Nirvana (band)
Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic met while attending Aberdeen High School in Washington state. They became friends by frequenting the practice space of the Melvins. Cobain wanted to form a band with Novoselic, but Novoselic did not respond for a long period. Cobain gave him a demo tape of his project Fecal Matter. Three years after they first met, Novoselic notified Cobain that he had finally listened to the Fecal Matter demo and suggested they start a group. Their first band was called the Sellouts, which was a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band. The project featured Novoselic on guitar and vocals, Cobain on drums, and Steve Newman on bass. This project lasted only a short time. Another project featuring originals was attempted in late 1986. Bob McFadden was enlisted to play drums, but after a month this project also fell through. In early 1987, Cobain and Novoselic recruited drummer Aaron Burckhard. They practiced material from Cobain's Fecal Matter tape but started writing new material soon after forming.
During its initial months, the band went through a series of names including Skid Row, Pen Cap Chew, Bliss, and Ted Ed Fred. The band played under the name Nirvana for the first time on the 19th of March 1988, at Community World Theater in Tacoma, Washington. This concert's flyer, designed by Kurt Cobain, mentioned all of the previous band names. The group settled on Nirvana because Cobain wanted a name that was kind of beautiful or nice and pretty instead of a mean, raunchy punk name like the Angry Samoans. The band were initially sued by the British band Nirvana over the usage of the name, reaching an out-of-court settlement. Novoselic moved to Tacoma and Cobain to Olympia, Washington. They temporarily lost contact with Burckhard and instead practiced with Dale Crover of the Melvins. They recorded their first demos in January 1988. Nirvana released its first single, a cover of Shocking Blue's Love Buzz, in November 1988 on the Seattle independent record label Sub Pop. They did their first interview with John Robb in Sounds, which made their release its single of the week.
The following month, the band began recording its debut album Bleach with local producer Jack Endino. Bleach was influenced by the heavy dirge-rock of the Melvins, the 1980s punk rock of Mudhoney, and the 1970s heavy metal of Black Sabbath. The money for the recording sessions listed as five thousand dollars on the album sleeve was supplied by Jason Everman. Although Everman did not play on the album, he received a credit because they wanted to make him feel more at home in the band. Prior to the album's release, Nirvana became the first band to sign an extended contract with Sub Pop. Bleach was released in June 1989 and became a favorite of college radio stations. It had initial sales of 40,000 copies. Cobain was upset by the label's lack of promotion and distribution. In late 1989, Nirvana recorded the Blew EP with producer Steve Fisk. Cobain said the band's music was changing from angry songs to poppier ones about conflicts in relationships. No one told Everman he was fired; Everman later said he had quit.
In April 1990, Nirvana began working on their next album with producer Butch Vig at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. Cobain and Novoselic became disenchanted with Channing's drumming, and Channing expressed frustration at not being involved in songwriting. That July, Nirvana recorded the single Sliver with Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters. Dale Crover filled in on drums on Nirvana's seven-date American West Coast tour with Sonic Youth that August. In September 1990, Buzz Osborne of the Melvins introduced the band to drummer Dave Grohl. Grohl auditioned for Novoselic and Cobain days after arriving in Seattle. Novoselic later said they knew in two minutes that he was the right drummer. Disenchanted with Sub Pop, Nirvana sought a deal with a major record label since no indie label could buy them out of their contract. They signed to DGC Records in 1990. After signing, the band began recording its first major label album Nevermind. The group held out for Vig rather than accepting other producers. Production shifted to Sound City Studios in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California.
Initially, DGC Records hoped to sell 250,000 copies of Nevermind, the same they had achieved with Sonic Youth's Goo. However, the first single Smells Like Teen Spirit quickly gained momentum boosted by major airplay of the music video on MTV. As it toured Europe during late 1991, the band found that its shows were dangerously oversold and television crews became a constant presence onstage. By Christmas 1991, Nevermind was selling 400,000 copies a week in the US. In January 1992, the album displaced Michael Jackson's Dangerous at number one on the Billboard album charts. The month Nevermind reached number one, Billboard proclaimed Nirvana is that rare band that has everything: critical acclaim, industry respect, pop radio appeal, and a rock-solid college/alternative base. The album eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States and over 30 million worldwide. Nirvana's sudden success was credited for popularizing alternative rock and ending the popularity of hair metal. Citing exhaustion, Nirvana did not undertake another American tour in support of Nevermind and made only a handful of performances later that year.
