Nirvana (band)

:This article is about the 1980s-1990s grunge band Nirvana. See Nirvana (1960s band) for the British psychedelic rock band of the 1960s of the same name, or Nirvana (disambiguation) for other meanings.

Early years

Cobain and Krist Novoselic met in 1985. Both were fans of The Melvins, and both were interested in forming a band. They worked with several drummers (including Aaron Burckhard and Dale Crover of The Melvins, who played on their first demos), before settling on Chad Channing. Nirvana's first album, Bleach, was released by Sub Pop Records in 1989. Bleach was highly influenced by Cobain's then-favorite band, The Melvins, by the heavy dirge-rock of Mudhoney, and by the 70s rock of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Novoselic noted in a 2001 interview with Rolling Stone that the band had played a tape in their van while on tour that had an album by The Smithereens on one side and an album by the black metal band Celtic Frost on the other, and noted that the combination probably played an influence as well.{{ref|bleachinf}} Bleach became a favorite of college radio stations nationally, but gave few hints of where the band would find itself two years later.

Related Topics:
Krist Novoselic - 1985 - The Melvins - Aaron Burckhard - Dale Crover - Chad Channing - Bleach - Sub Pop - Mudhoney - Black Sabbath - Led Zeppelin - Rolling Stone - The Smithereens - Black metal - Celtic Frost

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Though he did not actually play on the album, Jason Everman was credited as playing guitar on Bleach because he put up the money for the recording sessions: $606.17. After the album was completed, Everman had a brief and contentious stay with the band as a second guitar player, but was sacked following their first US tour. Not long after, he briefly played bass with Soundgarden before joining the band Mind Funk.

Related Topics:
Jason Everman - Soundgarden - Mind Funk

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In early 1990, the band began working with producer Butch Vig on recordings for the follow-up to Bleach. During the sessions, Kurt and Krist realized that Chad wasn't the drummer the band needed, and he was let go after the sessions were complete. After a few weeks with Dale Crover of The Melvins filling in, they hired Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters, with whom they recorded the song "Sliver". Later that year, Buzz Osbourne of The Melvins introduced them to Dave Grohl, who was looking for a new band following the sudden break-up of D.C. hardcore punks Scream.{{ref|scream}}

Related Topics:
Butch Vig - Dale Crover - The Melvins - Mudhoney - Sliver - Dave Grohl - D.C. - Hardcore punk - Scream

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~