nirvana biography
Kurt Cobain smashed his first guitar in 1988 and a rock icon
was born. In their brief seven-year history, Nirvana unwillingly
brought alternative music into the mainstream and defined a
generation of young people alienated by baby boomers.
Nirvana's roots lie in the underground hardcore scene of the
mid-1980s.; the Olympia-based Melvins and New York's
Sonic Youth were early mentors of the band. Nirvana's
crossover appeal was rooted in their ability to blend the
hardcore fury of drummer Dave Grohl and bassist Krist
Novoselic with Cobain's doleful, introspective lyrics and
melodies.
Novoselic and Cobain met in 1985 in their hometown of
Aberdeen, Wash., a rural logging community outside Seattle.
Their first musical incarnation as the Stiff Woodies featured
Cobain on drums, Novoselic on bass and whoever happened
to be around on guitar. By 1987 they had metamorphized into
Nirvana; Cobain moved to vocals and guitar, and drummer
Chad Channing was added. Nirvana soon gained the
attention of the hip Seattle label Sub Pop and their debut
album, Bleach, recorded for just over $600, was released in
June 1989. Dave Grohl of the Washington, D.C. hardcore
band Scream replaced Channing in September 1990.
During the summer of 1991 the band opened for Sonic Youth
on their European Festival tour. Nirvana's landmark
performance at the Reading Festival was featured in the
documentary "1991: The Year Punk Broke" and marked the
beginning of their worldwide recognition. Ironically, 1991
marked the birth of Nirvanamania and the beginning of
Cobain's mental and physical deterioration. The group signed
with Geffen Records to record their much anticipated second
album, and when Nevermind was released in the fall of 1991,
it symbolically knocked Michael Jackson's Dangerous off the
top of the U.S. album charts. The success of the album, which
went triple platinum, was fueled by MTV's incessant airplay of
"Smells Like Teen Spirit." The song was hailed as the anthem
of the grunge generation and its appeal broadened the band's
fan base to include mainstream jocks, metalheads and
alternative wannabes; the very people Nirvana music was
supposed to alienate.
Rumors of Cobain's heroin use were ever-present and as the
band grew into a multi-million dollar commercial entity, he
began to withdraw into his own drug-induced world. The
band's stability was questioned in the wake of a variety of
bizarre stunts including Cobain's penchant for showing up at
concerts in women's clothing and mocking his way through
songs, and Novoselic and Grohl's nationally televised kiss
following a "Saturday Night Live" performance. Cobain's
marriage to hardcore diva Courtney Love in 1992 only fueled
the negative publicity fire.
The recording of their third studio album was delayed by
Cobain's health problems---he complained of chronic stomach
pain and was hospitalized several times---and Geffen
released Incesticide, a compilation of B-sides and rarities
late in 1992 to appease the cash cow fans starved for new
Nirvana material. By the spring of 1993, the band was ready
to go back in the studio. They recruited Steve Albini (Pixies,
Breeders, Jesus Lizard) to produceIn Utero,the long-awaited
follow up to Nevermind. The album was released in
September 1993 followed by a three-month North American
tour, which included their celebrated appearance on "MTV
Unplugged."
In early 1994 Nirvana embarked on a European tour that was
cut short in February by Cobain's much publicized drug
overdose in Rome. At the end of March Cobain entered a
drug rehab facility in Los Angeles and on April 1 he escaped
from the center and returned to Seattle. Cobain's body was
found April 8 in his Seattle home with a self-inflicted gunshot
wound to the head.
After Cobain's death, Grohl and Smear formed the Foo
Fighters, whose hit 1995 self-titled album was an invigorating,
upbeat departure from the angry, tortured strains of Nirvana.
Novoselic resurfaced in 1996 in the band Sweet 75.