The Melvins are an American rock band that formed in 1983 in Montesano, Washington. They have mostly performed as a trio, as well as a quartet with two drummers in recent years. Since 1984, vocalist and guitarist Buzz Osborne and drummer Dale Crover have been constant members. The band was named after a supervisor at a Thriftway in Montesano, Washington, where Osborne also worked as a clerk. "Melvin" was despised by other employees, and the band's members felt it to be an appropriately ridiculous name. Their early work was key to the development of both grunge and sludge metal.