In the fall of 1990, Nirvana were one of the fastest-rising young rock bands in the Northwest \u2014 but they were still waiting for the drummer that would transform them into the group that bassist Krist Novoselic would later describe as “a beast that walked the earth.”<\/p>\n
That drummer was Dave Grohl \u2014 at 21, already a grizzled veteran of the Washington, D.C., rock scene whose r\u00e9sum\u00e9 boasted a stint with the punk band Scream. As Drum Magazine later noted, it was at a Scream gig in San Francisco where Cobain \u2014 in attendance at the behest of Melvins frontman Buzz Osborne, who knew and liked both bands \u2014 first saw Grohl in action.<\/p>\n
“I was standing with Kurt and Chris [who had not yet adopted the Croatian spelling of his name, Krist],” recalled sound engineer Craig Montgomery. “Kurt said, \u2018That\u2019s the kind of drummer we need.\u2019 Dave had an energy that was hard to miss, and Kurt and Chris were pretty blown away by his playing. He seemed like a good fit for what they were doing.”<\/p>\n
READ MORE: Grunge Pre-Nirvana: 20 Things That Set the Stage for ‘Nevermind’<\/p>\n
Nirvana ‘Knew Within Two Minutes’ That Grohl Was the Right Drummer
\nShortly thereafter, Cobain and Novoselic invited Grohl out to Seattle, where he arrived on Sept. 21, 1990 \u2014 something not known by Nirvana’s drummer at the time, future Mudhoney member Dan Peters, who’d been in the lineup just long enough to track one single, “Sliver,” and whose first (and last) show with the band took place Sept. 22, with Grohl watching from the audience.<\/p>\n
Days later, Grohl joined Cobain and Novoselic for a session at local studio the Dutchman, quickly proving he was the missing link they’d been looking for. The group’s early years had seen a revolving door of drummers, but as Novoselic told Michael Azerrad in the band biography Come As You Are, “We knew within two minutes that he was the right drummer. He was a hard hitter. He was really dynamic. He was so bright, so hot, so vital. He rocked.”<\/p>\n
How Nirvana Unceremoniously Dismissed Drummer Dan Peters
\nThat left Cobain to dismiss Peters, which he reportedly did only after announcing Nirvana’s latest lineup change during a local radio appearance a few days later \u2014 but then, as Grohl notes in the Modern Drummer article, interpersonal communication wasn’t necessarily Cobain’s strong point. “I don\u2019t remember them saying, \u2018You\u2019re in the band,\u2019” recalled Grohl. “We just continued.”<\/p>\n
And as they continued, their momentum kept increasing: Nirvana signed their major-label deal with DGC Records a few months after Grohl’s arrival, releasing their second studio effort, Nevermind, in September 1991. By the following January, they had a No. 1 hit on their hands, setting in motion Nirvana’s whirlwind ascent to worldwide rock stardom \u2014 and their equally rapid, and tragic, dissolution.<\/p>\n
Top 30 Grunge Albums
\nFrom Nirvana and Neil Young to Melvins and Mudhoney \u2014 the best works to come from the ’90s movement.
\nGallery Credit: UCR Staff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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