"When we worked with Kurt, I thought, 'What does a producer do?'": Melvins’ Buzz Osborne reckons Kurt Cobain was sacked rather than quit

It’s safe to say that early grunge and sludge-rock pioneers Melvins played a fundamental role in both genre’s early 90s crossover into the mainstream and the subsequent rise of bands such as Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

What’s more up for debate however is just where the paths of Melvins and Nirvana, and more specifically the trajectories of their front men Buzz Osborne and Kurt Cobain, actually (if ever) combine or ever cross.

Now in a new interview Osborne has clarified at least his take on what went on between the bands and it’s likely a different take on what you may have thought thus far.

Atlantic breakers

As King Buzzo, Osborne had led his band through the recording of four albums, setting the pace for the early grunge music scene and being a pivotal influence on the culture surrounding the music.

Then in 1992/93 their breakthrough came with the recording of their fifth, Houdini, their first for a major label (Atlantic) and a chance to finally reach a broader Nirvana-weaned audience having been championed by Cobain himself, insisting that label head, Danny Goldberg, signed the band.

And with such superstar backing it didn’t take long before Cobain was suggested as their mentor and producer. Nirvana were at the time flying high and so seeking greater input from their figurehead would have made perfect sense for the record company.

And that’s where opinions on ‘what happened next’ violently diverge.

The main bone of contention in this story comes courtesy of Danny Goldberg’s subsequent memoirs, Bumping into Geniuses: My Life Inside the Rock and Roll Business published in 2010. In that book, Goldberg describes the scenario around Melvins at the time and the enthusiastic plans for the band to employ Kurt Cobain to produce it.

In the book, Goldberg infers that Cobain was initially up for working with the band but his importance to the project grew out of control, with the band also suggesting that Cobain also write for the album. Feeling increasingly on the hook, Cobain backed away and ended his involvement with the band.

Now, speaking to The New Noise Magazine podcast, Osborne has given his take on what he says really happened. "I wouldn't read his fucking book ever,” says Osborne of Goldberg’s memoir. “He said a lot of weird shit about me that makes no fucking sense, and I don't know why he's done it,” he goes on.

Melvins’ Stoner Witch: Buzz on Chaos, Control & Making a Cult Masterpiece | We Wreck Records Podcast - YouTube

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“[On 1994 album Stoner Witch] we worked with producer Garth Richardson,” Osborne explains. “Garth had worked with us a little bit on the Houdini record and finished it up after I fired Cobain,” he elaborates.

“That's a funny story in and of itself, because Danny Goldberg insists now that I didn't fire him, and that he quit. I don't know why, but okay, whatever.

"He said that we wanted Cobain to write songs for us, and that's why Kurt didn't want to work for us. I was like, 'I don't need anybody to write songs for me.' I've written, recorded literally hundreds and hundreds of songs. I don't have any problem writing songs."

"What does a producer do?"

"When we worked with Kurt, I thought, 'What does a producer do?' I thought we would work together on the songs. 'What do you think of this? What do you think of that?' You know, 'What do you think of the arrangement?' I didn't want him to write songs for us."

"So Danny Goldberg saying that, that's just a fucking lie. And I don't know why he needs to do that. Why do you need to make me look bad? Why? I have never done anything to you? It's totally absurd.

"And I would say I demand an apology from him, a public apology. Otherwise, f__k you. I don't give a f_____g s__t about you and your bulls__t book."

"But I've had that happen a lot of times. I've had Nirvana biographers tell me what the truth was, then how I was wrong about stuff. I was like, 'Okay, whatever.' It's strange. I never really had a problem with any of those guys. I always had a problem with the people that were around them."

“I was already making a living from music before Nirvana ever broke. I didn’t need them to help me do it. In actuality, I don’t know how much good that’s ever done us. Somehow – Cobain was dead at that point – I managed to write a record – Stoner Witch – that had nothing to do with him.”

Following on from the fractious Houdini sessions it was the well-received Stoner Witch in 1994 that was the album that became their legacy. The Melvins still write, record and are touring through September and October this year.