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 the 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". Near the end of this performance, 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. (right) in 1992 During 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
Best Alternative Video. Novoselic took the opportunity to pay tribute to Cobain. On April 10, 2014, Novoselic was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Nirvana. Novoselic spoke at the band's induction ceremony. On February 4, 2023, Nirvana received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; Novoselic was on hand, along with Dave Grohl and
Pat Smear, to receive the award.
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." and Krist Novoselic perform in the band Flipper in Seattle in 2008. 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. Novoselic then founded the band
Giants in the Trees in 2017, featuring band members Jillian Raye, Erik Friend and Ray Prestegard. He also played in the band
Filthy Friends, contributing bass and accordion on their debut album
Invitation. 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. In 2020, Giants in the Trees dissolved, with Novoselic attributing the dissolution to COVID-19. In June 2023, 3rd Secret released their second studio album
The 2nd 3rd Secret featuring Novoselic.
Performance and recording with Foo Fighters In 1994, Grohl founded a new band,
Foo Fighters. Grohl and his bandmates decided against Novoselic joining; Grohl said it would have felt "really natural" for them to work together again, but would have been uncomfortable for the other band members and placed more pressure on Grohl. During the encore of the Foo Fighters' show on August 29, 1997, at
Memorial Stadium as part of the
Bumbershoot festival, Novoselic played bass on covers of "
Purple Rain" and "
Communication Breakdown". In January 2002, Novoselic performed backing vocals for a non-album Foo Fighters track titled "Walking a Line", later released on a special edition of their album
One by One. During the encore of Foo Fighters' secret show at Paladino's in
Tarzana, California on December 22, 2010, the band, with Grohl on drums, was joined onstage by Novoselic and the band's live guitarist
Pat Smear for a version of Nirvana's "
Marigold", a 1992 Grohl original, which was a
B-side on Nirvana's "
Heart-Shaped Box". Novoselic also recorded bass and accordion for the song "
I Should Have Known", appearing on Foo Fighters' seventh studio album
Wasting Light. On December 5, 2017, Novoselic joined Foo Fighters on stage at
Matthew Knight Arena in
Eugene, Oregon, to play bass guitar on "
Big Me", a song from the Foo Fighters' debut album
Foo Fighters. Ten months later, on October 6, 2018, Novoselic joined the band during an encore to play several Nirvana songs, with Grohl on drums, Pat Smear on guitar, and John J. McCauley and
Joan Jett filling in as their lead singer. ==Political and social activism==