Guitarist Pat Smear has an enormous 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 Stay, 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 virtually 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, and so they have been snobs, and so they 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, and so they’re like, ‘It is advisable get an excellent guitar.’ So I find yourself shopping for this Charvel,” he defined.
“It was beautiful. I imply, this factor was so fairly. I believed, ‘Okay, now I’ve an excellent guitar.’ So we’re doing my first-ever gig with Nirvana [on] Saturday Night time Stay. And I’m like, ‘Nicely, higher play my good guitar. I’m gonna play my Charvel.’”
However in contrast to Hagan’s folks, Cobain was so off put by the Charvel that he significantly thought-about not letting Smear carry out that evening.
“And what I didn’t know on the time – I don’t even know when you [referring to Dave Grohl] have been concerned – however there was a dialogue about me and that guitar like, ‘No, no, no, we will’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 an incredible ending in October of final yr (2023) after Foo Fighters carried out with H.E.R. on Saturday Night time Stay.
“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.
