Cobain to Fans: Just Say No; Nirvana's New Father Addresses Drug Use ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1992/The Times Mirror Company Los Angeles Times September 21, 1992, Monday, Home Edition SECTION: CALENDAR; PAGE: F-1 BYLINE: ROBERT HILBURN; TIMES POP MUSIC CRITIC ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I don't want my daughter to grow up and someday be hassled by kids at school . . . I don't want people telling her that her parents were junkies." Kurt Cobain, the 25-year-old leader of the acclaimed and hugely successful rock group Nirvana, is sitting in the living room of his Hollywood Hills apartment, holding Frances, his and Courtney Love's 4-week-old baby. It's Cobain's first formal interview in almost a year, and it takes time to open up. A shy, sensitive man, he speaks easily about his daughter, but there's one thing he's uncomfortable talking about even though he knows he has to. Nirvana is the hottest new band to come along in years, and several of the articles on the group have speculated about Cobain's alleged drug use. He now admits that he's used drugs, including heroin, but never as much as has been rumored or reported in the rock press. He also says in a quiet, but forceful way, that he is now drug-free. "There's nothing better than having a baby," says Cobain disarmingly. "I've always loved children. I used to work summers at the YMCA and be in charge of like 30 preschool kids. "I knew that when I had a child, I'd be overwhelmed and it's true . . . I can't tell you how much my attitude has changed since we've got Frances. Holding my baby is the best drug in the world." Yet Cobain, whose music speaks eloquently about the anger and alienation of youth, worries that the persistent rumors are threatening to turn him into a stereotype of a wasted rock 'n' roller. He also doesn't want to be a bad role model for the group's teen-age fans. He knows some people won't believe him when he says drugs are no longer part of his life, but he still feels compelled to speak out. "I would say I tried to set the record straight," he says, when asked how he'd respond to someone who questions his sincerity. "That's all I can do. We have a lot of young fans and I don't want to have anything to do with inciting drug use. People who promote drug use are (expletive). I chose to do drugs. I don't feel sorry for myself at all, but have nothing good to say about them. They are a total waste of time." If you watched the recent MTV Video Awards and didn't know much about Nirvana and all the drug rumors, you would have been puzzled when Cobain looked into the camera after accepting a best new artist award and said, "It's really hard to believe everything you read." But it was no mystery to the millions of fans who have either bought Nirvana's debut album, "Nevermind," or have fallen under the spell of "Smells Like Teen Spirit," the band's wry hit single. They thought they knew exactly what he was talking about: the heroin rumors. While his wife--leader of the band Hole--watches a tape of the MTV Awards show in an adjoining room, Cobain, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, talks at length about what he only alluded to during the MTV telecast. "I've been accused of being a junkie for years . . . back way before 'Nevermind,' " he says, his face tense as he wrestles with the subject. "I know that a lot of it has to do with the vibes that I put off . . . the things I'd be doing during tours . . . backstage when writers would come in to see us. "I've had this terrible stomach problem for years and that has made touring difficult. People would see me sitting in the corner by myself looking sick and gloomy. The reason is that I wastrying to fight against the stomach pain, trying to hold my food down. People looked me and assumed I was some kind of addict." The continuing stomach problem--which he says doctors have been unable to diagnose--is aggravated by stress and bad eating habits on the road. This is a central reason Nirvana has done so little touring in recent months, he says. On the issue of drugs, he says he "dabbled" with heroin for several years, defining "dabble" as maybe once or twice a year. "It didn't bother me at first (when people started talking or writing about possible drug use) because I've always admired Keith Richards and all these other rock stars who were associated with heroin. There had been some type of glamour element to it." The "dabbling," however, changed dramatically after the "Nevermind" album was released last fall. Until that album, Nirvana was an underground group--one of many admired bands from the suddenly hot Seattle alternative-rock scene. Formed in 1986, the trio--also now featuring bassist Chris Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl--combined punk independence and energy with a melodic pop sense that at times is reminiscent of the Beatles, which was the first rock group ever to catch Cobain's ear. "Bleach," the band's 1990 debut album on tiny Sub Pop Records, sold less than 50,000 copies, but it touched a nerve in critics, fans and