DGC hoped to have a new Nirvana album ready for a late 1992 holiday season but instead released the compilation album Incesticide in December 1992. For their third album, Nirvana chose producer Steve Albini who had a reputation as principled and opinionated in the American indie music scene. Albini and Nirvana recorded the album in two weeks in Pachyderm Studio in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, that February. After its completion, stories ran in the Chicago Tribune and Newsweek claiming DGC considered the album unreleasable. While the stories were untrue, the band was unhappy with certain aspects of Albini's mixes because they thought the bass levels were too low. Cobain felt that Heart-Shaped Box and All Apologies did not sound perfect so Scott Litt was called in to remix them. In Utero topped the American and British album charts and went on to sell more than five million copies in the United States. That October, Nirvana embarked on its first tour of the United States in two years. In November, Nirvana recorded a performance for the television program MTV Unplugged. Augmented by Smear and cellist Lori Goldston, they broke convention by choosing not to play their best known songs.
In early 1994, Nirvana embarked on a European tour. Their final concert took place in Munich, Germany, on March 1. In Rome, on the morning of March 4, Cobain's wife Courtney Love found Cobain unconscious in their hotel room and he was rushed to the hospital. Cobain had reacted to a combination of prescribed rohypnol and alcohol. The rest of the tour was canceled. In the weeks following his hospitalization in Rome, Cobain's heroin addiction resurfaced. Following an intervention, he was persuaded to enter drug rehabilitation. After less than a week, Cobain scaled the 6-foot wall and escaped then returned to Seattle. On the 8th of April 1994, Cobain was found dead of a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head at his home in the Denny-Blaine neighborhood of the city. He had died approximately three days earlier. Until the discovery of his body, Cobain had been missing since escaping the rehabilitation center. Cobain's death drew international attention and became a topic of public fascination and debate. Within hours, stocks ran low of Nirvana records in stores and sales rose dramatically in the United Kingdom.
In 1997, Novoselic, Grohl and Love formed the limited liability company Nirvana LLC to oversee Nirvana projects. A 45-track box set of Nirvana rarities was scheduled for release in October 2001. However, shortly before the release date, Love filed a suit to dissolve Nirvana LLC and an injunction was issued preventing the release of any new material until the case was resolved. Love contended that Cobain was Nirvana and that Grohl and Novoselic were sidemen. The day before the case was set to go to trial in October 2002, they announced they had reached a settlement. The next month, the best-of compilation Nirvana was released featuring the previously unreleased track You Know You're Right. It debuted at number three on the Billboard album chart. The box set With the Lights Out was released in November 2004 containing early Cobain demos and rough rehearsal recordings. In April 2006, Love sold 25 percent of her stake in the Nirvana song catalog to Primary Wave for an estimated sum. She sought to assure fans that the music would not simply be licensed to the highest bidder.
Common questions
When did Nirvana first play under the name Nirvana?
The band played under the name Nirvana for the first time on the 19th of March 1988 at Community World Theater in Tacoma, Washington. Kurt Cobain designed the concert flyer which mentioned all previous band names including Skid Row and Ted Ed Fred.
Who produced the debut album Bleach by Nirvana?
Local producer Jack Endino recorded the debut album Bleach with Nirvana during early 1989. Jason Everman supplied the five thousand dollars listed on the sleeve for recording sessions despite not playing on the album.
Which album displaced Michael Jackson's Dangerous at number one on the Billboard charts?
Nevermind displaced Michael Jackson's Dangerous at number one on the Billboard album charts in January 1992. The album eventually sold over seven million copies in the United States and over 30 million worldwide.
What happened to Kurt Cobain on the 8th of April 1994?
Kurt Cobain was found dead of a self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head at his home in the Denny-Blaine neighborhood of Seattle on the 8th of April 1994. He had died approximately three days earlier after escaping drug rehabilitation following hospitalization in Rome.
When did Nirvana LLC dissolve its planned box set release due to legal action?
Courtney Love filed a suit to dissolve Nirvana LLC shortly before the scheduled October 2001 release date of the 45-track box set. An injunction prevented the release of any new material until the case settled in October 2002.