Krist Novoselic pays tribute to Kurt Cobain on 30th anniversary of his death

6 April, 2024

Krist Novoselic and Kurt Cobain

Krist Novoselic has paid tribute to Kurt Cobain on the 30th anniversary of his death this week (April 5).

Cobain rose to prominence at the end of the ‘80s as the frontman and guitarist of Nirvana – alongside Dave Grohl and Novoselic – and went on to become one of the most iconic figures in rock, particularly the ‘90s grunge scene. He died by suicide on April 5, 1994.

Novoselic has paid tribute to his former bandmate in Mojo, where he recalled the opening to their ‘In Utero’ North American tour, which began at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix. He remembered Cobain as the one “carrying the show”.

“We were trying to be professional,” Novoselic recalls of the tour. “So we put on a show for people: an acoustic section, an amazing stage set. It was all about being a world class band.”

“The shows rock,” Novoselic continued. “They need to be heard. Now with the AI, you can take a stereo mix and then break it down into a multitrack. So you can get really good mixes. They sound raw. And you get Kurt up there who’s just carrying the show. Amazing.”

He went on to say Nirvana remain “as strong as ever, if not stronger” and said the reason for that endurance lies with Cobain.

“It’s Kurt – he had this charisma, this intensity that was, and still is, compelling to people. And then he had the knack for melody. Something came from deep inside.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Novoselic was asked about the possibility of an ABBA Voyage style virtual reunion for Nirvana in the future.

“You never know! I’ll say ‘no way’, then it’s like, ‘How much? When do we start?!’” he joked with the publication. He said he does look forward to further reunions with Grohl and guest vocalists, as when Paul McCartney sang Cobain’s vocals in 2012.

“I’m always hoping for that,” he added. “There was a time where I thought I’d never play those songs again. We had a conversation – ‘Let’s do it, but not overdo it.’ So yeah, when it’s the right moment.”

 

Meanwhile, Frances Bean Cobain, the daughter of Kurt, yesterday (April 5) shared a moving post on the 30th anniversary of the musician’s death.

Frances took to Instagram to share a series of images of her father alongside a tribute to him while opening up about his death impacted her throughout her life. She discussed how she wished she “could have known” him.

“30 years ago my dad’s life ended,” she wrote, sharing an image of the musician’s hands, taken by R.E.M frontman (and her godfather) Michael Stipe, followed by a couple of photos of them together. “The 2nd & 3rd photo capture the last time we were together while he was still alive. His mom Wendy would often press my hands to her cheeks & say, with a lulling sadness, ‘You have his hands’. She would breathe them in as if it were her only chance to hold him just a little bit closer, frozen in time. I hope she’s holding his hands wherever they are.”

She continued: “In the last 30 years my ideas around loss have been in a continuous state of metamorphosing. The biggest lesson learned through grieving for almost as long as I’ve been conscious, is that it serves a purpose. The duality of life & death, pain & joy, yin & yang, need to exist alongside each other or none of this would have any meaning. It is the impermanent nature of human existence which throws us into the depths of our most authentic lives. As It turns out, there is no greater motivation for leaning into loving awareness than knowing everything ends.

“I wish I could’ve known my Dad. I wish I knew the cadence of his voice, how he liked his coffee or the way it felt to be tucked in after a bedtime story. I always wondered if he would’ve caught tadpoles with me during the muggy Washington summers, or if he smelled of Camel Lights & strawberry Nesquik (his favourites, I’ve been told),” she added.

“But there is also deep wisdom being on an expedited path to understanding how precious life is. He gifted me a lesson in death that can only come through the LIVED experience of losing someone. It’s the gift of knowing for certain, when we love ourselves & those around us with compassion, with openness, with grace, the more meaningful our time here inherently becomes.”

Frances Bean also added a collection of photos of her father from when he was a child to the post, and concluded by recalling a letter that Kurt wrote to her before she was born.

“The last line of it reads, ‘wherever you go or wherever I go, I will always be with you.’ He kept this promise because he is present in so many ways. Whether it’s by hearing a song or through the hands we share, in those moments I get to spend a little time with my dad & he feels transcendent. To anyone who has wondered what it would’ve looked like to live alongside the people they have lost, I’m holding you in my thoughts today. The meaning of our grief is the same.”

Elsewhere on the anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death, the BBC announced special programming to commemorate the life of the rock icon, and photography duo Guzman (aka husband and wife Constance Hansen and Russell Peacock) spoke to NME about their new book of unseen images of the late Nirvana frontman.

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