E-Book, Englisch, 164 Seiten
Reihe: Before the Storm
The Formative Years of America's Last Great Band
E-Book, Englisch, 164 Seiten
Reihe: Before the Storm
ISBN: 979-835094552-2
Verlag: BookBaby
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: Adobe DRM (»Systemvoraussetzungen)
b044>
Autoren/Hrsg.
Weitere Infos & Material
2 A ROAD LESS TRAVELED As a high school dropout with few prospects, Cobain’s love of music offered hope in a relatively hopeless environment. Employment, housing, and even friendships were inconsistent, however music had not let him down. Cobain’s abilities had grown as he continued to apply himself as a guitar player and a songwriter. Establishing a band was the natural next step. As such, in the fall of 1985, Cobain formed Fecal Matter; his first real band consisting of himself on vocals and guitar, the Melvins’ drummer Dale Crover playing bass, and local Greg Hokanson playing drums. Soon after the inception of Fecal Matter, Hokanson was removed from the band for a variety of issues including his negative attitude. For several months, Fecal Matter rehearsed original material written by Cobain, in addition to covers by Led Zeppelin and the Ramones. The band made plans to record and a logo for Fecal Matter was designed by Cobain. Featuring fresh feces with steam floating above, the logo was indicative of Cobain’s lifelong fascination with all things related to the human body; a theme that would remain consistent in his art. Over a period of two days in early 1986, in what would become known as the earliest recorded examples of Cobain’s songwriting, Fecal Matter recorded a crude demo Cobain titled Illiteracy Will Prevail. Featuring Cobain on guitar and vocals and Crover on bass and drums, the pair utilized Mari Earl’s TEAC A-2340 four-track recorder during the sessions. Earl later recounted the recording process with Cobain biographer Charles Cross. “He (Cobain) arrived with a huge notebook full of lyrics. I showed him how to adjust a few things, how to record with reel-to-reel, and he went right at it.” Overall, thirteen songs were recorded during the sessions: “Sound of Dentage,” “Bambi Slaughter,” “Laminated Effect,” “Control,” “Downer,” “Punk Rocker,” “I Don’t Want You,” “Anorexorcist,” “Accusations,” “Spank Thru,” “Insurance,” “Class of ‘86,” and “Blather’s Log.” “Spank Thru” became the only track from Illiteracy Will Prevail which eventually received an official release and a re-recorded version of “Downer” was later released on a future album. Copies of the demo were dubbed by Cobain and the cassette’s J-card detailed the song titles and was illuminated with the band’s logo, along with flies buzzing around for an added affect. As years passed, and Nirvana’s popularity grew, Illiteracy Will Prevail became a highly sought after bootleg. On May 3, 1986, a modified version of Fecal Matter called Brown Towel (misspelled as Brown Cow on posters) which included Cobain, Crover, and Osborne, had their only live performance to an audience of approximately twenty at the Greater Evergreen Students’ Community Cooperative Organization in Olympia, Washington. Throughout the one-off show Cobain read poetry as Osborne and Crover backed him with a wall of distortion. Although the spoken word performance was not mind blowing, it became apparent to many that Cobain had talent and wasn’t just a Melvins lackey. Later the same year, the group disbanded when the Melvins, which included Osborne and Crover, began supporting their debut EP, Six Songs. The album was released by Seattle-based C/Z Records and featured a photo of the Melvins taken by Krist Novoselic. The son of Croatian immigrants, Kristo Novoselic and Marija Mustac, Krist Novoselic was born on May 16, 1965, in Compton, California. Raised speaking Croatian, Novoselic spent his early years in the Golden State before he and his family relocated to Aberdeen in 1979, largely to take advantage of employment opportunities and lower living expenses. His parents quickly acquired work in the small town, however Novoselic later recalled the drastic change he experienced at his new home. “It was a culture shock. Aberdeen was not only geographically isolated, it was culturally isolated. I missed the weather and the culture of California. Everybody in Aberdeen was listening to Kenny Rogers!” Due to Novoselic’s struggles acclimating to his new surroundings, in 1980 he was sent to reside with family for one year in Zadar, Croatia. While in Eastern Europe, Novoselic’s interest in music grew as he discovered punk rock and new wave music via short wave radio from signals largely broadcast from the British Broadcasting Corporation. Soon after returning to Aberdeen, Novoselic was gifted a guitar and he began receiving lessons from Warren