Butch Vig: Kurt Cobain Was A Pain In The Ass

Nevermind producer remembers Cobain   24-Aug-11

In light of the upcoming 20th anniversary of Nirvana's Nevermind album, Butch Vig has very honestly and fondly remembered the more challenging aspects of working with Kurt Cobain.

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Vig, who produced Nevermind, said Kurt was 'charming', but also a 'pain in the ass':

“Kurt was charming and witty, but he would go through these mood swings. He’d be totally engaged – then all of a sudden a light switch would go off and he’d go sit in the corner and completely disappear into himself.

“I didn’t really know how to deal with that.”

“They’d stay up all night and take drugs and go to the beach in Santa Monica, then wander into the studio at three or four in the afternoon,” says the producer.

“They were really enjoying a moment of freedom, and in the back of their minds they knew they were making a great album. Those were fun times – before any of the craziness happened.

“But with the mixing, I’d be balancing the drums and the guitars, then Kurt would come in and say, ‘Turn all the treble off. I want it to sound more like Black Sabbath’. It was kind of a pain in the ass.”

A special 20th anniversary edition of the album will be released in September featuring previously unheard demo recordings and Butch Vig's original mix.

Rich Beech
@sonicamped