Nirvana added another historic chapter to their legacy last week with their epic performance at the The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which saw the iconic band’s remaining members playing together for the first time in public since Kurt Cobain’s death in 1994.
Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear were joined onstage by an all-star, all-female lineup of Joan Jett, Kim Gordon, St. Vincent and Lorde, who each took turns filling Cobain’s vocalist shoes with four superb, nostalgic covers. They then topped it off afterwards with a 19-song set at a secret club show in Brooklyn.
Now, naturally, the Hall of Fame reunion has got everyone wondering what will happen next for Nirvana.
The question on everyone’s lips – was it just a one-off? – was posed to both Novoselic and Grohl by Rolling Stone. “That’s a good question,” says Novoselic, the bassist and co-founder seeming optimistic about the band’s future plans.
“I mean, there’s Foo Fighters and Dave has some other projects going on. And I have some commitments. But you never say never now. We did it. I sure won’t say no. Maybe we can even do some new music one day,” says the 48-year-old, having previously noted his pleasure with the quasi-reunion, “we feel we conjured the spirit of the band, and we could not have done that alone.” “But you never say never now. We did it. I sure won’t say no. Maybe we can even do some new music one day…”
Grohl, on the other hand, isn’t quite as convinced.
“We haven’t even talked about it,” the drummer said when asked what happens next. “We looked at that evening as a night that may never happen again. That’s what made it so powerful and beautiful and meaningful. And it may never happen again, so we made the most of it. And it was fucking great.”
Even if it does turn out to be a one-night-only affair, it certainly was a night to remember, as Grohl and Novoselic tell Rolling Stone just what it was like performing their old Nirvana material – with new frontwomen – for the first time in two decades.
“We said ‘Hi’ to everyone and launched into ‘Lithium’,” tells Novoselic about their first rehearsal. “I picked up a Nirvana TAB book a week before to re-learn my parts, but we weren’t up to speed at first. But then it started to flow and it got better and better. Then it hit me and I got kind of somber. I was like, ‘Oh my God. I’m playing these songs again.’” “I haven’t played those drum parts since I was 25. I’m 45 now. We played for 10 fucking hours each day.”
Similarly, Grohl described it as an overwhelming trip down memory lane. “The first time we played together, it was like seeing a ghost,” he said.
“The second time, it was a little more reserved. And the last time we played it was like that fucking Demi Moore/Patrick Swayze pottery wheel scene from Ghost,” jokes the Foo Fighter. “We usually got the song by the third take. It started to sound like Nirvana. Our road crew and some friends were in the room when we launched into ‘Scentless Apprentice’ for the first time. There were jaws on the floor.”
Funnily, the initial intense atmosphere in the rehearsal room was eased a little thanks to a trusty keg of beer found by a resourceful Novoselic; “we really loosened up and after a few hours, we were a well-oiled machine.” And as Grohl found out, the whole thing wasn’t just emotionally taxing but physically demanding as well.
“I haven’t played those drum parts since I was 25. I’m 45 now. We played for 10 fucking hours each day. After the first night of rehearsals, I limped home, had two glasses of wine, three Advil, took a hot shower and slept for 10 fucking hours. That’s a coma for me, because I never sleep.”
With all that considered, does Grohl think the Hall of Fame reunion was worth it? “I don’t remember much of it, but I know I beat the shit out of the drums,” he said.
“The whole thing was exactly what I hoped it would be. It was a heavy night and we were all very nervous, and we were so relieved when it was over. I mean, it was more than an awards show and a trophy. It was a big deal to us, personally and emotionally.”
Watch a full-length performance of Lorde leading St Vincent, Kim Gordon, Joan Jett and the surviving members in the Hall Of Fame ceremony-closing ‘All Apologies’. Head here for more footage from the induction.
