Lukin co-founded the Melvins in 1983 with guitarist/vocalist Buzz Osborne and drummer Mike Dillard in Montesano, Washington, where the trio had attended high school together. Beginning as a Jimi Hendrix cover band and then as a hardcore punk band, they changed their sound when Dillard left and a new drummer, Dale Crover joined the band, playing slower and heavier rock music. Soon they were one of the most important bands in the early Seattle-area grunge scene. When Crover joined the band, the Melvins also relocated to Aberdeen, Washington.