record companies around the country. The group was then signed by DGC Records, part of the powerful Geffen Records complex. "Nevermind," released in the fall of 1991, turned the band into stars almost overnight. The album, which went to No. 1 on the pop charts, has sold more than 4 million copies in the United States alone. Cobain was hailed as an artist with the imagination and depth to become a voice for the '90s. While it was Cobain's songwriting skills that enabled the band to achieve mainstream success, it was his link to the underground/punk world that made him uneasy in the mainstream spotlight. Not only did the mainstream represent compromise and superficiality to him, but he also felt overwhelmed by the pressures that were thrust upon him. "I guess I must have quit the band about 10 different times in the last year," he says, handing the baby to his wife, who has joined him in the living room. "I'd tell my manager or the band, but most of the time I would just stand up and say to Courtney, 'OK, this is it.' But it would blow over in a day or two. . . . The music is usually what brings me back. "The biggest thing that affected me was all the insane rumors, the heroin rumors . . . all this speculation going on. I felt totally violated. I never realized that my private life would be such an issue." The drug use temporarily escalated, he says, early this year, when the pressure on him was apparently at a peak. The group went on "Saturday Night Live"; Guns N' Roses and Metallica were trying to talk the trio into touring with them this summer, and there was the band's own concerts, including some dates in Australia. The "Saturday Night Live" period was touched on in a recent Vanity Fair magazine profile of Courtney Love. She is quoted in the story as saying, "We (she and Cobain) got high and went to 'SNL.' After that, I did heroin for a couple of months." The reason the quote became a cause celebre in pop was that Love was pregnant with Frances at the time. (Love has denied that she knowingly took heroin while pregnant. The magazine, meanwhile, stands by the story.) Cobain, who also has a home in the Seattle area, says he did develop a "little habit" early this year. "I did heroin for three weeks," he says, flatly, now smoking a cigarette. "Then I went through a detox program, but my stomach started up again on tour. I was vomiting really bad . . . couldn't hold anything down. "We went to this doctor who gave me these tablets that were methadone. By the end of the tour, I had a habit again . . . and I had to go into detox again to straighten myself out again. That took a really long time . . . about a month. And that was it." Danny Goldberg, an Atlantic Records executive who remains one of the managers of the band, confirmed in a separate interview that he's seen a dramatic change in Cobain since last spring. "Kurt is someone who had a hard time dealing with the unexpected intensity of the success," Goldberg said. "He came from a very difficult background, literally didn't have his own apartment when I first started managing him. Then, in a matter of a few months, he became an international celebrity. He got confused for a while, but seems to have bounced back. He has a healthy baby and is functioning the best I've ever seen him." Goldberg says he thinks becoming a father has helped Cobain get a perspective on his career and life. "I believe the day (last spring) I saw a change was when he had these ultrasound (pictures) of the baby. They are like little black-and-white Polaroid photos and you see the baby's hands and things in the womb. He put it up on his wall at home. "I think that took him out of thinking about himself and made him start thinking about the next phase of his life, where no matter what happens, this person was going to be in his life. He came out of the 'Oh, man, I was a punk rocker and now I'm a rock star and I never wanted to be a rock star' attitude. He was so thrilled about having a baby." Back in his apartment, Cobain takes his daughter from his wife and reflects on the future. He is looking forward to what he thought only a few months ago might be impossible: recording another album. "We've been wanting to record a really raw album for almost a year and it looks like we are finally ready to do it," he says. "I have been prescribed some stomach medicine that has helped ease the pain and I've been going to a pain management clinic. I also meditate. We'd like to put the album out before we go on tour again early next year." He pauses after the mention of touring. The band followed the MTV Awards with concerts in Seattle and Portland, but they were the group's only U.S. dates this year. "We might not go on any more long tours," he says, hesitantly. "The only way we could tour is if I could find some way to keep my stomach from acting up. We could record and play shows once in a while, but to put myself in the physical strain of seven months of touring is too much for me. I would rather be healthy and alive. I don't want to sacrifice myself or my family." ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- DESCRIPTORS: DRUG ABUSE; MUSICIANS Copyright 1992/The Times Mirror Company ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPIN '92 Interview
