Over at CDNow's AllStar news, they also put up a review of the January 25
Eyes Adrift show in Seattle; "The band's nine-song set
stuck to the Meat Puppets' alt-country terrain, one fan describing it as
'space country.' Most of the music had a laid-back feel. 'What I Said,' for
instance, had Kirkwood dreamily delivering lines like 'Silence is better than
nothing' against a warm musical backing. Other times, as on the closer, 'Pasted,'
Kirkwood's guitar spun off into effects-laden noodling while Novoselic and Gaugh
dug out a solid rhythmic groove. The biggest surprise came when Novoselic sang
lead on a few songs, bringing cheers from the crowd. Instead of the off-key warbling
that appeared on Nirvana's 'Territorial Pissings,' Novoselic's voice was surprisingly
sweet, his songs having a decidedly pop feel. 'Enquiring Minds' dealt with 'blood-sucking
vampires' in the media and referenced the murder of Jon-Benet Ramsey; another was a
lively countrified tune about his dogs. Though the band currently is without a record
label ('It's bliss time!' says Kirkwood), Eyes Adrift plans to complete their album
following the tour and hopes to release it this year." Story courtesy of Gillian
G. Gaar and AllStar News/CDNow Online, Inc. Read full story here.
Here is some info on Krist's new band Eyes Adrift. On the day of the band's
first Seattle show, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer writes;
"The former Nirvana bassist has assembled a new trio called Eyes Adrift, which
makes its Seattle debut tonight [January 25] at I-Spy (6 p.m./all-ages; $10).
Eyes Adrift is Novoselic's first full-fledged band in several years. And on paper,
the lineup looks impressive. Besides Novoselic, Eyes Adrift includes Meat Puppets
main man Curt Kirkwood on vocals and guitar and the Long Beach Dub Allstars' Bud
Gaugh on drums." The article then describes Krist's other activities since
Nirvana's demise in 1994. Read it in full here,
courtesy of Joe Ehrbar and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Here is a review of the actual show; "After the nearly unbearably long period where
those guys - you know the ones - wander around on the little stage poking at microphones and
such-like, the band came on stage and started playing. I stayed downstairs and watched
the attention of the audience focus itself on Krist Novoselic towering (6'6", at least)
frame. He hammed it up for the kids, getting up close and striking a couple of poses for
the cameras. The music was good - very much in line with the Meat Puppets - Kirkwood's
nasal voice wandering through semi-stream of conscious lyrics and hard, often countryish,
guitar-work." - "The band finished playing the song that had inspired the moshers and Kirkwood
made some dry flip comments, 'That's great! Isn't this super!', and he wandered over to a
corner and faced the back of the stage where he stayed until his vocal part in the next song
came up. To summarize: The music was great." Courtesy of Jeff and struat.com. Also
thanks to 'Guru'. Finally, a different person who attended the Seattle show on January 25
noted that "for being an all ages show, and early at that, it was well
attended, and the crowd was into it. Many people were taking photos, and though Krist came
in for special attention, people were interested in the other two guys too; I saw one kid
ahead of me with a Sublime T-shirt. They came on at about 8:15 and played a bit under an
hour. It's an alt-country feel, and Krist even sings! Lead and backup." The same
source noted that the band's very first show was not the Seattle one, but actually a show
at the Voodoo Café in downtown Astoria, Oregon, the day before (January 24). Despite this
being a small town, apparently the show was well-attended. Once again, if you attended one
of the Eyes Adrift shows, please drop us a note.
In a recent Q Magazine poll of the '10 Best Rock Pictures' of all
time, a picture of Kurt Cobain came in at spot #6. The photo is
described as follows; "Kurt Cobain, Seattle, 1990:
The Nirvana lead singer, who later killed himself, sobs after a gig.
Ian Tilton was there with his camera." The #1 rock picture
was a shot of The Clash in New York, 1979.
Maria sent in a scan of a beautiful drawing of Kurt Cobain, made by a
street artist in Vancouver, Canada. You can view a large scan of the
charcoal drawing here. Special thanks
to Maria. Aaron Williams also stumbled across a street artist's drawing of
Kurt Cobain; "I went to New York for the new year for 5 days and
while I was there I visited a number of places - one of them being Central Park. Now,
at the entrance to Central Park, you might or might not know that there are loads
of stools of people wishing to draw your portraits or sell portraits of famous
people. Anyway, as I was walking past one [of the artists] I noticed a Kurt Cobain
portrait." For some reason, Aaron didn't pay the $8 for the portrait, but
he did take a picture of it with his digital camera that you can view
here. Thanks to Aaron Williams and the unknown
New York artist.
