Hanging with Nirvana at Kurt’s House in 1989
By: Nick Soulsby
Tags: Rock, Music, The Bookshelf

Are there any plans to move to Seattle so you’re all in one place?

Chris Novoselic: Nahhh . . . it’s a rat hole.

Kurt Cobain: No, we like to not practice. Should we practice today? Could we swing getting you home kinda late?

Chad Channing: That depends on what you’re talking about; you talking about I have to take a 2:40 ferry.

Chris Novoselic: 2:40 at night?

Kurt Cobain: Oh! 2:40 at night? No problem!

Jason Everman: Chad, Chad, Chad. You’ll be home.

Chad Channing: Yeah, but still I don’t wanna do that, but that’s just something I can get.

Jason Everman: You’ll catch a ferry before that. No problem, ’cause I’m not gonna stay that late. Probably.

Kurt Cobain: OK, we’ll have an acoustic mariachi set.

Chris Novoselic: We should go play at Reko/Muse and —

Kurt Cobain: Or do a video — we should do a video today. I don’t mind either way.

[Speaking to Chad Channing] You don’t like Saturdays?

Chad Channing: It’s everybody’s day off.

Chris Novoselic: We never practice — that’s something you oughta know, we don’t practice.

Jason Everman: I wouldn’t say we don’t practice. I practice to a tape all the time.

Kurt Cobain: Yeah, we all practice in our rooms to the tape.

Jason Everman: That’s a serious answer. It is! It’s what we do.

Kurt Cobain: I think the reason we don’t practice is —

Chris Novoselic: When we play I get pissed at myself that I should practice more.

Jason Everman: In a way it’s good we don’t practice because we don’t really get sick of the songs.

Kurt Cobain: The songs are so repetitious and easy it’s . . . it’s easy to get tired of them.

Jason Everman: Yeah, when we play ’em live they’re still fun to play. That’s the problem with a lot of bands that practice five times a week, they just get totally burned on the songs and —

Kurt Cobain: It’s like déjà vu, “Oh yeah, these songs . . .”

Chris Novoselic: Maybe that’s why it’s exciting, if we’re supposed to be exciting to see, I guess.

Jumping around?

Chris Novoselic: Because we never play, so when we play we’re so happy that we’re playing that we just hit the ceiling.

Kurt Cobain: The testosterone starts a-flowing

Chris Novoselic: We’re all celibate, too, so that helps.

Kurt Cobain: All these pent-up sexual frustrations coming out.

Chad Channing: Devouring drugs.

Jason Everman: Heavy drugs.

Kurt Cobain: None of us do drugs. Chris and I are starting to drink again — if we drink two nights in a row it’s a binge.

Chris Novoselic: I’ll drink Monday night too.

Chad Channing: I smoke every now and then.

Chris Novoselic: I don’t care anymore.

Kurt Cobain: We’re pretty much — we’re not antidrug, we just choose not to do it.

Jason Everman: That’s just the way it is.

Did any of you go to college? [All burst out laughing.]

Chad Channing: [Almost apologetically] I went to OC [Olympic College in Bremerton, WA — Ed.] for a while.

Kurt Cobain: Why didn’t you say, “Did any of you graduate high school?”

Chad Channing: I’m a high school dropout, but I got into OC.

Jason Everman: I graduated early from high school.

Chris Novoselic: I graduated a year late. Like when I was a senior, the freshmen were all like born in 1970, y’know? And I was a senior and thought, “Gee, I started school in 1970 . . . I’ve been at school as long as you guys have been alive. In public education.”

Kurt Cobain: I just couldn’t believe you were all math majors. ’Cause I had, like, theater studies.

Jason Everman: Yeah, math was my favorite subject for sure.

Chad Channing: History.

Kurt Cobain: We’re philosophers. We’re philosophy majors.

Chris Novoselic: Just get me drunk, I’ll talk your ass off.

Then where did you go to high school?

Chris Novoselic: I went to Aberdeen High School.

Kurt Cobain: I don’t even remember high school.

Jason Everman: It’s a bad trip, pretty much.

Kurt Cobain: I went to Aberdeen. I lived in Aberdeen all my life up until two years ago.

Chad Channing: Great place.

Why did you move to Olympia?

Kurt Cobain: Well, I was three months behind on my welfare-stricken house, and I was afraid that the landlord was going to call the cops on me. So I moved up with my girlfriend in Olympia.

Do any of you have other jobs or anything?

Chris Novoselic: I work at a Sizzler. [Scoffs of disbelief.] I do!

Chad Channing: I make $5.50 an hour dishwashing at Streamliner diner.

Jason Everman: I don’t work.

Kurt Cobain: I don’t work.

You just live off shows then, or try to?

Kurt Cobain: [Laughs.] Yeah, let’s just say we do.

Chad Channing: Jason is a millionaire.

Jason Everman: Yeah, I inherited millions.

Kurt Cobain: One of us has a very rich parent.

Chad Channing: Which one can it be? A — Kurt. B — Chris. C — Chad. D — Jason.

Jason Everman: One of us is Shirley Temple’s child. [Lori Black of the Melvins was Shirley Temple’s daughter. — Ed.] Shhhh! You don’t have to put anything about that!

Kurt Cobain: Don’t say that. Please don’t say that. Seriously. [All obviously amused.]

Why’d you name the album Bleach?

Kurt Cobain: Well, I don’t —

Chris Novoselic: We were cruising around the Bay Area —

Kurt Cobain: With bronchitis.

