Hake's Auction Catalog 242 | Page 252

1897 . NIRVANA KURT COBAIN STAGE USED AND SMASHED GUITAR JAN . 18 , 1991 OLYMPIA , WA .

“ Why do I do it ?” Kurt asked in a confrontational manner . “ Why not ? It feels good . Somebody already cut down a nice old tree to make that fucking guitar . Smash it ! We only ever do it if the feeling ’ s right .” -From Nirvana : The Chosen Rejects by Kurt St . Thomas ( St . Martin ’ s Griffin , 2004 )

Things must have felt right the night of Jan . 18 , 1991 in Olympia , WA . Area scenesters convened for ceremony ascending the stairs to the top floor of the Evergreen State College Library building paying $ 4 at the door into Library 4300 where a small makeshift stage had been erected for a one off “ No More Wars ” anti-Gulf War benefit concert headlined by local up and comers Nirvana . The band had made waves in the underground with their first full length LP Bleach and the follow-up single Sliver . It was the band ’ s first gig of 1991 , the beginning of a consequential year in the annals of American music , this night the start of the looming sea change . They would head to the studio in May to record Nevermind , Sept . 10 saw the release of the first single Smells Like Teen Spirit and by the end of September it was starting to make waves in the underground . A slow burn at first , it initially debuted at # 144 on the Billboard 200 hurdled forward by record shops in the Northwest selling out of copies . MTV began running the video for SLTS during the daytime hours helping the album lurch to number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 as the band began a European tour . The European tour was vastly oversold as was the Australian tour that followed . The song became omnipresent on radio and TV . As the year concluded , Geffen was shipping hundreds of thousands of copies of Nevermind all over the world . A little less than a year to the day of the Jan . 18 , 1991 concert , where this guitar was brutalized , Nevermind toppled Michael Jackson ’ s Dangerous taking the number 1 spot on the Billboard Top 40 on Jan . 11 , 1992 . An unprecedented meteoric rise from nowhere to everywhere , they were the biggest band and force in pop culture worldwide . By the end of 1991 the band had a full crew including gear techs , a sound engineer , and a lighting designer but back at the beginning at this Jan 18 , 1991 gig when Kurt wrecked this red Memphis Stratocaster they had none of it- Dave Grohl played on a barrowed drum set , the band helped load in their gear and they played to less than 500 attendees .

The Guitar : Left-handed Memphis Stratocaster replica produced in Japan at the Matsumoku factory in red with remnants of original electronics and white pickguard . Played and destroyed beyond repair by Kurt Cobain during a Nirvana concert at Evergreen State College in Olympia , WA on Jan . 18 , 1991 . This guitar was a sacrificial lamb used by Cobain for the gig ’ s conclusion ; the live debut of Endless Nameless , the now infamous song that would be the hidden final track on the band ’ s second album Nevermind released in Sept . of 1991 . The song became the band ’ s go to instrument destruction noise banger that was frequently used as the closing song at shows for the remainder of their career . The live debut of the song saw Cobain unleashing his fury on the Memphis Strat in a legendary moment of rock and roll violence . For most of the show Cobain plays his white Fender Strat with K records sticker . Picking up this Memphis Strat before launching into the final jam , he utilized a hammer to smash the instrument breaking the headstock clean off , gnarling the frets , shredding the pickguard , ejecting the pickups and leaving his mark on every surface .

During the post destruction melee , concert attendee Chris Brady , bassist in Pond who was later signed to SubPop records , was able to escape with the guitar tucked under his coat . Returning to his home in Portland , OR he gifted the guitar to friend and fellow Nirvana fan Janel Jarosz , owner of Ooze Records and singer / guitarist in Portland local band Trailer Queen . Brady presented it as the final gift during a surprise birthday party for Jarosz at her record shop not long after the show and well before the release of Nevermind and the band ’ s meteoric rise . Jarosz used the guitar as part of a record store window display that was entered in a national contest sponsored by MTV and won , receiving a backstage experience at a Nirvana show in Seattle , WA . The guitar remained at the record store over the years and was eventually secured to the celling helping to avoid theft after two break ins . When the shop closed she took the relic home and has been its caretaker since .

Condition : What remains of the guitar is in stable structural condition . It sits on a stand with ease and could easily be mounted in a framed display . Some of the pickguard pieces and five remaining saddles in the bridge assembly move freely but remain securely hinged at screw points . Strictly speaking it grades Fair but it ’ s truly perfect . Included with the guitar are letters of provenance from both Brady and Jarosz . As a bonus the winning bidder will also receive two signed and numbered double exposure chromogenic prints by photographer Johny Baltimore . An 8x10 ” print featuring Cobain using the guitar at the show and a 20x24 ” showing Cobain , hammer in hand , attacking the instrument . The sale is for the guitar , letters and photographs but does not convey any lawful ownership of the copyright of the images . Video footage of the concert is widely available on YouTube where you can watch Cobain destroy this guitar . Additionally , the HBO documentary Kurt Cobain : Montage of Heck features a clip of the destruction of this guitar . Use the QR code on the next page to visit our YouTube channel to see a video interview with Brady and Jarosz on their history with the instrument .

A note from Hake ’ s Director of Americana Scott Mussell : Many of the guitars smashed by Cobain have changed hands from their original procurers and are unlikely to be sold in the near future making this a fleeting opportunity to obtain a truly unique museum quality piece of music history . That this guitar is coming from the hands of the folks who secured it , at a pre-fame concert , and subsequently protected it for the last 33 years is even more tantalizing . Nirvana and Kurt Cobain hold a special place in the canon of rock ‘ n ’ roll and American music history having changed everything and represent the pinnacle of a generation with a secure and ever-growing legacy of greatness in line with top names in rock history . Illustrated by the fact that Cobain-used guitars have set the top two records for most expensive guitars ever sold with his Fender Mustang used in the Smells Like Teen Spirit video at $ 4.55 million and his Martin D-18E used at the MTV Unplugged concert at $ 6 million . The present guitar is something of a hometown special . Cobain spent much of his creative life in Olympia , WA residing there in some way from 1987-1991 . Between 1989-1991he lived in an apartment at 114 Pear St . NE and during that period he wrote about 75 % of his total lifetime output . While hailing from Aberdeen , WA and forever being associated with Seattle , WA not to mention important time spent in Tacoma , WA- for all intents and purposes Olympia was as instrumental as any city in molding Cobain . This guitar reflects the violent beauty of rock ‘ n ’ roll . Cobain channeled his feelings in the moment while also harkening the spirit of Hendrix , Simonon and Townsend in destroying this piece that is to me the single coolest thing Hake ’ s has handled in our 57 years of operation and ranks among the most moving artifacts I have had the privilege of handling . Everywhere I ’ ve been with it people are moved , reactions ranging from joyous smiles to stoic reflection , this piece has an energy unlike anything . It ’ s an honor to bring this to market and I greatly hope that the next owner will find a way to share it with the world at large . ( Open Estimate ) $ 20,000.00