Leadership topic - Nirvana

Nirvana began in 1987 as Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic, and spent 3 years cycling through drummers before the lineup held. Sub Pop, founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman, put out the first single, “Love Buzz”, in November 1988. Bleach followed on 15 June 1989,with and a second guitarist, Jason Everman, who put up the 606 dollars and 17 cents for the sessions, is credited on the sleeve, and does not play a note on the record. Dave Grohl arrived in September 1990. Then Nevermind: Butch Vig producing at Sound City in Van Nuys through May 1991, Andy Wallace mixing at Scream Studios in 9 days that June, Howie Weinberg mastering on 2 August, released by DGC on 24 September 1991. It cost $120,000…

The Seattle scene was 5 years old and had already made its best records, and all of them came out before Nirvana’s first single. What Nevermind did was take the top of the Billboard 200 on the chart dated 11 January 1992, away from the biggest pop star alive, and once that door was off its hinges every band already standing behind it got let through. “Looking back on the production of Nevermind, I’m embarrassed by it now,” and then, in the same breath, the more interesting half: “When I listen to Nevermind, I hate the production, but there’s something about it that almost makes me cry at times.” He went to Pachyderm Studio in Minnesota in February 1993 and made In Utero with Steve Albini as the answer to it. A year later he told Rolling Stone, “I think there are a few songs on In Utero that could have been cleaned up a little bit more.”

Nirvana handled a signal that was never fully theirs to control. At the MTV Unplugged taping on 18 November 1993, Cobain ran his acoustic through an amplifier that night and hid it inside a monitor wedge. The Compression was never going to come all the way off. And Grohl came out from behind the kit to sing and play acoustic bass. “I try to give him as many compliments as I can … Dave is a person who needs reassurance sometimes.” Kurt noticed. He said so out loud. The perfect band to study what Compression is for us as leaders, and how we can manage the best setting for our teams… and us…