Nirvana Trivia / Facts

-Lastly Dave has appeared on The Bangles 2003 release Doll Revolution, sang the song "Goodbye Lament" on former Black Sabbath guitarists Tommi Iommi's first solo album IOMMI, did an introduction on MXPX's album The Ever Passing Moment, played some guitar on the album Heathen by David Bowie, guested on Earthlings? - The Earthlings? album, co-wrote a song "This Loving Thing" for Joe Doe's 1998 release, is credited on The Stinky Puffs album Tiny Little Smelly Bit, Reeves Gabrels Ulysses album, Honky Mofo's s/t album & played on his former bands Scream & Harlingtox A.D. albums.

-Kurt's side projects included appearances on albums by Earth, Mark Lanegan, William S. Burroughs, The Go Team & both producing & appearing on The Melvin's "Houdini" album.

-Nirvana turned down offers to tour with such bands as Guns N' Roses & U2 and later decided not to headline the 1994 Lollapalooza right before the time of Kurt's death.

-During the original concept for the "Heart Shaped Box" video William S. Burroughs was going to be asked to play the part of the man crucified on the cross & Kurt even wanted to get him for the video for "In Bloom".

-Kirk Canning played cello on "Something In The Way," Kera Schaley played cello on the In Utero album while Lori Goldston & Melora Craeger played cello on the In Utero tour.

-Nirvana were nominated for some awards they actually didn't win. Those include: 1992 American Music Awards Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock New Artist 1992 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album (Nevermind) 1993 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song (songwriter) ("Smells Like Teen Spirit") 1994 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album (In Utero) 1994 MTV Music Award nominations: Video of the Year, Best Cinematography & Viewer's Choice 1995 Grammy Awards: "All Apologies" was nominated for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal & for Best Rock Song.

-Kurt Cobain was cremated; some of his ashes were scattered in a Buddhist temple in New York where they were mixed with clay & baked into 12 tiny, cone-shaped sculptures which Buddhists call tsatsas. Courtney Love requested the sculptures were stored at the UW Burke Museum, where they were on display as a part of an anthropological exhibition, "Smells Like Cobain's Spirit" in 1996, some of his ashes were scattered in McLane Creek, Washington State, some were scattered around a willow tree on the former Cobain estate (which were later recovered upon Courtney selling the house) & the rest are with Courtney Love & Kurt's mother Wendy. Frances Bean is said to inherit them someday.

-At the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards Nirvana performed "Lithium." Guns N' Roses were to perform later in the show with Elton John. Two pianos were set up for the performance, one for GNR lead singer Axl Rose & the other for Elton John. When Kurt was walking off stage he spit on the keys of the piano he believed to be Axl's. Kurt later found out that the piano he spit on was actually the one that was used by Elton John.

-Dave nor Krist have performend any Nirvana songs in concert since Nirvana ended.

-Krist & Dave thought about continuing playing music together after Kurt's death. They both made a guest appearance on the 1994 Stinky Puffs album & Krist even played bass with the Foo Fighters on two songs (a cover of the Prince song Purple Rain and a Led Zepplin cover of Communication Breakdown) at the 1997 Bumbershoot Festival on August 29th of that year.

-Allmusic.com lists Nirvana as: Angst-Ridden, Cathartic, Visceral, Tense/Anxious, Aggressive, Acerbic, Reckless, Fiery, Intense, Unsettling, Spooky, Fierce, Crunchy, Volatile, Bleak, Rebellious, Cynical/Sarcastic, Manic, Gloomy, Paranoid, Brooding, Witty, Raucous, Energetic, Wry, Nihilistic, Confrontational.

-Krist also played bass on "Big Me" with the Foo Fighters December 9, 1999 in Seattle.

-Kurt's last home address was 171 Lake Washington Blvd East. He & Courtney had only purchased the house less than 3 months before Kurt's death. Their house before that was located at 11301 Lakeside Ave Northeast.

-Frances Bean's godmother is Drew Barrymore.

-Kurt's body was found at 8:56am on Friday April 8th, 1994 by electrician Gary Smith.

-Nirvana's first recorded show was at a house party at 17 Nussbaum Rd, Raymond, WA under the name Skid Row -Kurt's favorite book was reportedly "Perfume" by Patrick Suskind.

-Touring guitarist Pat Smear (born Georg Ruthenberg) renamed himself after learning about pap smears in high school claiming they were the most disgusting thing he had ever heard of.

-MTV wouldn't let Nirvana play Rape Me at the 1992 VMA's but then aired a performance of the song during at MTV's Live & Loud performance recorded in December 1993.

-Former Sub Pop publicist Nils Bernstein who was a friend of the band was in charge of the catering service Nirvana used to get themselves thrown out of their Nevermind record release party at Re-Bar in Seattle for starting a food fight.

