THE SEVEN WEEKS THAT CHANGED ROCK
NEVERMIND
NIRVANA
Everett True recalls being around during the making of a game-changing, now truly iconic album.
GETTY
To those of us who came from the international pop underground – that loose alliance of outsiders, love rockers, Riot Grrrls and DIY malcontents that made up the prevalent music scene in Kurt Cobain’s adopted hometown of Olympia, WA in the late 80s – it seemed near unbelievable that the metal world (and later the world at large) were so eager to embrace Nirvana’s chaotic adrenalin rush in mid-1991.We were used to being derided, scorned; scoffed at for our weird haircuts and love of Wipers and Beat Happening B-sides. We were not ready for what followed.
When I caught up with Nirvana while they were recording Nevermind in May 1991 at Sound City Studios in the leafy suburban surrounds of Van Nuys, CA they were running riot, wild and unchecked. Concerts were insane exhibitions of spontaneity and opportunities for mischief – dressing-room curtains set on fire, guitars hurled into the air and smashed against tiny stage fronts. Commercial radio station interviews were treated with zero respect. Punk was the defining factor, the mind-set that said you should follow your instincts and fuck everything else.