Heaven Can't Wait ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Some Things in life are beyond explanation. Lucky for you, the triumphant bliss-rock combo Nirvana isn't one of them." by Lauren Spencer in Spin, January 1992 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to your seats, buckle up, and say your prayers: Nirvana is on a collision course with the world. Nevermind, the band's first major-label release, has exploded unexpectantly on the charts while the band's public profile has expanded at a scary rate. With good reason. Remember the first time you heard a song or band that totally blissed you out? Well, this band takes you there. Nirvana lives up to its name - unless you don't believe in bliss, in which case I feel sorry for you. The album has already gone gold, and is even outselling Guns N' Roses double Use Your Illusion at some record stores. And the band's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video garnered the world-premiere slot on MTV's 120 Minutes, practically unheard of for a band that had never had a video show before on MTV. Everyone seems to be reaching for Nirvana. Guitarist-lyricist-possibly tormented guy Kurt Cobain, bassist-maniac-really towering guy Chris Novoselic, and drummer-Virginia native-seriously fun guy Dave Grohl are forging a mighty sound. Spawned in the Pacific Northwest, Nirvana's music sounds like R.E.M. married to Sonic Youth, while having an affair with the Germs. Hole's Courtney Love describes it thus: "Nirvana is plowing a new playground for all of us to play in." Success has come so quickly for the band that it has a tenuous handle on the realities of its rise to prominence. "I couldn't even tell you shit like when Bleach was released. I couldn't even name the songs on the album," says Cobain. "Our record-company bio is nothing but a huge lie. They wrote it up, but it was really lame - they called me at seven in the morning. In the end they just turned it over to us to write. So we made most of it up." "You know what I think is great?" interjects Grohl. "The interviews in English magazines, because they sort of tidy up the grammar. You're free to tidy up any of our grammar. Just make us sound smart." Nirvana was formed in 1987 by Aberdeen, Washington, native Kurt Cobain, who lived his formative years in a trailer park with his cocktail-waitress mom and didn't listen to music until later in life. He hooked up with Novoselic, and they worked their way toward 1989's Bleach, which was made in three days for $600 and crammed with nihilistic, punk-tinged melodic rock. The band toured, got a record deal with DGC, saw many bootleg releases hit the streets, picked up drummer Grohl in 1990 from D.C.'s punk-hardcore band Scream, toured in Europe with Sonic Youth, put out Nevermind, and will probably be touring for the rest of its born days. That is, until they all go into hiding to escape the glare of the spotlight. Cobain has been mislabeled as a "spokesman for a disaffected generation." He's not interested in the job. His lyrics have a sheen of naivete that just barely contains his anger-but gems like "I feel stupid and contagious / Here we are now, entertain us," from "Smells Like Teen Spirit," come off more as glimpses into his private world than rallying cries to the masses. I really have no desire to read the lyrics my favorite rock stars write," says Cobain. "I don't pay attention. My favorite album this year was the Breeders' Pod [from 1990]. Actually, I lied-I do listen to Kim Deal's lyrics. But I don't really pay attention to what people write. Even interviews, I just take with a grain of salt. The only ones I've ever read that I really liked were ones with the Pixies and Butthole Surfers-other than that I can't even think of any that I even finished." When it comes to the band's own interviews, Cobain says, "We lead such boring lives that we start to make up stuff." But, as with any band that comes out of nowhere, stories will get made up anyhow. Example: A rumored contract signing with DGC for $750,000-which would have made it the largest indie signing in history-was, according to Cobain, "Journalism through hearsay. And then the numbers kept getting bigger so that a lot of people believed that we were signing for a million dollars." In fact, the band says the deal was for $250,000 spread over two records. "And now we're snubbed by people who think we're big rock stars," says Grohl. "They think that when you get signed to a major label you get all this cash to spend." "I didn't understand how the music business worked when I was young," adds Cobain. "I used to curse the Butthole Surgers for having fifteen-dollar ticket prices. Now I obviously understand it more, but it's just that with all these people paying attention it feels a little like being in the zoo. Maybe this could be the disclaimer article: What we're gonna do now is let the kids know that we haven't sold out." "Like, from