NOVOSELIC
Krist

• 1. Early life
• 2. Career
• 2.1. Nirvana (1987–1994)
• 2.2. Post-Nirvana (1995–present)

Krist Anthony Novoselic is an American musician and activist. He is best known as the bassist and co-founder of the rock band Nirvana.

In 1987 Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana, along with drummer Aaron Burckhard whom they recruited. Through the late 80s Nirvana established themselves as part of the Seattle grunge scene and in 1989 they released their debut album Bleach. In 1990 after going through a succession of drummers, Dave Grohl joined Nirvana after his former band Scream broke up. After signing with major record label DGC Records Nirvana released their second studio album Nevermind. In 1991 Nirvana had achieved worldwide fame through the success of Nevermind and the lead track off the album, "Smells Like Teen Spirit". In 1993 Nirvana released In Utero their third studio album which was also a major success. In 1994 Nirvana abruptly ended following the death of Kurt Cobain.

After Nirvana disbanded, Novoselic formed Sweet 75 in 1995 and Eyes Adrift in 2002, releasing one album with each band. From 2006 to 2009, he played in the punk rock band Flipper, and in 2011, he contributed bass and accordion to the song "I Should Have Known" on the Foo Fighters' studio album Wasting Light. Since 2017 he has played bass and accordion for the band Giants in the Trees.

Outside of music Novoselic has been active politically, being involved in the formation of a PAC named JAMPAC (Joint Artists and Musicians Political Action Committee). From 2007 through 2010, he wrote a weekly column on music and politics for the Seattle Weekly website. He served on the board of the electoral reform organization FairVote from 2005 to 2019, including 11 years as chair, and in 2020 became board chair of Zócalo Public Square.

Early life

Krist Anthony Novoselic was born in Compton, California, on May 16, 1965, the son of Croatian immigrants Kristo Novaselić and Marija Mustać. Kristo was a native of Veli Iž on the island of Iž while Marija originates from Privlaka. The original Croatian surname of Novaselić was mistakenly changed to Novoselic by a clerk when Kristo was applying for a passport to go to America. Novoselic lived in Compton for one year before his parents moved to the ethnically Croatian Los Angeles neighborhood of San Pedro. His first language is Croatian.  He has a younger brother, Robert (born 1968), and a younger sister, Diana (born 1973). In 1971, his family relocated to Aberdeen, Washington due to surging real estate costs in California. In 1980, his parents sent him to live with relatives in Zadar, Croatia. He returned to Aberdeen in 1981. His earliest memory of listening to music is listening to Chuck Berry with his father. Growing up, he had a severe underbite, for which he underwent corrective surgery.

Novoselic was interested in bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Who, Van Halen, Devo, and Aerosmith. He also enjoyed listening to Yugoslavian bands such as Zabranjeno Pušenje, Prljavo kazalište and Azra. In Croatia, he became interested in punk rock, and discovered bands such as the Sex Pistols and Ramones when he lived in Croatia at the age of 14 for one year. He has cited Paul McCartney, Geezer Butler, John Entwistle, and Gene Simmons as the fundamental influences of his bass playing.

Novoselic's brother Robert introduced him to his friend Kurt Cobain, who had noticed loud music coming from upstairs in the Novoselic household. Robert told Cobain that it was his older brother, who listened to punk rock. Cobain eventually befriended the older Novoselic, as the pair had similar musical tastes, including a fondness for local band Melvins. The two had several mutual friends and began hanging out shortly thereafter. Krist attended Aberdeen High School while Kurt attended high school in nearby Montesano. At one point, Cobain gave Novoselic a demo tape of his former band Fecal Matter, and asked him to form a band together. After several months, Novoselic finally listened to the tape, liked it, and agreed to start a band with Cobain. After high school, Novoselic worked as a painter and decorator but was eventually laid off.

Career

Nirvana (1987–1994)

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 Melvins could pull $80 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 drummer Aaron Burckhard. While the new band never used the name, it was the first incarnation of Nirvana.

Burckhard lasted only 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. Novoselic contributed to the writing of various songs, providing ideas for Cobain.

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 (from San Francisco, where Scream broke up). Grohl passed the audition and joined Nirvana. Grohl was Nirvana's fifth and final drummer. Novoselic spent the following months with Nirvana traveling to various labels as the band shopped for a deal, eventually signing with DGC Records.

In the spring of 1991, the band entered Sound City Studios in Los Angeles to record Nevermind. Novoselic helped write the song "Polly". Upon its release, Nevermind (1991) exceeded all expectations and became a worldwide commercial success. Nevermind had launched the band as a worldwide phenomenon with their hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

At the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards, Nirvana would win awards for Best New Artist in a Video and Best Alternative Video for "Smells Like Teen Spirit." At the show, Nirvana performed "Lithium". When Novoselic started playing the opening bass riff, he signaled that he could not hear his bass. Instead of continuing to play, Novoselic threw his bass guitar in the air, to perform a "Bass Toss". He failed to catch it, later stating that he misjudged the height; he further stated that he "faked like he was knocked out." Musician Brian May ran to give him medical attention; he did not suffer any injuries.

In 1992, Novoselic and the rest of Nirvana released a compilation album named Incesticide. Novoselic helped write lyrics for the songs "Dive", "Hairspray Queen", and "Aneurysm" on the album. This album was produced by a joint venture between DGC and Sub Pop.

uring Nirvana's 1992 Reading concert, Novoselic sang Oakland punk band 'Fang's' "The Money Will Roll Right In" with Cobain. Novoselic was an occasional vocalist and backing vocalist in Nirvana, occasionally singing "Scoff" and "Rape Me" at live shows. Novoselic stated that "I kind of discovered my voice for the first time, and the more I did it, the better it got."

