Nirvana was an American rock band that formed in Aberdeen, Washington. With the lead single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" from their 1991 album Nevermind, Nirvana exploded into the mainstream, bringing along with it a subgenre of alternative rock called grunge. Other Seattle grunge bands such as Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden also gained in popularity, and, as a result, alternative rock became a dominant genre on radio and music television in the United States during the early-to-middle 1990s.
Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. April 5, 1994) was the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter of the Seattle-based rock band Nirvana. Cobain was born in Aberdeen, Washington, and grew up with a troubled childhood, which he frequently addressed in his songs and interviews. Known for his abrasive and often disturbing songwriting as well as his distinctive vocal style, Cobain is often cited among the most influential musicians of his time.
David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969, in Warren, Ohio) is an American rock musician and songwriter. Grohl formed the Foo Fighters in 1995. Previously, he was the drummer of Nirvana from 1990 until the band dissolved in 1994 after frontman Kurt Cobain's death. Grohl began his music career in the 1980s as the drummer for several Washington, DC area bands, most notably the punk rock band Scream.
Krist Anthony Novoselic (born May 16, 1965) is an American rock musician best known as the bassist for Nirvana. Apart from his musical endeavors, Novoselic has been active politically, including the creation of the political action committee JAMPAC. The original Croatian spelling of his surname is 'Novoselić' (English: Novoselich).
Kurt Cobain About a Son is a documentary about Kurt Cobain that debuted at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. It is directed by AJ Schnack. It features audio of interviews between Cobain and journalist Michael Azerrad done for the book Come As You Are: The Story of Nirvana, set over ambient cinematography. The film has played numerous film festivals and will open in theatres in the fall of 2007.
The movie features a soundtrack made up of bands which influenced Cobain, such as Queen, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, Big Black, The Vaselines and The Misfits. The rest of the music in the film is a score composed by Steve Fisk and Ben Gibbard of The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie, designed to meld the songs of the soundtrack together. The film contains no music performed by Nirvana.
On April 8, 1994, Cobain was discovered in the spare room above the garage (referred to as "the greenhouse") at his Lake Washington home by Veca Electric employee Gary Smith. Smith arrived at the house that morning to install security lighting and saw him lying inside. Apart from a minor amount of blood coming out of Cobain's ear, Smith reported seeing no visible signs of trauma, and initially believed that Cobain was asleep. Smith found what he thought might be a suicide note with a pen stuck through it beneath an overturned flowerpot. A shotgun, purchased for Cobain by Dylan Carlson, was found at Cobain's side. An autopsy report later concluded Cobain's death was a result of a "self-inflicted shotgun wound to the head." The report estimates Cobain to have died on April 5, 1994.
Frances Bean Cobain (born August 18, 1992) is the only child of the late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain and Hole frontwoman Courtney Love. The unusual middle name was given to her because Cobain thought she looked like a kidney bean on the first sonogram he saw of her. Her namesake is Frances McKee of The Vaselines and not Frances Farmer as is sometimes reported.