now on all our shows are gonna be free," says Grohl and laughs. "And we'll play with Fugazi for vegetable scraps," says Cobain, only half jokingly. "We're never going to lose our punk ethic." "We don't want to be just lackeys to the corporate ogre," laments Grohl. They needn't worry. Although there are a wealth of colorful stories converning the band's offstage shenanigans, Nirvana is hardly the product of record company-inspired, corporate rock-controlled rebellion. In other words, the band's antics are not a ploy for headline-grabbing attention-it's just the way they are. For instance, when MTV staged a pregig game of Twister in Boston between Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and Bullet Lavolta, Cobain greased up Novoselic's nearly nude body with Crisco oil after which the bassist used an American flag hanging on the wall to wipe himself off. "These jocks came up and were really bad-vibing me," says Novoselic. "Like, 'Hey, you don't do that to our American flag.' So I ended up having some kind of bodyguard go with me to the club." When Nirvana did a Tower Records in-store appearance this fall in New York, a plate of roast beef sandwiches was thoughtfully provided for the occasion, which gave rise to this potential quote of the year: "I thought these guys were an alternative band, but they're eating meat." "Poseurs." There's more. Cobain has thoroughly confused his record company by using multiple choice in the spelling of his name: Kurdt, Curt, and Kurt; Cobain or Kobain. Real and imagined stories run rampant of tour bus curtains being lit on fire, drunken backstage debaucheries, Grohl giving out Chris Cornell's (actually Sub Pop's) phone number during on on-air interview, their road manager's being questioned in Pittsburgh because of a torched couch in the club, the band inviting hundreds of audience members onstage during a St. Louis show to escape the violent bouncers, and on and on. Never mind the stories-to see is to believe. Live, these guys kick substantial ass. Nirvana shows are rife with churning, smashing, moving, sweaty ecstasy onstage and off. To witness the end of some sets is to understand why they cannot do an encore-there's very little equipment left intact. They are adamant about playing only all-ages shows, to the point of adding an extra gig in Boston when they found out the show they performed at was not open to everyone. But they also pissed off a Philadelphia crowd by not doing an encore, provoking chants of "sellout." With or without encores, at the end of the day Nirvana stills gives it to its audience full force. It helps that the band members have had ample time on the road, because there the audience is your best friend-without them you're totally on your own. "Most of the time earlier on we'd stay at people's houses that we'd just met," says Cobain. "But I remember one time in Texas on our first tour we slept at the edge of a lake where there were signs all over saying beware of alligators. We all slept with baseball bats by our sides, or we tried to sleep. In the middle of the night we thought we saw one so we bagged out." Cobain's got a tattoo on his arm, it's the K Records symbol, representing the Olympia, Washington, indie label run by Beat Happening's Calvin Johnson. This summer Johnson helped stage the International Pop Underground Convention, where, unlike other so-called new music conventions, they really did showcase only new talent, along with holding barbecues, parades and disco dances. It's very pure. Cobain says, "It's the event of the year. I vowed months ago that nothing was going to get in the w ay of me attending it-but unfortunately this year we missed it because we played the Reading Festival in England. But I've had the tattoo since last summer. It was a home job. Dave taught me." "You can do it with just a regular sewing needle, string and some India ink," instructs Grohl. "Wrap the thread around the needle, dip it in the ink, and jab it in." "But when I did it, the thread unraveled," says Cobain. "So I ended up jabbing in the needle and pouring ink all over my arm." "Tips to keep yourself busy," adds Grohl. Beyond home tattoos, Nirvana is waiting for the day when its record company, DGC, home to a slew of rock up-and-comers, holds a picnic so the band members can hang with its fellow label mates-especially Nelson. Sonic Youth got a head start in the Nelson stakes when the band visited the blond boys on tour last year, but this trio has a bolder tribute in mind. "Nelson have a room they go into before each show where they turn off the lights and meditate with incense burning," Grohl says. "So we're gonna have the Nelson room where we burn effigies of them before we go onstage," adds Cobain. "Kinda like the Satan room," Grohl concludes. Obviously signing with a major has not put a stop to Nirvana's fun. Instead, it has served the purpose of allowing more people to share the noise. Their T-shirts sum it up: The latest version proudly sports the slogan: KITTY PETTIN, FLOWER SNIFFIN, BABY KISSIN CORPORATE ROCK WHORES. Recently a DGC employee, who was