Nirvana: Taking Punk To The Masses
The world's most extensive exhibition of memorabilia celebrating the music and history of Seattle grunge luminaries, Nirvana.
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Pictured: Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses.
Photo by Christopher Nelson.
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Pictured: Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses.
Photo by Christopher Nelson.
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Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dale Crover drove from Aberdeen to Seattle to record their first professional demo tape with recording engineer Jack Endino at Reciprocal Studios in 1988. After recording 10 songs, they drove down to the Community World Theater and played a show of the same songs that evening.
Pictured: Nirvana's first demo recording, hand-lettered by Jack Endio, January 23, 1988. EMP Museum permanent collection.
Photo by Lance Mercer.
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Responsible for some of the most iconic images of the Seattle scene from the late 1980s and early 90s, Charles Peterson captured bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, and Pearl Jam before they broke into the big time, to create and document the trajectory of the Pacific Northwest music scene. His imagery spread throughout the globe as Sub Pop's profile increased, creating a brand that sold records, defined the look of Sub Pop, and formed a distinct visual mythology for the region.
Kurt Cobain at the Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, B.C., March 8, 1991.
Photograph courtesy of Charles Peterson.
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In 1991 Nirvana traveled to Sound City Studios in California, to record what would become their breakthrough album, Nevermind. The song "Endless, Nameless," was supposed to follow "Something in the Way," but was accidentally left off during initial pressings of the album. Cobain complained to engineer Howie Weinberg who added about ten minutes of silence before the start of the hidden track on future pressings.
Pictured: Remnants of black Fender Stratocaster smashed by Cobain during the recording of "Endless, Nameless" at the 1991 sessions.
Photo by Lance Mercer.
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The world's most extensive exhibition of memorabilia celebrating the music and history of Seattle grunge luminaries, Nirvana. The exhibit features rare and unseen artifacts and photography from the band, their crews, and families.
Nirvana Oral Histories
The exhibit features 100 new and archived oral histories from key figures in the independent music scene of the late 1980s and early 90s. Check out examples of in-depth interviews with key members in the grunge scene with Nirvana drummer, Chad Channing, and recording engineer, Jack Endino.
Chad Channing, drummer, Nirvana 1988–1990 discusses the early years of the band and their tour promoting their first album Bleach.
Jack Endino, recording engineer, discusses early Nirvana recordings and the creation of the band's album Bleach, released in 1989.
