Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic Reflect on ‘In Utero’ Sessions With Steve Albini: Prank-Calling Gene Simmons, Lighting Each Other on Fire (EXCLUSIVE)
Thirty years ago, in September of 1993, Nirvana released its final record, the Steve Albini-produced “In Utero.” Nirvana, comprised of Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl, was considered the “it” group of the moment following the monumental commercial success of its influential sophomore effort “Nevermind.” “In Utero” was the response to their mounting fame.
In honor of the three-decade milestone, Conan O’Brien hosts Novoselic, Grohl and Albini for a new episode of “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” to talk about the recording process for the album. Though they say it took less than two weeks to complete, there are still new tidbits and resurfaced memories the band recalls from the “In Utero” sessions in this upcoming episode.
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“We were done with the drums and I think the basic tracks in three days or three or four days so that left me with a good week of sitting around doing fucking nothing in that house [Pachyderm Studios],” said Grohl. “Like ‘The Shining,’ just watching those David Attenborough videotapes.”
Novaselic recalled killing time by “tending to the fire,” ultimately leading to the guys lighting other items and even each other on fire. “How long was your ass on fire for?” O’Brien asks Grohl at one point in the episode. Elsewhere, Albini remembers impersonating Cobain on prank calls with Kiss’ Gene Simmons, offering his best impressions for a reenactment of the conversation.
“So, the word comes down that Gene Simmons is desperate to get Nirvana on [“Hard to Believe: A Kiss Covers Compilation” album]… the appeal comes from management, directed through management like ‘We got this call from Gene Simmons, he’s really hot to have you guys on this album — do you want to call him back?’ And Kurt is like, ‘I don’t want to talk to fucking Gene Simmons’ and I said I’ll do it.”
The full interview will run on Oct. 23 in the Conan O’Brien “Needs a Friend” feed and an extended version that includes music will air on Monday at 6 p.m. on SiriusXM’s Lithium (channel 34).
Watch an exclusive sneak peek of the episode below.
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