Following the suicide of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain in April 1994, the world stopped on its axis for the other three members of the band, Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl and Pat Smear. In an instant, the most consequential band of the decade ceased to exist, as without their vocalist, guitarist and de facto leader, Nirvana simply could not go on.
A great tragedy for all those close to Cobain, from his wife Courtney Love and young Daughter Francis Bean to his family and band members, the grunge icon’s death will never cease to be one of the most heartbreaking moments in popular culture. Not only was the frontman a musical trailblazer, popularising songwriting approaches that are now ubiquitous and changing guitar-playing for the contemporary era, but symbolically, he was also a titan.
A humble figure right until the end – despite the extraordinary fame enveloping Nirvana – and an outspoken defender of women’s and minority rights, Cobain was an exemplary force in music. He railed against the traditional concept of a rockstar and was groundbreaking in his approach to his status. Without him, the present aversion to egotism from musicians likely wouldn’t have become so prominent.
As Cobain’s death instantly ended Nirvana, it created a world of extreme and complex pain for the three surviving band members. Not only did they need to navigate the passing of their best friend in close view of the media, but they were also forced to seriously consider their future in music. As is well known, Dave Grohl completely removed himself from the limelight for a period before recording what would become the first Foo Fighters album on his own later in the year.
As the demo attracted attention from labels, Grohl did not want it to be viewed as the start of his solo career, so he recruited the group that became the first iteration of Foo Fighters. It comprised former Germs and Nirvana touring guitarist Pat Smear and two members of the recently disbanded emo pioneers Sunny Day Real Estate: bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith. Instead of re-recording the album with the new outfit, Grohl’s demo was mixed by Rob Schnapf and Tom Rothrock and released in July 1995 as Foo Fighters.
Given that Pat Smear was in Foo Fighters, it has made many fans wonder why Krist Novoselic was not in the lineup.
Why is Krist Novoselic not in Foo Fighters?
Speaking to Rolling Stone in October 1995 when Foo Fighters were on the road and Grohl was still processing the end of Nirvana, he explained that he and Novoselic had periodically kept in touch following the death of Kurt Cobain. “Krist and I kept in touch, and we would get together and talk, make sure we were each doing OK,” he revealed. “Eventually, very slowly, things got back to a more normal pace. Everything changed, and it’s going to take a long time to get used to that.”
Grohl also clarified in the same interview that he seriously considered bringing Novoselic into Foo Fighters. However, they both opted against it due to the pressure it would have put on them. “We talked about it, and then it just didn’t happen,” Grohl said. Ultimately, the idea of Nirvana’s two other core members forming a new group so quickly might have come across as a tasteless attempt at retaining success following Cobain’s death.
“For Krist and I, it would have felt really natural and really great,” Grohl continued, “But for everyone else, it would have been weird, and it would have left me in a really bad position. Then I really would have been under the microscope.”
What does Krist Novoselic think about Foo Fighters?
Novoselic, Grohl and Smear are still all good friends. Novoselic has even played live with Foo Fighters on numerous occasions and features on their albums One by One and Wasting Light. During his 2012 CBGB Festival Keynote speech, Novoselic maintained that he is not jealous of his former bandmate’s success.
“Dave and I always have a lot of fun when we’re together. David Eric Grohl, he’s the man,” the Nirvana bassist said. “You know, people ask me: ‘Are you jealous of Dave and everything he’s done since Nirvana?’”
He continued: “I’m like, listen, man, he has stayed focused, he has worked hard, he rocks, the Foo Fighters rock. How do you be jealous of something like that? He’s earned everything he has worked for.”
Dave Grohl has reciprocated this position. When appearing on The Howard Stern Show in 2021, the Foo Fighters frontman also said that he and Novoselic are still friends and that the pair, alongside Pat Smear, jam occasionally and have even recorded music together. “We’ve recorded some stuff that’s really cool,” Grohl said. “But we’ve never done anything with it. But to us, I think, to us, it’s, it’s more just like friends, jamming around, it doesn’t really seem like any sort of like big official reunion or anything.”
He said that the three will link up whenever Novoselic is in Los Angeles as they “love to see each other” and go for dinner. He concluded: “And Pat’s always around, and the three of us, you know, we like to just, we like to be together. We like to see each other, and if there are instruments around or a studio that’s available, we’ll just get together and kind of jam, you know?”