wearing a "crack-smokin'" version of the shirt at a cash machine in L.A., was asked by the long arm of the law to turn the shirt inside out because it was offending passers-by. To some of the great unwashed, Nirvana's favorite bands remain obscurities: the Vaselines, a Scottish band whose tune "Molly's Lips" often starts off Nirvana's live sets, and the Japanese all-female pop trio Shonen Knife, who will be touring with them in Europe. And of course molasses-metal kings The Melvins-whose drummer Dale Crover played on Bleach's "Paper Cuts" and "Floyd the Barber" and did a brief stint on the road with them in the pre-Grohl period-hold a special place in their hearts. "There is no band that changed my perspective of music like the Melvins," says Grohl. "I'm not joking. I think they're the future of music." "And the present and past," adds Cobain. "They should get recognized for that." As Nirvana begins to plot out its quest for world domination, a scheme involving a certain matal-titan is hatched. "We'll rub elbows with Metallica. That way they'll wear our T-shirts and we'l become an instant success," says the forward-looking Cobain. Like they need any help. On second thought, Cobain adds, "We've gotta get Kirk Hammett a Melvins T-shirt." "Yeah, because there's nothing heavier than the Melvins," says Grohl. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fender Frontline Interview
The Fender Frontline Interview ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kurt Cobain: Tribute to a Reluctant Guitar Hero By Chuck Crisafulli. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The music world suffered a tremendous and untimely loss this April when Nirvana's Kurt Cobain took his own life at the age of 27. The guitarist, singer, and songwriter was a troubled and fragile soul, but he was also an inspiring and talented artist, and his small, powerful legacy of work will no doubt continue to shape the sounds of rock for years to come. A few weeks before his death, while the band was still on their last tour in Europe, Cobain agreed to answer some interview questions for Fender Frontline. Understandably, Kurt wasn't all that eager to submit to interviews at the time, but the idea was to get away from prodding him about any of the more sensational rumors swirling about the band and to just let him speak frankly about his music. He graciously consented. He was also beginning to experiment with special hybrid 'Jag-Stang' guitars -half Jaguar, half Mustang- that he had helped design, so he was asked about his experiences with the new instrument. Even the most jaded chart-watchers are going to have to concede that Nirvana made some thrilling sounds in its short history. Bleach, Nevermind, and In Utero hold up as potent, original works that, at their finest moments, deliver all the exhilarating thrills that rock and roll is supposed to. It is unfortunate and deeply saddening that Cobain chose to leave us so soon. He will be missed. CHUCK: Nirvana has become a Big Rck Story, but the music still seems to be the most important part of the story. How proud are you of the band's work? KURDT: It's interesting, because while there's a certain selfish gratification in having any number of people buy your records and come to see you play - none of that holds a candle to simply hearing a song that I've written played by a band. I'm not talking about radio or MTV. I just really like playing these songs with a good drummer and bass player. Next to my wife and daughter, there's nothing that brings me more pleasure. CHUCK: Is it always a pleasure for you to crank up the guitar, or do you ever do battle with the instrument? KURDT: The battle is the pleasure. I'm the first to admit that I'm no virtuoso. I can't play like Segovia. The flip side of that is that Segovia could probably never have played like me. CHUCK: With Pat Smear playing guitar in the touring lineup, has your approach to the instrument changed much? KURDT: Pat has worked out great from day one. In addition to being one of my closest friends, Pat has found a niche in our music that compliments what was already there without forcing any major changes. I don't see myself ever becoming Mick Jagger, but having Pat on stage has freed me to spend more time connecting with the audience. I've become more of a showman. Well maybe that's going too far. Let's just say that having Pat to hold down the rhythm allows me to concentrate on the performance as a whole. I think it's improved our live show 100%. CHUCK: On In Utero and in concert, you play some of the most powerful "anti-solos" ever hacked out of a guitar. What comes to mind for you when it's time for the guitar to cut loose? KURDT: Less than you could ever imagine. CHUCK: Krist [Novoselic] and Dave [Grohl] do a great job of helping to bring your songs to life. How would you describe the role of each player, including yourself, in the Nirvana sound? KURDT: While I can do a lot by switching channels on my amp, it's Dave who really brings the physicality to the dynamics in our songs. Krist is great at keeping everything going