-Kurt had many pets during his life including a pet rat he called Kitty, a cat named Melvin, & many turtles that he used to take care of, Krist has 2 dogs.

-When Nirvana was recording "In Utero" with producer Steve Albini they checked into the recording studio as the Simon Ritchie Project.

-Dave collects antique watches & that was the reason behind the name of his un-credited release Late! Pocketwatch in 1992 on the now defunct Simple Machines label of which Dave wrote & played almost everything on.

-Nirvana's longest concert is believed to be their Reading Festival appearance on 08/30/92 although they actually had a longer setlist at their 12/31/93 show at the Oakland Coliseum Arena in Oakland, CA among others.

-Dave & Krist reportedly turned up in an Los Angeles studio along with Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age frontman), Donita Sparks (L7's singer & guitarist), Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins & session drummer Jim Keltner in 2001.

-Kurt weighed seven pounds, seven and one-half onces at birth.

-Pat Smear has been in the following bands: Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Mike Watt, The Germs, 45 Grave, Deathfolk, Nina Hagen, Tater Totz, Vagina Dentata, Twisted Roots, Ruthensmear.

-If you own a 1997 Nirvana calender which is out of print it is reportedly worth $100 US.

-Kurt's father Don was a auto mechanic & his mother Wendy was a cocktail waitress.

-Police found a can of root beer & Camel Lights cigarrettes by Kurt when he passed away. REM's 'Automatic for the People' was in his stereo in his room.

-Kurt's favorite movie was reportedly "Paris, Texas" but he also liked "Over The Edge" & "Rear Window".

-Krist credited "Spank Thru" as the first Nirvana song.

-A Kurt Cobain Visual Arts Scholarship was made in Aberdeen. As of 2004 the prize was $2000 each for 4 students. Nirvana's management company, Gold Mountain Entertainment supplies the money. Kurt's cousin Vicki Hanna appears at the ceremonies.

-Before Courtney, Kurt had a few girlfriends including Tracy Mirander, Toby Vail & even briefly dated musician Mary Lou Lord.

-Some songs on Nevermind are written about or have references to Kurt's ex-girlfriend Tobi Vail

From sacksco.com: [Mary Lou Lord] met Kurt Cobain on Sept. 21st 1991 while the Nirvana front man was in Boston. "Nevermind was not out yet, but I knew almost every song on the album back to front. I had an advance copy for weeks and I knew it was something very special. Nirvana were about to begin the Nevermind release tour and it was released 3 days after we met. Kurt and I struck up a very intense, although brief, thanks to Courtney (Love), who later entered into the picture, relationship. He introduced me to a few people that would later change the course of my life."

-Krist had surgery soon after he graduated from high school to correct an underbite

-"We met in Boston two days before 'Nevermind' came out," Lord says. "I was with him in New York the day the record came out and when he saw himself on MTV for the first time. To be with him on that moment - wow. I'll always cherish that." Lord and Cobain dated for a month before "Courtney Love broke us up." They were in London together when he got a three-hour phone call from Love and headed back to the States the next day. Lord didn't stay in touch with him but followed his career. Lord says it was hard to get over him because everywhere she went, "there he was."

-Nirvana & Kurt references have appeared in hundreds of TV shows, movies & specials.

-The song "About A Girl" was written about Kurt's then live-in girlfriend Tracy Mirander.

-Kurt was on the wrestling team in high school.

-There have been many Nirvana tribute covers released over the years including: Tribute to Nirvana (13 obscure Swedish rock bands Nirvana covers) The String Tribute to Nirvana (9 Nirvana covers included) Smells Like Nirvana: A Tribute to Nirvana (12 Nirvana covers) Smells Like Bleach, A Nirvana Tribute (13 Nirvana covers including the band Flipper) In Extremis - Nirvana Remixed (7 tracks) Cocktail Nirvana - Jazz Tribute (15 tracks) Covers Nirvana - by Tritone (8 tracks).

-Old Age was originally a Nirvana song that Kurt didn't use & Hole then recorded.

-The song "Sliver" was recorded in two takes & in about an hour.

-Kurt's middle name was Donald, Dave's is Eric & Krist's is Anthony.

-The sticker on the Incesticide CD once read, "Rare B-Sides, BBC Sessions, Original Demo Recordings, Outtakes, Stuff Never Before Available".

-Nirvana played for their biggest crowds ever January 1993 in Brazil.

-Kurt has a sister named Kimberly and a half brother & sister named Chad & Brieanne.

-When Nirvana won their 1st award at the 1992 MTV Music Awards they had a Michael Jackson impersonator accept the award claiming he was the "King of Grunge".

-Brieanne appeared on an episode of the MTV show "The Osbournes" as a house guest of Courtney Love.

