Nirvana
paved the way for the Seattle grunge scene in 1993 when they took there
music to the main stream. They brought many bands into the limelight such
as Pearl jam, Sound Garden, Mudhoney, and The Screaming Trees just to name
a few. They have branded themselves into rock history with the album "Nevermind".
Their sound was a drastic change from all of the bands of that era. They
had a rebellious attitude like no others with there live antics. Kurt Cobain
wrote his lyrics like poetry and laid it over their ever-changing songs.
Here's their story.
Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic met in 1985 and they played in several
bands together, including Stiff Woodies. In 1987 Nirvana was formed in
Aberdeen, Washington and the line up was Kurt, Krist, and drummer Aaron
Burckard. In 1988 the band recorded a 10 song demo by the legendary Seattle
producer Jack Endino and the label Sub-Pop put out their first single.
Their debut record called Bleach is released on Sub Pop in June of 1989
and Nirvana embarked on a month long tour of the U.S. In September of 1990
the band recruited David Grohl to play drums. David came from a band from
Washington D.C. called Scream. The following month they toured
England with L7.
As the band gained popularity, the demand for the band also grew. This
is what led to Nirvana getting signed to DGC (Geffen) Records in 1991.
Later that year The band put out an album called Nevermind (one of the
best albums to date) and within 3 months the album broke number one on
the Billboard 200 album chart. Their world wide success was a direct
result of MTV consistently airing there video for "Smells like Teen Spirit"
which became the most requested video ever in 1991. Next for Nirvana. They
launched a tour that spread across Australia, Japan, Hawaii, and Europe.
When the band ended their tour they wasted no time and released Insesticide
(a collection of B-sides and rarities) in 1992.
In 1993 their final studio album was released called "In Utero" which contains
the hit songs, "Heart-Shaped Box", and "All Apologies". Nirvana then went
on a three-month tour of North America. During the final months of
1993 they performed at Sony Studios in New York a show which was taped
and broadcasted on MTV on December 16th 1993, as the infamous MTV Unplugged.
They also released this taping on CD's and tapes as Unplugged in New York
in 1994.
On April 8th of 1994, Kurt Cobain was found dead of an apparent self-inflicked
gun shot wound. This was a sad moment for all his fans and although this
marked the end of Nirvana, their music will carry on their legacy for generations
to come.
By
Brian Aguilar