along at some kind of even keel. I'm just the folk- singer in the middle. CHUCK: You're a very passionate performer. Do you have to feel the tenderness and rage in your songs in order to perform them? KURDT: That's tough because the real core of any tenderness or rage is tapped the very second that a song is written. In a sense, I'm only recreating the purity of that particular emotion every time I play that particular song. While it gets easier to summon those emotions with experience, it's a sort of dishonesty that you can never recapture the emotion of a song completely each time you play it. CHUCK: It must be a very odd feeling for Nirvana to be performing in sports arenas these days. How do you get along with the crowds your attracting now? KURDT: Much better than I used to. When we first started to get successful, I was extremely judgemental of the people in the audience. I held each of them to a sort of punk rock ethos. It upset me that we were attracting and entertaining the very people that a lot of my music was a reaction against. I've since become much better at accepting people for who they are. Regardless of who they were before they came to the show, I get a few hours to try and subvert the way they view the world. It's not that I'm trying to dictate, it's just that I am afforded a certain platform on which I can express my views. At the very least, I always get the last word. CHUCK: Do you see a long, productive future for the band? KURDT: I'm extremely proud of what we've acomplished together. Having said that however, I don't know how long we can continue as Nirvana without a radical shift in direction. I have lots of ideas and ambitions that have nothing to do with the mass conception of "grunge" that has been force-fed to the record buying public for the last few years. Whether I will be able to do everything I want to do as a part of Nirvana remains to be seen. To be fair, I also know that both Krist and Dave have musical ideas that may not work in the context of Nirvana. We're all tired of being labeled. You can't imagine how stifling it is. CHUCK: You've made it clear that you're not particulary comfortable being a "rock star", but one of the things that tracks like Heart-Shaped Box and Pennyroyal Tea on In Utero make clear is that you're certainly a heavyweight when it comes to songwriting. You may have job sometimes, but is the writing process pleasurable and satisfying for you? KURDT: I think it becomes less pleasurable and satisfying when I think of it in terms of my "job". Writing is the one part that is not a job, it's expression. Photo shoots, interviews...that's the real job part. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Having trouble figuring out the guitar that Kurt Cobain was sawing away at on stage? You're not suffering from double vision - or half vision for that matter. Cobain worked with the Fender Custom Shop to develop the "Jag-Stang", a very functional combination of Jaguar and Mustang design. "Kurt always enjoyed playing both guitars", says Fender's Larry Brooks. "He took photographs of each, cut them in half, and put them together to see what they'd look like. It was his concept, and we detailed and contoured it to give him balance and feel. "He was really easy to work with. I had a chance to sit and talk with him, then we built a prototype. He played it a while and then wrote some suggestions on the guitar and sent it back to us. The second time around we, got it right". The guitar features a Mustang-style short-scale neck on a body that borrows from both designs. There's a DiMarzio humbucking pickup at the bridge, and a Texas Special single coil at the neck, tilted at the same angle as on a Mustang. Cobain was quite satisfied with the guitar. "Ever since I started playing, I've always liked certain things about certain guitars but could never find the perfect mix of everything I was looking for. The Jag-Stang is the closest thing I know. And I like the idea of having a quality instrument on the market with no preconceived notions attatched. In a way, it's perfect for me to attach my name to the Jag-Stang, in that I'm the anti-guitar hero - I can barely play the things myself".
Guitar World Interview with Kurt
SMELLS LIKE TEEN IDOL Kurt Cobain explains why Nirvana, third hand guitars and all, is suddenly the hottest band in the country. