-to-do-so hometown. After a year of fundraising and publicity from MTV, VH1, The Los Angeles Times, The Associated Press, Rolling Stone, Spin, The Andy Savage Show, The Robin and Maynard Show and several overseas media outlets, his committee erected a large sign reading "Come As You Are" at the east entrance to the city. The committee's future goals include a youth center in Kurt's name and a low-key memorial park. In 2007, the committee hosted its first fundraising concert, Lounge Acts. The 2008 Lounge Acts concert, set for Sept. 13, will feature national acts Harvey Danger and Schoolyard Heroes.Jeff's first book, Kurt Cobain: Oh Well, Whatever, Nevermind, was released in 2006 (hardback) and 2007 (paperback). The book quickly became the top-selling teen music book in the United States online at both Amazon and Barnes and Noble, remaining in the Top 10 for several months. The book was selected by the New York Public Library as one of its Books for the Teen Age in 2007.Jeff's recently released books include the young adult biographies Edgar Allan Poe: Deep Into That Darkness Peering and Hillary Clinton: A Life in Politics. The author currently is working on several book projects and resides with his family in Washington state.