Everything about Krist Novoselic totally explained
Krist Anthony Novoselić II (born
May 16,
1965) is an
American rock musician best known as the
bassist for
Nirvana. In addition to Nirvana, Krist has played for
Sweet 75,
Eyes Adrift, and currently plays in highly-respected
punk rock band
Flipper. Apart from his musical endeavors, Novoselic has been active politically, including the creation of the
political action committee JAMPAC. His first name is pronounced both "Chris" or "Krist".
Early life
Krist Novoselić was born to
Croatian immigrants Krist and Marija Novoselić on May 16, 1965, in
Compton,
California. He lived there for one year, before his parents relocated to
San Pedro, California, where he remained for most of his childhood years. He has two brothers, Robert, and in 1973, Novoselić's sister Diana was born. 1979 saw the Novoselić family on the move again, due to rising
property prices in California, this time to
Aberdeen,
Washington. Worried about Krist's depression, his parents sent him to live with relatives in
Zadar,
Croatia, then part of
Yugoslavia, in 1980. There, Novoselić attended the
gymnasium. Krist was already interested in bands like
Led Zeppelin,
Devo,
Black Sabbath, and
Aerosmith. He also enjoyed Yugoslav rock bands like Zabranjeno Pusenje,Prljavo Kazaliste and Azra. While in Croatia, he picked up an interest in punk rock music, and discovered bands like
Sex Pistols and
Ramones.
Sometime later, Novoselić's brother Robert walked into his friend
Kurt Cobain, who had noticed loud music coming from upstairs. Robert told Cobain that it was his older brother, who listened to punk rock. Cobain eventually befriended the elder Novoselić and the pair ended up sharing similar musical tastes, including a fondness for local band
The Melvins. The two had several mutual friends and began hanging out shortly thereafter. Some time later, Cobain gave Novoselić a demo tape of his former band
Fecal Matter. After several months of indecision, Novoselić finally listened to the tape, liked it, and agreed to start a band with Cobain.
Nirvana
Cobain and Novoselic's first band lasted barely a few weeks before it disbanded, leaving the pair to move on. However, the duo eventually discovered that the Melvins could pull eighty
dollars a night for one show. Inspired, Cobain and Novoselic started a
Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band, in which Cobain played drums and Novoselic sang and played guitar. That band was short-lived as well. Some months later, Cobain and Novoselic met
Aaron Burckhard. While the new band never used the name, it was the first incarnation of Nirvana.
Burckhard lasted barely a few months and Melvins drummer
Dale Crover filled in until Novoselic and Cobain met
Chad Channing. The trio recorded their debut album
Bleach, released in 1989. Channing left the band in 1990 and was briefly replaced by Crover and
Mudhoney drummer
Dan Peters.
Later in 1990, Melvins singer-guitarist
Buzz Osborne encouraged Novoselic and Cobain to check out a
punk band called
Scream. The pair were impressed by their drummer,
Dave Grohl. A few weeks later, Scream disbanded, and Grohl placed a call to Osborne for advice. Osborne gave him Novoselic's phone number, and Novoselic invited Grohl up to Seattle. Grohl passed the audition and joined Nirvana. A few months later, in the spring of 1991, the band recorded their major label debut,
Nevermind, which launched the band as a worldwide phenomenon.
For most of his life, Novoselic had chosen to go by the English spelling of his name, Chris. However, following a 1993 trip to
Croatia, Novoselic decided to honor his heritage and return to the original spelling of his name, Krist.
Nirvana ended abruptly in April of 1994 following Cobain's death. For most of the rest of that year, Novoselic retreated from the spotlight. Novoselic and Cobain had been virtually inseparable for almost a decade, and the loss of his close friend was especially hard on Novoselic. One of few public appearances came that September at the
MTV Video Music Awards, where the video for Nirvana's "
Heart-Shaped Box" was awarded for Best Alternative Video. Novoselic and Grohl took the opportunity to pay tribute to their bandmate.
