Krist Novoselic Biography

Musician, songwriter, activist, author. Born on May 16, 1965, in Compton, California. As the bassist of Nirvana, Krist Novoselic was a part of the music revolution that brought alternative rock to the mainstream. The son of Croatian immigrants, he spent many of his early years in Gardena, California, making mischief with his younger brother Robert.

The family moved to the small logging community of Aberdeen, Washington, in 1979. Only fourteen at the time, Novoselic found the rainy northwestern town depressing and had a difficult time fitting in at school. The next year his worried parents had Novoselic go to their native Croatia to live with relatives where he discover such punk rock acts as the Sex Pistols and the Ramones.

After returning to Aberdeen, Novoselic began exploring his interest in music in his senior year of high school. He bought a guitar and took some lessons. Around this time, his brother Robert had a friend named Kurt Cobain that came over to their house sometimes. But Cobain did not make much of an impression on Novoselic until later. Novoselic graduated from high school in 1983 and had some surgery done on his jaw to correct a severe underbite soon after.

For a time, Novoselic worked as a painter, but he was eventually laid off. He also played in a few local groups and even tried to start a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band with Cobain, according to the book Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana by Michael Azerrad. With his girlfriend Shelli, Novoselic moved to Arizona in 1986, but they only stayed six months. They returned to Washington, and Novoselic soon started working with Cobain on a new band.

What would become Nirvana started out as trio with Novoselic, Cobain, and drummer Aaron Burckhard. In 1987, they started playing house parties and other small gigs in Olympia. Using the name Skid Row, the band played on Evergreen State College’s radio station. They toyed with a few other names before finally settling on Nirvana.

The next year, Nirvana had its first single, “Love Buzz,” released by the small independent label Sub Pop Records. By this time, Burckhard was out and Chad Channing had taken over drumming duties. Nirvana’s popularity in the emerging Seattle music scene was growing, and they released their debut album, Bleach, in 1989. To promote the record, the band toured extensively, playing gigs across the United States and in Europe. That same year, Novoselic married his longtime girlfriend Shelli.

Novoselic and Cobain were in search of a new drummer in 1990. That summer, Nirvana served as an opening act for Sonic Youth, an indie band they much admired. Longtime friend Dale Crover of the Melvins played the drums for the tour. They soon found a permanent replacement in Dave Grohl, who had previously played with Scream and Dain Bramage.

Soon the major labels became interested in the group, offering contracts with large advances. Nirvana ended up signing with Geffen Records. Their first release with them, 1991’s Nevermind, became a huge hit, driven in part by the single, “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” While Kurt handled most of the songwriting duties, all three band members had worked on this track, which combined elements of punk, metal, and pop. “I remember when we first did it, it was nothing special. But after it was recorded, I thought, ‘Hey, this is really good. It really rocks,’” Novoselic told Michael Azerrad for his book, Come as You Are: The Story of Nirvana.