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Jeff Gilbert. From: Guitar World Presents: Nirvana & The Seattle Sound Interview originally from Guitar World February 1992 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "We're just musically and rhythmically retarded" asserts Kurt Cobain, guitarist, vocalist and chief songwriter for Nirvana. "We play so hard that we can't tune our guitars fast enough. People can relate to that." Seems reasonable enough, considering that Nevermind, the Seattle trio's major label debut, has become one of the hottest out-of-the-box albums in the country. Fueled by the contagious hit single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," the spirited album turned gold a mere five weeks after its release, and leaped past both volumes of Guns N' Roses Illusions just one month later. But their sudden, platiunum-bound popularity probably has more to do with the bands infectious, dirty riffs and wry lyrical hooks than with their roughly played, out-of-tune guitars, of which Cobain is so proud. "We sound like the Bay City Rollers after an assault by Black Sabbath." continues the guitarist in his nasty smoker's hack. "And," he expectorates, "we vomit onstage better than anyone!" Nirvana began their career with 1989's Bleach (Sub Pop), an intensely physical melange of untuned metal, drunk punk, and Seventies pop, written from the perspective of a college drop-out. The album's other notable distinction was that it was recorded in three days for $600. Nevermind, costing considerably more than six bills, is Nirvana's major-label, power-punk/pop masterpiece, awash in slashing, ragged guitar riffs, garbled lyrics and more teen spirit than you can shake a Kiss record at. Guitar World: MTV thinks Nirvana is a metal band. Kurt: That's fine; let them be fooled! I don't have anything against Headbanger's Ball, but it's strange to see our faces on MTV. GW: Kirk Hammett is a huge Nirvana fan. Kurt: That's real flattering. We met him recently and he's a real nice guy. We talked about the Sub Pop scene, heavy metal and guitars. GW: Speaking of guitars, you seem to favor low-end models. Kurt: I don't favor them-I can afford them. [laughs] I'm left-handed, and it's not very easy to find reasonably priced, high-quality left-handed guitars. But out of all the guitars in the whole world, the Fender Mustang is my favorite. I've only owned two of them. GW: What is it about them that works for you? Kurt: They're cheap and totally inefficient, and they sound like crap and are very small. They also don't stay in tune, and when you want to raise the string action on the fretboard, you have to loosen all the strings and completely remove the bridge. You have to turn these little screws with your fingers and hope that you've estimated it right. If you screw up, you have to repeat the whole process over and over until you get it right. Whoever invented that guitar was a dork. GW: It was Leo Fender. Kurt: I guess I'm calling Leo Fender, the dead guy, a dork. Now I'll never get an endorsement. [laughs] We've been offered a Gibson endorsement, b ut I can't find a Gibson I like. GW: Is the Mustang your only guitar? Kurt: No, I own a '66 Jaguar. That's the guitar I polish and baby-I refuse to let anyone touch it when I jump into the crowd. [laughs] Lately, I've been using a Strat Live, because I don't want to ruin my Mustang yet. I like to use Japanese Strats because they're a bit cheaper, and the frets are smaller than the American version's. GW: The acoustic guitar you play on "Polly" sounds flat. Kurt: That's a 20-dollar junk shop Stella-I didn't bother changing the strings. [laughs] It barely stays in tune. In fact, I have to use duct tape to hold the tuning keys in place. GW: Considering how violently you play the guitar. I have to assume you use pretty heavy-duty strings. Kurt: Yeah. And I keep blowing up amplifiers, so I use whatever I can find at junk shops-junk is always best. GW: What was the last amp you blew up? Kurt: A Crown power amp that was intended for use as a PA, but which I used for a guitar's head because I can never find an amp that's powerful enough-and because I don't want to have to deal with hauling 10 Marshall heads. I'm lazy-I like to have it all in one package. For a preamp I have a Mesa/Boogie, and I turn all the mid-range up. And I use Radio Shack speakers. GW: How reliable is this setup? It doesn't seem like it would be that durable, especially in view of all the touring you do. Kurt: It works out okay. The sound changes with every club we play in, but I'm never satisfied. I think the sound I get is mainly a result of the Roland EF-1 distortion box I use. I go through about five a tour. GW: Ever get the urge to use a twang bar? Kurt: No. Anybody that plays guitar knows that only Jimi Hendrix was able to use the standard tremolo and still keep it in tune. Those things are totally worthless. I do have one on a Japanses Strat, but I don't use it. GW: Your first album, Bleach, was recorded for $600; how much did Nevermind run you? Kurt: [laughs] I don't remember, I've got Alzheimer's. Please don't ask us how much our video cost; that's a hell of an embarrassment. We definitely could have used some film student, who would've done just as good of a job. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Atlanta Journal & Constitution Article
