It has been thirty years since Nirvana released their final record, “In Utero,” in September 1993. Produced by Steve Albini, the album was a response to the band’s mounting fame after the monumental success of their influential sophomore effort, “Nevermind.” To commemorate this three-decade milestone, Conan O’Brien invited Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl, and Steve Albini to discuss the recording process for “In Utero” in a recent episode of “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.” Despite the album taking less than two weeks to complete, the band members reminisced about new tidbits and resurfaced memories from the sessions.
According to Grohl, the drums and basic tracks were finished in just three or four days, leaving him with a week of downtime at Pachyderm Studios. He compared it to “The Shining,” spending his time watching David Attenborough videotapes. Novoselic, on the other hand, recalled how they passed the time by tending to the fire, which eventually led to them lighting other items and even each other on fire. O’Brien couldn’t help but ask Grohl how long his ass was on fire for during those sessions. Meanwhile, Albini remembered one particular prank call where he impersonated Kurt Cobain while talking to Gene Simmons of Kiss. He offered his best impressions for a reenactment of the conversation.
During the episode, Grohl also mentioned that the word came down that Gene Simmons was desperate to get Nirvana on the “Hard to Believe: A Kiss Covers Compilation” album. The appeal came through their management, but Cobain didn’t want to talk to Simmons. Grohl volunteered to make the call instead.
The full interview will be released on Oct. 23 in the “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast feed. Furthermore, an extended version that includes music will air on SiriusXM’s Lithium (channel 34) on Monday at 6 p.m. In the meantime, you can watch an exclusive sneak peek of the episode below.