-On the astrological chart Kurt is a Pisces, Krist is a Taurus & Dave is a Capricorn -Kurt was born at the GH Community Hospital in Aberdeen, not in Hoquiam as originally thought.

-Aberdeen, WA is about 100 miles southwest of Seattle, WA.

-Kurt once wrote a poem called "Blame Me".

-Right at the end of Nirvana Dave got invloved in playing drums on the Beatles bio movie: Backbeat. The Backbeat band performed at the the MTV Movie Awards in 1994 with Dave, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth, Don Flemming of Gumball, Mike Mills of R.E.M., Greg Dulli of Afghan Whigs & David Pirner of Soul Asylum. The band played "Money", "Long Tall Sally", & "Twist and Shout".

-Smells Like Teen Spirit & Negative Creep are both available in Muzak versions.

-Kurt Cobain "Journals" added 14 pages of bonus material, including an extended narrative about a semi-fictional serial killer for the paperback version released 2003. Also included in the bonus pages are lyrics to an unrecorded song titled "Travelin' White Trash Couple," a cookie recipe and a previously unpublished list of Cobain's favourite albums.

-Dave turned down an offer to be the drummer for Tom Petty (although he did perform on drums during a 94' Saturday Night Live appearance by Petty) & was even rumored to be the new drummer for Pearl Jam after Nirvana ended.

During Kurt's life he colored his hair many colors including red & blue.

-Pat Smear reportedly was invited by Flea in 1993 to replace John Frusciante in the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but passed up the offer. Later that year, Pat wanted to be Nirvana's 2nd guitarist & Kurt asked him to join the band before he had the chance to approach him about an audition.

-At least 8 Nirvana interview CDs have been released worldwide. Many rehash the same interview of Nirvana before Nevermind was released & change the name of the CD. The rest are either various sound clips of the band with narration or just interviews with people who knew the band or were influenced by them at some point in their life.

-Krist first met Buzz Osbourne from the Melvins at a Taco Bell where Krist once worked.

-Chris Hafner was the director behind compiling the footage for the "You Know You're Right" video.

-Nirvana played & covered these songs & artists during their career: Here She Comes Now (Velvet Underground), Jesus Doesn't Want Me For A Sunbeam (The Vaselines), Molly's Lips (The Vaselines), Son of a Gun (The Vaselines), Lake Of Fire (Meat Puppets), Oh Me (Meat Puppets), Plateau (Meat Puppets), Run, Rabbit, Run (Smack), Love Buzz (Shocking Blue), Man Who Sold The World (David Bowie), Return Of The Rat (The Wipers), D7 (The Wipers), High On The Hog (Kurt w/Tad), Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin), Dazed And Confused (Led Zeppelin), Moby Dick (Led Zeppelin), The Money Will Roll Right In (Fang), Turnaround (Devo), Do You Love Me? (Kiss), Where Did You Sleep Last Night (Leadbelly), The End (The Doors), My Sharona (The Knack) among others.

-Kurt's first concert experience was a Sammy Hagar show.

-Buzz later introduced Dave to Nirvana in 1990.

-Kurt was a Melvins roadie & tried out for the Melvins in the 1980's.

-Blue Moon Records is the record label of the unofficial nirvana bootleg series "Outcesticide" although clone labels have also released Nirvana bootlegs under the same name.

-Kurt's original idea for the cover of Nevermind was a lady giving birth underwater.

-The Beatles song In My Life was reportedly played at Kurt's funeral.

-Dave once dated Louise Post from Veruca Salt, Melissa Auf Der Maur (ex-Hole & Smashing Pumpkins bassist) was once married to Jennifer Youngblood (who took some of the pictures in the sleeve for Unplugged in NY) & was inaccurately rumored to be dating Winona Ryder & Christina Aguilera at various time periods in his life.

-Kurt's favorite Beatles song was reportedly "Yellow Submarine".

-Gary Gersh signed Nirvana to Geffen subsidiary DGC Records.

-Spencer Eldon (the baby on the Nevermind cover) also appears on the cover of The Dragon Experience, the third solo CD by industrial group Skinny Puppy's cEvin Key released in 2003 & he even re-created (with pants on) the Nirvana cover for a Rolling Stone story about the 10 year anniversary of Nevermind in 2001.

-Nirvana's first show in Europe was in Newcastle, England.

-Kurt's background had Irish roots on his father's side & German on his mother's. His mom's maiden name was Fraidenberg. The name Cobain was originally known as Coburn.

-Kurt once said he first heard punk rock in 1984 -Kurt overdid his hair dye treatment for the 1992 Spin Magazine cover according to photographer Greg Waterman.

From www.emplive.com: "The funniest thing about the whole shoot was that in defiance of being on the cover of Spin, Kurt decided to dye his hair blue. But the way that he did it was the night before, in his hotel room, he filled the bathtub with blue hair dye and stuck his head in the tub. From the neck up he was blue, including his face, and he totally looked like he was dead. I mean washed-up-on-shore dead."

