In a recent interview, Foo Fighters frontman and former drummer for Nirvana Dave Grohl revealed that the band considered other guitarists before deciding on Pat Smear to become their fourth member in 1993.
Grohl explained that Steve Turner of Mudhoney and Buzz Osborne of the Melvins were potential candidates, but in both cases they didn’t want to break up the bands the guitarists were currently playing with. Things were different in Smear’s case, because while he’d been a member of the Germs and the Adolescents, both bands were out of commission at the time. Smear was working in punk record shop SST Superstore when Nirvana found him.
“Kurt had been in Los Angeles and walked into the SST Superstore where Pat was working,” Grohl explained, “and they hit it off. One of the first rehearsals, we were trying to figure out [David Bowie’s] ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ and the three of us just couldn’t do it. Pat said, “Actually, it goes like this.” I thought: ‘There’s a musician in the band now!’ Having Pat changed things dramatically. Kurt and Courtney were on that side of town and Krist and I were on this side of town, and Pat definitely bridged us back together for awhile.”
Smear joined Nirvana for their performance on Saturday Night Live and the In Utero album tour, and was also an integral part of their Unplugged In New York concert, during which they played the version of David Bowie’s ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ he’d taught them. Smear is currently a member of the Foo Fighters, and joined the rest of the surviving members of Nirvana recently in performing with Paul McCartney.
