biography
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, Michael Jackson and Madonna.
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 morphed
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 produce In 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 Pat Smear formed the Foo Fighters, whose
hit 1995 self-titled album was an invigorating, upbeat departure from the angry,
tortured strains of Nirvana. Christina Cramer