Equipment
While Kurt Cobain was known for playing
Fender guitars, Novoselic played mainly
Gibson basses, although for the album
Bleach, he used an
Ibanez Black Eagle. He used a
Gibson Ripper bass for the recordings of
Nevermind and
In Utero. His live basses included
RD Artists, a
Gibson Victory Standard (that he smashed on stage in Belgium) and
Thunderbirds. He also used a Gibson RD Standard, which was very similar to the RD Artist, but has different wiring. He has used his
Ripper in the video for
Come as You Are, while he used an RD Standard in the video for
Heart-Shaped Box and a '60s Zen -on bass which got smashed up in the video for
Smells Like Teen Spirit. In the music video for
In Bloom Krist can be seen playing an Ampeg AEB-1. For amplification, Krist used an Ampeg SVT 400T through Mesa Boogie Road Ready cabinets. He had several 4x10's and 2x15's for his live rig. After the success of Nevermind, he was able to purchase in upwards of 4 Ampeg 8x10 cabinets for the In Utero tour. He also purchased a Hiwatt bass head and two matching 4x12's, which he still uses today.
He also used a
Pro Co RAT distortion pedal on many
recordings.
Music after Nirvana
The following year, Novoselic continued to dabble in musical endeavors. He turned down an offer from friend and former bandmate
Dave Grohl who invited him to join his new band
Foo Fighters because he was worried that people would think Foo Fighters would be a rip off of Nirvana. Novoselic instead formed the band
Sweet 75 in 1995, releasing a single self-titled album.
In 1998 Novoselic directed his first movie "
L7: The Beauty Process", A pseudo-documentary that utilizes concert footage taped in 1997 in three American cities.
In 1999, he joined
Jello Biafra and former
Soundgarden guitarist
Kim Thayil in the
No WTO Combo. He then joined former
Meat Puppets frontman
Curt Kirkwood and former
Sublime drummer
Bud Gaugh to form
Eyes Adrift, which disbanded in 2003. Following the end of Eyes Adrift, Novoselic announced that he was quitting the music business, noting that he disliked the process of building up publicity for new records. However, in recent years, Novoselic has occasionally worked on music for a possible solo album, noting, "Right now, I'm just doing it for myself, and that's what it's all about."
In November 2006, it was announced that Novoselic would join
Flipper (a highly respected
punk band, hugely admired by Nirvana), replacing Bruno DeSmartass on bass, for a tour of the UK and Ireland. He is now a full time member of the band and has been working on their new album due for release in 2008.
Politics
In 1992, the
Washington state legislature attempted to pass a bill called the
Erotic Music Law. The law would allow courts to declare certain albums "erotic" by their content, and would make it illegal to sell those albums to those under the age of 18. A lobbying group called the Washington Music Industry Coalition formed as a response to the bill. Novoselic and Nirvana actively campaigned against the bill and performed a benefit concert for the lobbying group in September of 1992.
In 2005, the Erotic Music Law was reintroduced to the
Washington State Legislature as the Matters Harmful to Minors bill. Noting that the music industry had serious clout in Seattle given the success of the scene, Novoselic proposed creating a
political action committee, which was named JAMPAC (Joint Artists and Musicians Political Action Committee). Over the next several years, JAMPAC fought a number of different issues, including the
Teen Dance Ordinance, a 1985 law that severely limited the ability of minors to attend shows. With JAMPAC, Novoselic began to turn his focus more and more towards politics.
Novoselic remains active in politics as an elected Democratic State Committeeman, making appearances to advocate
electoral reform (especially
instant-runoff voting and
proportional representation) and running the website. He considered a 2004 run for Lieutenant Governor of
Washington (as a Democrat, challenging an incumbent of the same party), but ultimately decided against it. He is also joined the board of
FairVote, then the Center Voting and Democracy. His first book,, was published in October 2004.
Novoselic spoke on matters of electoral reform at the
2006 Libertarian National Convention.
In January 2008 he was appointed chair of
FairVote.
Personal life
Krist cites
Paul McCartney,
Geezer Butler,
John Entwistle and
Gene Simmons as his favorite bass players who influenced him.
Krist has been married twice. His first wife was Shelli Dilley, whom he met in high school, and began dating in 1985. They were married in December, 1989; they divorced in late 1999. In early 2004, Krist married artist Darbury Ayn Stenderu.
Novoselic currently (2006) hosts a Saturday night radio program on
Astoria, Oregon community radio station KMUN. His DJ name is "DJ K-No".
On November 7, 2007 it was confirmed that Krist would write a blog for the
Seattle Weekly website.
Novoselic resides near the rural
Wahkiakum County, Washington, community of
Deep River.
Krist is 6'7" tall.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Krist Novoselic'.
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