Chad Channing: Yeah, getting sick.

Jason Everman: With Bruce Pavitt.

Kurt Cobain: And Bruce suggested Bleach.

Chris Novoselic: It was fucking weird too.

Chad Channing: We were all delirious and sick and sad.

Jason Everman: We had “Merciful Fate” going on the stereo.

Kurt Cobain: Bruce took advantage of us having bronchitis and talked us into calling it Bleach.

Chris Novoselic: No, really, we drove to San Jose for nothing.

Jason Everman: For nuthin’! It was hot.

Chad Channing: Well actually it’s cool though — I like it.

Kurt Cobain: It’s a cool name.

Jason Everman: It’s catchy.

Chad Channing: It can stand for almost anything you want it to say.

Kurt Cobain: Cleaning out your needles — and acid wash.

Jason Everman: Acid wash. We get lots of free advertising on TV and everywhere else.

Chris Novoselic: You sterilize things with bleach, y’know.

Kurt Cobain: I was just going to say I don’t particularly like people that wear acid wash clothes, that’s all.

Jason Everman: Especially if they’re in Celtic Frost.

Chad Channing: Yeah . . . yeah.

When did you record the original version of “Spank Thru”?

Kurt Cobain: January ’87.

Over a year ago — two years ago!

Kurt Cobain: No, I think it was ’88, January of last year. When did we record the demo with Dale? Just about a year ago, right?

Chris Novoselic: Yeah, March — last year.

Kurt Cobain: OK, I guess it’s March. I thought it was January. I’ll find out for you.

Chris Novoselic: No, ’cause I was laid off. I was laid off from a painter’s.

Kurt Cobain: January of 1988. January 23, 1988.

Tracy Marander: And a week later Jonathan called.

Kurt Cobain: Yeah.

Did you send the demo to them or —

Kurt Cobain: No, we made ’em sweat.

Did they ask for it?

Kurt Cobain: No, Jack Endino gave it to them.

Oh really? Who recorded it?

Kurt Cobain: Jack Endino. [Everyone pauses to listen to the Pixies’ Doolittle album.]

Kurt Cobain: Pixies are my favorite band.

Chad Channing: Right now they’re unbelievable. They’re great.

If you could choose who would produce, would you want to be produced by anyone other than Jack?

Kurt Cobain: No. Not me.

Chad Channing: Probably not.

Chris Novoselic: Quincy Jones. John Paul Jones. Tom Jones.

Kurt Cobain: Davey Jones.

Chad Channing: Maybe the guy who produced the Pixies’ Surfer Rosa album.

Tracy Marander: David Bowie produced Raw Power.

Chad Channing: Really?

Jason Everman: We’d like to maybe go into a better studio next time.

Kurt Cobain: But we still have to have Jack Endino looking over his shoulder all the time.

Jason Everman: Go bigger — bigger studios.

What else is coming up for you guys?

Kurt Cobain: Well, we’ve thought about putting a couple of singles out before the New Year.

From the album or new stuff?

Kurt Cobain: We’re not sure yet.

What about compilation work?

Kurt Cobain: Oh! Yeah! We’re going to have one cut on this compilation from Australia with all these other bands doing just covers. That’ll be cool. And we’re also putting something out on a single with a band called Alphabet Swill. We’re doing a Neil Diamond cover.

Which song, do you know yet?

Kurt Cobain: We don’t know.

Chris Novoselic: I don’t know about “I’m a Believer” ’cause —

Chad Channing: The Jazz Singer!

Chris Novoselic: Yeah! It’s got an organ in it — how are we gonna do that? That’s like the whole part of the song.

Kurt Cobain: So? That doesn’t matter.

Just play it on the guitar.

Kurt Cobain: Yeah, just play the organ on the guitar.

Jason Everman: We’ll get one of those gee-tar synthesizers —

Chris Novoselic: No! No technology.

Kurt Cobain: Because it’s the only good Neil Diamond song! All his other songs suck.

Chad Channing: I didn’t know there was good Neil Diamond songs.

Chris Novoselic: What d’you know?

[Responding to something from Kurt] Yeah, when they played Nirvana the other day it was ’cause of me. No, they don’t have a single — the guy asked if I could get one. Do you have any extra copies of “Love Buzz”? Do you have any at all?

Kurt Cobain: Yeah.

Jason Everman: Kurt’s got a shitload!

Could I buy two of them from you?

Kurt Cobain: Yeah.

I owe KGRG one. I’ve got to get one to the radio station.

Kurt Cobain: Oh, they didn’t send one? Jerks! I’ve got about twenty singles.

Chad Channing: I’ve got ten.

Chris Novoselic: I’ve got one.

Chad Channing: Oh, wait, I sold one. I’ve got nine.

Well, that’s about it. Any public announcements?

Chad Channing: Yeah, that I’m in love with myself.

Jason Everman: And I’m in love with Chad.

Chris Novoselic: Eat porhk suckah!

Kurt Cobain: Eat pork?

Chris Novoselic: Aaron, my roommate, went to this soup kitchen in Las Vegas and he’s walking down these stairs, and there’s this big cartoon painting of this pig in a cop uniform and in this little balloon it said Eat Porhk Suckah! Then he walked in there and there’s like ham sandwiches, bacon, everything was like ham.

Jason Everman: Porcine.

Chris Novoselic: Yeah, eat por-ke sucker!

Jason Everman: Porcine meat products.