There are also some Nirvana mentions in the March 2002 issue of
Guitar World; "Most prominent is a feature in the
back called 'Collector's Choice'. This month's feature is a guitar that
Kurt smashed while playing a dorm party on Halloween night, 1988. It was
the first time he smashed a guitar, and some kid in the dorm picked up the
pieces and held on to them. A few years ago, he sold the remains to Paul Allen's
Experience Music Project museum in Seattle. The write-up in this feature is by
'Heavier Than Heaven' author Charles Cross." Also, inside the magazine,
Daron Malakian of System of a Down comments on the Nirvana song 'Rape Me':
"I felt like I've connected to those lyrics at times. The song has nothing to do
with rape. It's the type of song that pretty much covers your emotions when you're
depressed or down. When you're in that mood, it almost feels like the song is talking
to you. Kurt Cobain and Nirvana were basically about attitude--it came from deep within
him and the guys he was playing with. He could play the same three chords as anyone else,
but he'd make something musically and emotionally out of those three chords that nobody
else could."
Apparently Krist Novoselic did an interview with the Seattle radiostation 107.7 THE
END earlier today. The interview, focusing on Krist's new band Eyes Adrift and the
versing lawsuits, was included in a morning show hosted by Andy Savage. Funnily, on
Andy's website you can find RealAudio clips of Nirvana's first demo - recorded exactly
14 years ago. Check it out here. Thanks to
Charel for the 107.7 story.
Tomorrow on the British VH-1 they are airing the '100 Most Shocking Moments' special
at 9.00 PM (GMT). Kurt Cobain's suicide is #4 on their list, so it includes a segment
about that. Thanks to Ciaran and several others for this one.
Speaking of VH-1, this coming Tuesday the US VH-1 will premiere a 'Hard Rock' special
which apparently includes clips of Nirvana; "You can bet hard rockers don't
do anything quietly. This volatile genre turns it up to eleven-especially when it comes to appearing
on the small screen. TV Moments: Hard Rock will revisit those memorable instances when we
saw our favorite rockers crank it up, bust it up and even break up-right before our eyes.
Blistering live performances, newsworthy television appearances and award show antics are
just a few of the many ways in which hard rock musicians have strut their stuff on television.
If you missed these memorable TV appearances the first time, TV Moments: Hard Rock is your ticket
back to see the shows that everyone was talking about. With live performances, exclusive interviews
and rare footage, TV Moments: Hard Rock offers viewers a front couch seat to the most memorable
television appearances in the history of hard rock. Include clips of Dee Snider; Jethro Tull;
Nirvana; KISS; Black Sabbath; and Rage Against the Machine. (Premieres from 10-11p)."
Thanks to Monica Lee. I'll bet a shiny quarter that the special will include clips of Nirvana's
performance of 'Lithium' at the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards. The show airs on January 29 at 10 PM.
Visit this page for more info
about the show.
After running for some 5 years, Breed: The Nirvana Webring has now been closed officially.
For the past year or two, not much attention has been given to maintaining and updating the
ring, and at the same time - the actual Webring system has changed owners a couple of times,
causing some problems. At it's prime, the ring had more than 600 sites in it and was believed
to be one of the first (and definitely the largest) for the band Nirvana. Ed Dame, who founded
the ring on New Year's eve 1996, handed it over to this site in 1998 or so. Ed is currently one
of the webmasters of the official Foo Fighters website. Thanks to the people who helped maintain
the ring, including Tyler, Dave and Robbin. If you happen to have HTML codes for the ring on your
website, please remove them, as they will no longer have any purpose. Thanks for supporting the
ring over all these years.
Apparently, a DVD is planned of the Sonic Youth documentary
'1991: The Year Punk Broke'. The documentary contains several
Nirvana songs recorded live in concert, from their 1991 tour of
Europe. So far, the details on the DVD are sketchy;
"Videophiles can expect DVD editions of SY video titles Screaming
Fields of Sonic Love, The Goo That Lives on in My Heart, and 1991:
The Year Punk Broke. The band is currently screening additional material
and planning special features to include, to make these titles even more
special." Thanks to sonicyouth.com, Ryan and several others for
this one. An exact release date is not known at this time.
A scheduled January 25 show with Krist's new band Eyes Adrift has
been moved from The Showbox to an All-Ages bar called I-SPY in Seattle, WA.
The show starts at 6.00 PM and is, I believe, the band's live debut.