-Kurt learned how to write with his right hand at an early age.

-Kurt's car was a grey Volvo in 1994.

-Dave & Krist both were apart of the Pearl Jam hosted Monkey Wrench Radio Special in January 1995 which aired Dave's demo of the song "Exhausted" recorded 1/94 during the session in which Nirvana recorded "You Know You're Right".

-Kurt often made lists of his favorite songs & albums.

-Nirvana's box set was going to include possibly only 45 songs if released in 2001.

-There are many Nirvana fakes that have been released & are not by Nirvana including songs with names such as Asshole, Bigger Stronger, Call It What You Want, Cocaine Girl, Disagree, Mutherfuker, Suggestion, Suffocation, The One To Find, etc.

-Nirvana played the Big Day Out festival in Sydney, Australia on the Hordern Pavillion stage.

-In the book Journals the first real entry is "dont read my journal when i'm gone".

-The secret message written on the vinyl Love Buzz single is "Why Don't You Trade Those Guitars For Shovels?".

-Nirvana performed on these TV shows around the world: The Word, Top Of The Pops, The Jonathan Ross Show, Live From The MTV Studios, Saturday Night Live, 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, Unplugged, MTV Live & Loud, Nulle Part Ailleurs, The Tunnel.

-Krist & Dave both have been married & divorced, Dave divorced Jennifer Youngblood in 1997 & Krist divorced Shelli Dilley in 2000.

-Kurt's favorite guitar was reportedly the 1969 Fender Competition Mustang.

-Nirvana lost out to Firehouse for Best New Artist at the 1992 American Music Awards.

-Some celebrity Nirvana fans include everyone from Jared Leto, Jodi Lyn O'Keefe, Paul Walker, Nick Carter, New Found Glory & Shakira.

-Nirvana officially signed to Geffen Records on April 30th, 1991.

-In 2001 according to SoundScan & MTV, Nirvana's US career album sales broke down as follows: In the US the group's 1989 debut, Bleach, sold 1.44 million copies to that date, followed by 1991's Nevermind at 7.65 million, the 1992 B-sides/rarities collection Incesticide at 1.13 million, & the band's final studio album, 1993's In Utero, at 3.58 million. Nirvana's two posthumous live releases, 1994's MTV Unplugged in New York & 1996's From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah (both of which were assembled by Grohl & Novoselic) had sold 4.11 million & 1.15 million copies just in the US.

-Kurt was left handed while Dave & Krist are both right handed.

-Some of the photographers of Nirvana's career included Martyn Goodacre, Steve Gullick, Stephen Sweet, Charles Peterson, Micheal Lavine, Alice Wheeler, Niels Van Iperen, Anton Corbijn, Ian Tilton, Michel Linssen, Mick Hutson, Paul Bergen, Peter Pakvis, Ebet Roberts, Donna Santisi, George Chin, Rafaella Cavalieri, Martina Raddatz, Grant Davis, Ian Dickson, Mark Seliger, Kirk Weddle, Charlie Hoselton, Steve Pyke, Hugo Dixon among others.

-Drain You was originally called Formula.

-Dave has done a voiceover on the MTV movie "Daria: Is It Fall Yet?" composed the score for the movie "Touch" played drums on the "Backbeat" soundtrack & also played drums on the P Diddy remix for the song "It's All About The Benjamins" the band Garbage's song "Bad Boyfriend" the Queens of the Stone Age album "Songs For The Deaf" & played on Mike Watt's "Ball-Hog or Tugboat?" album on the song "Against the '70s".

-Doctors reportedly prescibed Kurt ritalin when he was a child because he was very hyper & had an endless amount of energy.

-Dave has also done a column for the NY Times, released a side project under the name Probot, produced an album for the band Verbena, played on three songs on the album You Are Free by Cat Power, guested on the self titled Tenacious D album (even appearing in their "Tribute" video as the devil), played drums on the self titled album by the band Killing Joke & sold millions of records with the Foo Fighters.

-Krist has appeared on or been a member of these bands albums: Sweet 75, Eyes Adrift, Sky Cries Mary, The No W.T.O. Combo, appeared on Mark Lanegan & Mike Watt albums, engineered 1 song on Krishna Das "Live on Earth" album, performed on a Willie Nelson tribute & played bass on a song Johnny Cash covered of Nelson's named "Time of the Preacher".

-In seventh grade Kurt drew the cover art, a trick-or-treat bulldog for his mimeoed junior high newspaper, Puppy Press. In a student profile for that issue, he said his favorite class was band & his favorite song was "Don't Bring Me Down" by the Electric Light Orchestra. Meatloaf was his favorite rock group at the time.

Credits: nirvanaclub.com, Allmusic.com, townonline.com