In September 1993, Nirvana's third album In Utero, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. However, the recording sessions mixed by Steve Albini were criticized by the band members, saying some songs "didn't sound perfect", as well as the band agreeing that Novoselic's bass lines sounded "too low". In Utero sold 3.5 million copies in the United States. In November of that year, Nirvana performed on MTV Unplugged with Lori Goldston playing cello, the introduction of guitarist Pat Smear, and Novoselic playing acoustic bass guitar, accordion, and acoustic rhythm guitar. This live performance was released a year later as an album, named MTV Unplugged in New York, which earned a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance.

Prior to their 1994 European tour, the band scheduled session time at Robert Lang Studios in Seattle to work on demos. For most of the three-day session, Cobain was absent, so Novoselic and Grohl worked on demos of their own songs. The duo completed several songs, including "Exhausted", "Big Me", "February Stars", and "Butterflies". On the third day of the session, Cobain finally arrived. The song "You Know You're Right" was the band's final studio recording.

Nirvana ended abruptly in April 1994 following Cobain's death. For most of the rest of that year, Novoselic retreated from the spotlight. One of a 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 took the opportunity to pay tribute to Cobain.

Following the end of Nirvana, Novoselic worked on completing the With the Lights Out box set and From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah album, as well as pushing for release of a 20th anniversary album for Nevermind.

Post-Nirvana (1995–present)

After Cobain's death, Novoselic continued to dabble in musical endeavors. He co-formed the band Sweet 75 with Venezuelan musician Yva Las Vegass in 1995, releasing a single self-titled album in 1997. In 1996, Novoselic joined singer Johnny Cash, guitarist Kim Thayil of Soundgarden and drummer Sean Kinney of Alice in Chains to record a cover of Willie Nelson's "Time of the Preacher", for the tribute album Twisted Willie, released in January 1996. 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 Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil in the No WTO Combo.

In 2002, Novoselic performed uncredited background vocals on Foo Fighters' song "Walking a Line", written as a tribute to Cobain, during the One by One album sessions. The track is included on the One by One bonus DVD, as well as being a bonus track to the album. He then joined former Meat Puppets front man Curt Kirkwood and former Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh to form Eyes Adrift. In Australia, there was another group called "Eyes Adrift", and rather than pay to license that name, the trio called the band and album "Bud, Curt & Krist" in this nation. Eyes Adrift released a self-titled album with twelve songs, with the Japanese version including two extras. Eyes Adrift was the first official release in Krist's career where he sang lead vocals, singing lead on "Inquiring Minds", "Dottie Dawn & Julie Jewel" and "Pasted". They also released a single named Alaska. He also took a highly active role in the songwriting process, co-writing several songs with Kirkwood. They toured mostly around the United States. The group 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 2005, Novoselic had 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, replacing Bruno DeSmartas on bass, for a tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland. He was a full-time member of the band and had been working on their new album. On September 22, 2008, because of responsibilities at home, Novoselic announced his departure from the band. As a result, the band canceled the remainder of the tour. Rachel Thoele then replaced Novoselic. In 2009, Novoselic played a newspaper vendor in the movie World's Greatest Dad starring Robin Williams. In October 2010, Dave Grohl, former Nirvana bandmate of Novoselic, announced live on BBC radio, that Novoselic would be joining Foo Fighters as a bassist and accordionist on their next album, Wasting Light, which was released in 2011. Novoselic also played bass on children's music artist Caspar Babypants' 2010 album This Is Fun!, for a cover of the Nirvana song "Sliver". In 2011, he performed "On a Plain" and "Sliver" with the band at the Nevermind 20th anniversary celebration in Seattle.

In 2012, Novoselic and Grohl partnered with Paul McCartney on the song "Cut Me Some Slack", which was composed specially for the soundtrack of the documentary Sound City, directed by Grohl. The song was first shown on December 12, 2012, at the 12-12-12 festival, which brought together music stars for the victims of Hurricane Sandy in New York. The song was received well by critics. Allmusic called it a "tune with an immediate hook [and] melody". The song won the Grammy award for Best Rock Song in 2014. The partnership was referred to as "Sirvana" by Novoselic, referring to "Sir Paul McCartney".

On April 17, 2016, Novoselic performed "Helter Skelter" with Paul McCartney in Seattle as part of the One on One tour. In November 2016, Novoselic confirmed that he was in the process of writing new music. His current band is Giants in the Trees, formed in 2017, with band members Jillian Raye, Erik Friend and Ray Prestegard. He is also in the band Filthy Friends, playing bass and accordion. He also collaborates with Lepidopterist and author Robert Michael Pyle with the musical project Butterfly Launches from Spar Pole. In late July 2017, Giants in the Trees released their first song, "Sasquatch", which features a music video Novoselic joked as "costing over 2 million U.S. dollars to produce". Giants in the Trees' first album was released in late 2017. Giants In The Trees' second album, Volume 2, was released in 2019.

Novoselic has been currently working with musicians such as Soundgarden's Kim Thayil, alongside Matt Cameron, with production being handled by Jack Endino, as a new band, called 3rd Secret. A self-titled album was released in April 2022, with eleven songs recorded at The Bait Shop, in Ballard, Washington, as well as Novoselic's home.