Here's a little info from the booker and publicist at I-SPY;
"Super groups are the current trend in Seattle. The newest one being Eyes
Adrift (which I guess only includes one Seattle-ite and he's been doing this
shit off and on since his historic band, Nirvana, came to an utter demise).
The person I am speaking of, of course, is Krist Novoselic (you know, the one
who got booted off stage at the punk rock prom for playing songs that weren't
'the jams'). His newest effort includes Bud from Sublime and The Long Beach
Dub Allstars and Curt from The Meat Puppets." Thanks to Frankie C. and
Charles Cross.
Here's a little more info from a Sublime mailing list;
"Well, we are ecstatic to hear about Bud Gaugh's new project. Bud spent the
month of December [2001] jamming and doing a little recording with a couple of
legends. Curt Kirkwood from the Meat Puppets and Krist Novoselic from Nirvana.
Yes, the rumors are true ...
"EYES ADRIFT" IS:
Curt Kirkwood; Guitar, vocals
Krist Novoselic; Bass, vocals
Bud Gaugh; Drums
They might be heading your way. They are coming down the West coast playing
some of the songs they have been working on." Thanks to Eric and Skunk
Records. Here's the current tour schedule for Eyes Adrift:
Based on various legal documents, I decided to write a comprehensive
article going over the May 2001 Courtney Love v. Krist Novoselic and
Dave Grohl lawsuit. The case is essentially about the control of Nirvana,
and a ruling in June 2001 basically halted the planned release of a
Nirvana boxed set, including the song "You Know You're Right". The article
quotes extensively from the documents that Love's attorney submitted to the
court, listing all her complaints, and all the aspects of the lawsuit. Apart
from that the article also includes the answers filed on behalf of Krist
and Dave, and it tries to explain some of the legal terms. Please note that
the article may seem incomplete, while other things are repeated more than
once. In addition, certain conclusions and statements may be erroneous. Part
II of the article - describing Krist and Dave's countersuit - will be published
soon. To read the article, follow these links:
Nirvana Incorporated. Part I. HTML format (.htm) | Word 2000 format (.doc)
It has been rumored for a while that the British version of the Kurt
Cobain biography Heavier Than Heaven was edited and incomplete,
compared to the US version. To clear up the confusion, I asked the author
about it; "The UK version has a different cover (same photo,
but a strikingly different look to it), and some of the words inside are different
(they spell theatre like this, we're theater, etc.). There are a few other minor
editing changes as the book has a different editor over there but it is essentially
the same book. They are both 352 pages so if it is shorter, it's only by a
word or two so certainly nothing major has been edited out. The UK editor had
a few different suggestions about how to deal with grammar -- that's about the
difference. So the substance of the book is exactly the same." Thanks to Charles
R. Cross for that one. You can purchase the US edition here
and the UK one at amazon.co.uk.
Today, the former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl turns 33. Happy birthday Dave!
Dave's band, The Foo Fighters, recently released a new single called 'The
One' that they performed on the late show with David Letterman not so long
ago. They are busily working on a new album to be released sometime this year.
For all the latest news on the highly successful band, go to their official site.
As mentioned in yesterday's update, a new band featuring Krist Novoselic
are going on tour in January and February. I posted most of the scheduled
dates yesterday, but I believe the following is the complete current tour
schedule for the band 'Eyes Adrift':
Dates courtesy of meatpuppets.com. I don't have much info on the band, except that it features Krist Novoselic of Nirvana, Bud Gaugh of Sublime/Long Beach Dub Allstars, and Curt Kirkwood of the Meat Puppets. If you attend any of the shows, or have additional info about Eyes Adrift, please send it in.
At 9:31 PM (GMT) today, the counter on the main page passed 5 million. In
other words, the main page has been visited more than 5 million times since
April, 1997. The counter script tries to prevent the same person from triggering
it twice in a row, but it can't always be prevented to have the same person
count twice or more, so the figure is not 100% accurate. There are also many
people who visit the site without going to the main page first. In any case,
passing 5 million is quite a milestone and I want to personally thank everyone
who has visited the site since it opened almost 5 years ago. At the same time,
user #5000 got registered to the NFC Discussion Board. Click here
to view a capture that visitor # 5 million took. Thanks to Ronnie for that one.
