Guitarist Pat Smear has a large resume. Beginning his profession with the Germs, he went on to affix Foo Fighters in 1995. And whereas he left the band in ‘97, Smear formally rejoined in 2010. However between the 2, from 1993 to 1994, Smear labored with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl in one other band: Nirvana.
Smear made his Nirvana debut on Saturday Night time Reside, however in a latest interview on his Foo Fighters bandmate Chris Shiflett’s “Shred with Shifty” podcast alongside Dave Grohl, Smear revealed that Kurt Cobain nearly didn’t let him play his first Nirvana gig due to the kind of guitar he was utilizing.
Smear recalled that he needed to make use of his 1982 Charvel for the present – a guitar he acquired whereas beforehand working with singer-songwriter Nina Hagan – as a result of it was his “good guitar,” however Cobain wasn’t impressed.
“She had a musical director, they usually had been snobs, they usually hated that there was a fucking punk rocker of their band. They hated it a lot. I imply, she didn’t, however the band did, they usually’re like, ‘You have to get guitar.’ So I find yourself shopping for this Charvel,” he defined.
“It was attractive. I imply, this factor was so fairly. I believed, ‘Okay, now I’ve guitar.’ So we’re doing my first-ever gig with Nirvana [on] Saturday Night time Reside. And I’m like, ‘Properly, higher play my good guitar. I’m gonna play my Charvel.’”
However not like Hagan’s folks, Cobain was so off put by the Charvel that he severely thought-about not letting Smear carry out that evening.
“And what I didn’t know on the time – I don’t even know in case you [referring to Dave Grohl] had been concerned – however there was a dialogue about me and that guitar like, ‘No, no, no, we are able to’t let him on stage,’” Smear recalled. “Kurt ended up giving me this rad fucking guitar [referring to the Mosrite Mark V in blue he ended up playing], which isn’t a Charvel.”
In a full circle second, Smear’s Charvel story got here to a little bit of a tremendous ending in October of final 12 months (2023) after Foo Fighters carried out with H.E.R. on Saturday Night time Reside.
“I seen she was taking part in a Charvel. She goes, ‘Yeah!’ [and I said] ‘I’ve an ideal guitar for you,’ and I despatched her that guitar,” Smear revealed.