Nirvana's Kurt Cobain swaps alienation for optimism ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1993, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution September 19, 1993, Sunday BYLINE: Robert Hilburn LOS ANGELES TIMES SECTION: ARTS; PAGE: N-01 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seattle - As Kurt Cobain walks into the living room of his rented house, he's made an odd choice in clothing. The most important new voice in American rock in years is wearing a black thigh-length thrift-store dress over flannel long johns. "Wearing a dress shows I can be as feminine as I want," he says, in a jab at the macho undercurrents that he detests in rock. "I'm a heterosexual . . . big deal. But if I was a homosexual, it wouldn't matter either." As one of rock's most celebrated figures, it's easy now for Cobain to make such statements. Nirvana's "Nevermind" album, which has sold nearly 10 million copies worldwide since its release in late 1991, reflected the anger and alienation of young rock fans in a way that has led critics to hail Cobain as the voice of a new generation. Nirvana's new album, "In Utero" ("In the Womb"), is due in stores Tuesday. Even Beavis and Butt-head, the hopelessly moronic headbangers on MTV, think Cobain (and all other Seattle rockers) are cool. But there was a time - back in high school in nearby Aberdeen - when it was difficult for Cobain to express himself so freely. In those days, he felt alienated from the other kids, most of whom didn't understand why he wanted to paint rather than play sports or why he dreamed about getting out of Aberdeen someday instead of joining the other boys in thinking about taking over their fathers' timber mill jobs. So, Cobain isn't just being provocative for provocative's sake when he wears a dress or includes a pro-gay reference in a song. He feels deeply about the issue because he was frequently tormented by teens and adults in his hometown because he didn't seem manly enough. He also was appalled by the misogynistic attitude of most of his male peers in the tough logging town. "Yeah, you know, there were a lot of Beavises and Butt-heads back there," he says. "The only difference is they weren't as clever as the guys on TV." It's past 1 a.m. in the house about 15 minutes from Seattle's downtown, and Cobain has been talking since early evening about the pressures that could have destroyed him following the massive success of "Nevermind." "We couldn't comprehend what was happening and we didn't handle things very well," he says, referring to late 1991 when the trio's major- label debut sold a million copies in six weeks - remarkable considering the band's record company expected sales of 200,000 tops. "We had grown up admiring punk bands and thinking all those groups on the pop charts were embarrassing . . . and suddenly we were one of those bands," Cobain adds. "So, we thought we'd better screw this up, and we tried for a while." Igniting rumors of drug and alcohol abuse, the band caused chaos during appearances on British TV and often was surly and sarcastic during interviews. It also thumbed its nose at the mainstream fans who were turned on to the band by MTV. There were even whispers that the band was making a follow-up album so raw it would be unlistenable - a perverse joke on the group's huge new audience. The media attention on Cobain was especially intense because the album, which included the anthem "Smells Like Teen Spirit," combined the radical independence of the Sex Pistols with traces of the melodic grace and craft of Lennon and McCartney. Adding to the media furnace over Nirvana was Cobain's February 1992 marriage to flamboyant punk star Courtney Love. The couple was widely characterized as the John & Yoko or the Sid & Nancy of the '90s, depending on your generational touchstone and the darkness of the tales heard about them. The most incendiary public moment was in a Vanity Fair profile in summer '92, which suggested Love knowingly took heroin while pregnant. Both Love and Cobain have furiously denied that, though the magazine stands by its story. Their daughter, Frances, is now almost a year old and apparently in good health. Even before that article, Cobain had withdrawn, turning down tour offers so lucrative that the inactivity prompted additional speculation about serious personal problems, including a possible nervous breakdown. The pressure was so bad, Cobain says now, that he thought often of quitting the band, but the closest he got was a series of late-night messages on Nirvana bassist Chris Novoselic's answering machine. Cobain describes the long layoff after "Nevermind" as essential. The young musician, who suffered from severe stomach pains during months of extensive touring following its release, says the time off helped him regain his physical and emotional health. The trio went with record producer Steve Albini early this year into a Minneapolis studio to record "In Utero." "I have become a lot more optimistic," Cobain says, sitting with bassist Novoselic. (Drummer Dave Grohl was out of town.) "Once something like marriage and a baby happens to a person, you find a lot of strength that you didn't know you had. "I still feel anxious doing interviews because I think the media beat us up pretty bad before, but I want our fans to know that I'm proud of this record . . . that it's not some kind of joke. Music is too important to me to do that. In fact, there was a time when music was all that was important to me." Copyright 1993, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