Spin magazine published their list of the '50 Greatest Rock Bands Ever' this
past Wednesday; "The only non-controversial listing would appear to
be The Beatles at No. 1. After that, there is sure to be disagreement. According to
Spin editors, New York punk pioneers The Ramones are second to the Fab Four,
with Led Zeppelin third. Reggae king Bob Marley and the Wailers are rated fourth
greatest and Seattle grungers Nirvana round out the top five. In its February
edition, Spin said its editors chose the 50 greatest bands because 'the band is back,'
after more than five years in which 'rappers, dancing teens and DJs took over the
dance charts, MTV and magazines.' The criteria for the 50 greatest were that 'these
groups had to have a roof-raising, history-changing sound, presence or hairstyle.'
In addition, 'they also had to clearly influence today's music in undeniable ways'
and 'had to be bands that we care about deeply.' " Story courtesy of Reuters
and Yahoo! Also thanks to Amir K., Bino and GGG.
Today, exactly 10 years ago, Nirvana's Nevermind album took the #1 slot
on Billboard's Top 200 album chart ('The Billboard 200'), knocking Michael
Jackson's Dangerous off the spot. Other artists in the Top 10 at the time
included Metallica and Guns N' Roses. Those were the days! Also on January 11, 1992,
Nirvana did their first performance on the legendary show Saturday Night Live.
Here is a rumor about a possible upcoming performance by Krist Novoselic;
"Eyes Adrift (featuring Krist Novoselic from Nirvana, Bud Gaugh from Sublime/Long Beach
Dub Allstars, and Curt Kirkwood from the Meat Puppets) are playing at Slim's in San Francisco
on January 28th." Thanks to Rob Holmes for this one. The story is probably true, as
the band is also scheduled to play Nita's Hideaway on February 2, 2002. The show starts
at 8.30 PM and is priced at $12. You can get tickets here.
The venue Nita's Hideaway is in Tempe, Arizona. More info here.
As far as I can tell, the band is also scheduled to play at the Satyricon in Portland, OR
on January 26 (at 10 PM) and at the Troubadour in West Hollywood, CA on January 30th (at
8 PM). Finally, 'Eyes Adrift' will perform at the Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana, CA on the
31st of January (at 8 PM). I don't know if all these shows will include Krist Novoselic,
but I assume that they will. If you attend any of these shows, please send us a review!
A couple of people sent this one in; "I just wanted to let you know that
America Online (AOL) used a Kurt Cobain quote as it's Quote Of The Day today (01/09/02) that
appears when you sign off the service. The quote was 'The worst crime is faking it'
taken from Cobain's suicide note." America Online has more than 32 million members.
It appears that Kurt Cobain's former high school in Aberdeen, WA was
struck by fire this past Sunday; "A fire destroyed part of
Aberdeen High School early Sunday, gutting its original classroom building. There were
no injuries. The blaze was reported early Sunday morning, just after midnight.
Firefighters from Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Montesano and Grays Harbor battled the blaze.
Crews contained the fire to just one of the school's buildings and kept the blaze
from spreading to nearby buildings north of downtown Aberdeen." Story courtesy of
The Associated Press and king5.com.
The British journalist Everett True, formerly of Melody Maker, has written
a book entitled "Live Through This". It focuses largely on Nirvana;
"Nirvana almost single-handedly brought grunge into the popular consciousness with their
seminal album Nevermind. From their underground roots in the Pacific Northwest,
the group achieved world fame and Kurt Cobain had the mantle of 'spokesperson for
a generation' thrust upon him. This was, arguably, the last era of great rock music,
and it is shrouded in stories and rumours. Author Everett True, the man who introduced
Kurt Cobain to Courtney Love and brought grunge to the outside world, gives an inspired
insider's account of the grunge scene. Featuring rare photographs and exclusive interviews
with members of Nirvana, Hole, Soundgarden and Babes in Toyland, Everett True takes us
on a rollercoaster ride through the lives, the music, the personalities, the legends and
the laughs. Everett True was the first outside journalist to cover the Seattle music scene
in early 1989 and saw up-close the birth and development of the rock phenomenon which changed
the face of alternative and mainstream music forever. This book contains exclusive interviews
with people close to Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love, and photographs of members of Nirvana, Hole,
and many other bands of the scene." As the description mentions, Mr. True did a number of
interviews with Nirvana and his articles was the major reason their popularity broke in UK in the
late 80's. The book was published in the UK on the 9th of August 2001 and will be published in the
US next month. The ISBN is: 0753505584 and it is released by Virgin Publishing. You may
pre-order the book online; Live Through This.
