Nirvana ex-members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic, alongside their producer Steve Albini, reunited for a frank podcast with Conan O’Brien and revealed that they had more-than-humble beginnings.
LISTEN NOW: Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend | Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and 'In Utero' producer Steve Albini
On the cusp of releasing their deluxe 30th-anniversary reissue of In Utero, Nirvana's Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic, and producer Steve Albini sat down with comedian Conan O’Brien for a deep dive into the album and its context. What would become the band’s final album, In Utero, was the 1993 follow-up to Nirvana’s breakout album, Nevermind. While today’s standards would suggest some time in between their "big break" and the next full release, the band had just started to feel the effects of becoming mainstream by the time they were writing their next album. With that, In Utero would suddenly become the focus of critics to a level they weren’t aware of at the time.
“[We were] Going from three kids that were basically living or touring out of a van to then becoming a huge band” Dave Grohl explained. “And then 'In Utero' became the sort of uncomfortable soundtrack to that transition. By 1992/1993, we were living in a different world than we were in just 16 months before.”
“Nirvana went from being couch surfers to being the biggest band ever in the world in a span of about 18 months” producer Steve Albini added. Having worked with the band to mix In Utero, Albini was a first-hand witness to Nirvana’s launch into fame. “I can't fathom the kind of whiplash in every part of your life. Like, you go from having normal relationships with normal people… to every time you walk in a room… instantly you're the center of attention.”
The sudden change in the band’s personal lifestyle also created a sense of whiplash for the young musicians. “Before we made the record, Nevermind, we were pretty much living in squalor,” Grohl admitted candidly. “So I was living with Kurt in this tiny little apartment, and there were just corn dog sticks and cigarettes all over the place. And it was like, it was awful, awful, f***ing disgusting.”
And while he chuckled looking back on their hardships, Grohl also acknowledged that he wouldn’t have changed it. “I would've done anything to, had to have my own apartment, you know, and to be able to do that through making music.” Eventually, the band moved out of the apartment as they made more day-by-day with their music. Grohl described how they didn't “wind up with a million dollars in [the] mailbox the next day” but eventually could afford a motel or a better apartment. “It's not someone's floor,” he pointed out.
The group acknowledged that being thrust into the public eye affected each of them differently, especially their frontman Kurt Cobain. For him, they presumed, adjusting was much harder. “Kurt had, he got more attention because he was out front,” Novoselic explained. “So then he felt more pressure. Then yeah, he started to do heroin and then he left drugs. And there's a price for that. And that complicated things a lot.”
“I personally didn't feel so conflicted about everything,” Grohl reflected. “Because I knew that the band hadn't done anything outside of our true selves to get there.”
Listen to Nirvana Radio and more on the free Audacy app
The rerelease of In Utero comes as a thrill to many fans, not only due to the twelve songs being remastered from the original analog tapes, but also because it marks the album's 30th birthday. Four anniversary versions of the album will be released this Friday, totaling 72 songs with 53 previously unreleased live tracks as performed by Cobain, Novoselic, Grohl, and guitarist Pat Smear. The releases range from deluxe to super deluxe and can be pre-ordered from the official Nirvana site.