Nirvana producer Steve Albini has recalled a particularly hilarious prank that the band pulled on Gene Simmons of KISS during their In Utero sessions.
So it goes, the glam rock stalwarts contacted Nirvana, asking them to take part in a KISS tribute album. Naturally, this kind of corniness didn’t align with the Seattle grunge legends’ ethos, so to weasel their way out of it they executed a sublime prank call.
Nirvana may have been reluctant to take part in the tribute album, but they were also hesitant to get on the dog and bone with Simmons to break the news. Instead, they enlisted the help of Steve Albini to pose as Kurt Cobain and break the news on behalf of them.
In a recent interview with the Whatever, Nevermind podcast Albini recalled, “They didn’t want to do it.”
He continued, “But they didn’t particularly want to talk to Gene Simmons so they had me call and pretend to be Kurt [Cobain]. That was pretty funny.
“Basically I sort of bumbled through an excuse that would allow them to not do it without having to say they didn’t want to be on a KISS tribute record. They were very fun-loving people. I enjoyed that session, they were fun to hang around with.”
You can listen to the entire interview below.
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Check out Steve Albini recall the time Nirvana pranked Gene Simmons on Whatever, Nevermind:
https://soundcloud.com/cobrasfire/steve-albini-interview-producer-nirvana-in-utero
It’s a wonder that Nirvana ended up recording In Utero at all when one considers the litany of pranks the band pulled on their music contemporaries during the sessions.
In addition to the great swindling of Gene Simmons, the band also prank called Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, pretending to be David Bowie producer Tony Visconti. They also called Lemonheads frontman Evan Dando, pretending to be Madonna’s manager.
In other news, Dave Grohl recently sat down with Classic Rock for an interview that saw him reveal that he still dreams of playing with Nirvana.
“I still have dreams that we’re in Nirvana, that we’re still a band,” Grohl admitted. “I still dream there’s an empty arena waiting for us to play.”
The Fooeys legend also delved into why he will never feel comfortable performing Nirvana songs without bandmates Pat Smear and Kris Novoselic.
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable singing a song that Kurt sang,” says Grohl. “I feel perfectly at home playing those songs on the drums. And I love playing them with Krist and Pat and another vocalist.”
“But I don’t sit down at home and run through ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by myself. It’s just a reminder that the person who is responsible for those beautiful songs is no longer with us. It’s bittersweet.”