The book is described by Virgin Books as follows; "Live Through This is the inside
story of the grunge phenomenon, that began in Seattle, found its peak with Nirvana, and took over the alternative
rock scene around the world. The book features exclusive interviews with members of Nirvana, Hole, and
Soundgarden among others, alongside tour managers, crew and even nannies - many of whom have refused
to go on record since Cobain's tragic suicide in 1994. The author, Everett True, was a frequent house
guest of Kurt and Courtney's in Seattle and the only journalist allowed within the house at the time of
Kurt's death, or invited (by Courtney Love) to the funeral."
The January 2002 issue of Record Collector magazine has a story on the Nirvana boxed
set. Apparently, they state that an "Introduction to Nirvana" CD will be released this
year, including the song "You Know You're Right". Then in 2003, they say, an actual box
will be released also. While there have been theories about the "Introduction" CD, nothing
is definite yet until all the legal issues have been sorted out. Read the December 2001
stories for more info on that.
Once again, MTV will be airing Nirvana's unplugged show. This time it happens
as part of MTV Europe's Unplugged weekend. The show airs on Sunday the 20th of
January at 3 PM and 11 PM (both CET) on MTV Europe.
"Just to let everyone know that MTV2 in the UK are screening a Grunge Special
this monday night, starting at 9 with an hour long documentary going over 10
years of grunge. Then follows Nirvana on 'Live and Loud', followed by a grunge
videography and finally Pearl Jam live at midnight." Thanks to John Hammond.
More Nirvana on TV; "on Arena (Australian Pay-TV channel) on
January 8 at 3 AM, the episode of Saturday Night Live with Charles Barkley and Nirvana
is airing." Thanks to Shane.
"On January 3rd and 4th, the rock radio station COOL FM in Montreal
aired a 'Top 100 Of All Time' as voted by people over the last few weeks. 'Come as you
are' was #47 and Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' was #1. 'Stairway to Heaven' by Led
Zeppelin was #2 and Metallica's 'One' #3." Thanks to Stéphane Guimond for that one.
In the January 2002 issue of Spin Magazine, their 'Feedback' column has some responses
on Spin's earlier article about Kurt Cobain and the new 'Heavier Than Heaven' book. One
of the more interesting responses is a letter from Jenny Toomey of the band Bikini Kill
that featured Tobi Vail (an ex-girlfriend of Kurt Cobain) on drums. Jenny talks about
various issues concerning Tobi in the new book, calling a certain quote "irresponsible, sexist
and totally wrong." I am not going to post the letter here, but you can view a scan from
the magazine here. Courtesy of Amanda. Also thanks to
Jonathan.
"I just want to inform you that a local radio station in Poland called Radio
Lodz played the '50 Greatest Songs of all time'. The winner was (as last year) Nirvana
with 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' followed by Metallica's 'Nothing Else Matters', Led
Zepplin's 'Stairway To Heaven' and Pearl Jam's 'Jeremy'." Thanks to Andrzej.
In a Dutch magazine, there was a mention of Kurt Cobain. Click here
for a translation of the article, along with the Dutch version. Thanks to Axle.
Here's another article from a Dutch magazine. This one is about Courtney Love signing
up for the army! "Has she finally lost it? Has patriotism suddenly messed up
her brains? Has she listened to The Village People too much? Or is Courtney Love just a little confused?
One thing is certain: the American navy was very surprised to see Kurt Cobain's widow show
up on their doorstep to join them. Love's euphoria didn't last long: She got rejected. Now,
they are checking whether or not she can be of use somewhere else in the system of defense.
As air alarm, or something." This was printed in the magazine Aloha, which is Holland's
biggest and best known music magazine. View a scan of it here.
Also thanks to Axle for this one.
Archive of past months news and website updates:
1999:
[ Oct | Nov | Dec ]
2000:
[
Jan | Feb |
Mar | Apr |
May | Jun |
Jul | Aug |
Sep | Oct |
Nov | Dec ]
2001:
[
Jan | Feb |
Mar | Apr |
May | Jun |
Jul | Aug |
Sep | Oct |
Nov | Dec ]
2002:
[
Jan | Feb |
Mar | Apr |
May | Jun |
Jul | Aug |
Sep | Oct |
Nov | Dec ]
2003:
[
Jan | Feb |
Mar | Apr |
May | Jun |
Jul | Aug |
Sep | Oct |
Nov | Dec ]
2004:
[
Jan | Feb |
Mar | Apr |
May | Jun |
Jul | Aug |
Sep | Oct |
Nov | Dec ]
2005:
[
Jan | Feb |
Mar | Apr |
May | Jun |
Jul | Aug |
Sep | Oct |
Nov ]