Mason, Cobain’s future guitar instructor. Novoselic’s prowess grew, along with his musical interests, and it quickly became evident to the teen that he had few commonalities with most of his peers in Aberdeen. Cobain had noticed Novoselic, all of 6’7”, two years prior when the pair walked the halls at J.M. Weatherwax High School. Although the pair shared no classes, Cobain found Novoselic to be clever and charismatic with a unique sense of humor. Additionally, contrary to Cobain’s introverted nature, Novoselic was personable and, in subsequent years as their eventual friendship turned into a brotherhood, he spoke for the pair when necessary. After graduating from high school in 1983, and as his love of music remained a common theme in his life, Novoselic established a relationship with Shelli Dilley; also a former student at J.M. Weatherwax High School. Despite the burgeoning relationship, Novoselic’s life became stagnant as he transitioned from high school to various menial jobs in and around Aberdeen. It was during this time, while employed at Aberdeen’s Taco Bell, that Novoselic was introduced by a co-worker to the Melvins’ Buzz Osborne and Matt Lukin. Novoselic quickly developed a friendship with the pair and he soon became a regular during the Melvins’ rehearsals along with other locals who were lovingly nicknamed by Osborne as the “Cling-Ons.” Soon after, another local teen began attending the rehearsals named Kurt Cobain. Novoselic’s brother, Robert Novoselic, introduced him to Cobain and a friendship developed. Like Cobain, Novoselic longed for an alternative in Aberdeen and found an escape in music, along with a fondness for the Melvins. Hoping to form a new band following the dissolution of Fecal Matter, Cobain approached Novoselic with the offer and provided him with a copy of the Illiteracy Will Prevail demo. Despite Cobain’s efforts, soon after Novoselic and his girlfriend relocated to Arizona to explore employment opportunities, however by the fall of 1986 the couple returned to Aberdeen. Though he was initially hesitant to accept Cobain’s offer, Novoselic eventually listened to the demo upon his return and agreed to form a band and play bass. During their initial rehearsals, Cobain and Novoselic quickly established a half hour set encompassing new compositions and Fecal Matter songs, including “Downer” and “Spank Thru.” The pair became close and discovered their commonalities which included shared musical interests and a disdain for many things related to Aberdeen. In the fall of 1986, after securing a $200 loan from his mother, Cobain settled into a small house on East Second Street, along with Matt Lukin. The ramshackle structure, which was essentially rotting to the ground and often referred to by many as “the shack,” quickly became a central hangout. It was a visible disaster with few amenities, however the condition of “the shack” quickly grew worse primarily due to Cobain’s disregard toward any semblance of cleanliness and order. Aside from the debris that Cobain left behind in his wake, his pet turtles briefly occupied the only bathtub resulting in a foul smell that permeated throughout the already horrid home. Eventual friction between the roommates was exacerbated when Cobain decided to tape a line of demarcation down the middle of “the shack,” conveniently leaving the bathroom on his side. Lukin’s frustrations were compounded further when the Melvins relocated to California and he was inexplicably replaced as the band’s bass player. He would soon move out of “the shack,” but quickly found stability as a co-founder of the pivotal Seattle band, Mudhoney. In need of financial support, Cobain allowed his friend, Dylan Carlson, to move in. He had met Carlson in early 1986 who, like Cobain, was mildly eccentric with unique ideological views. The pair remained close friends during the subsequent years and would eventually share many additional commonalities. At nineteen, Cobain was on his own and reliant on no one. Income was minimal and a regimented employment schedule was inconsistent, however his focus on building a band was steadfast. In 1985, after receiving stitches on his finger from a cut caused by a piece of broken glass while he was employed briefly as a dishwasher, Cobain feared any job that might once again jeopardize his ability to play the guitar. He had little, however music was a necessity. By late 1986, Cobain’s rehearsals with Novoselic were commonplace at “the shack” and briefly included Cobain on drums, while Novoselic played guitar, however the pair quickly transitioned back to what became routine throughout their career. Cobain later described their early sound as “totally abrasive;” a sound influenced by Black Sabbath, the Melvins, and Black...
