Producer visits Nirvana's hometown

ABERDEEN — He'd never been to Aberdeen before, yet his work has touched the city more than that of many longtime residents.

Without him, Nirvana might not have had the trend-changing album "Nevermind." There may not have been any Grammy awards. In fact, Aberdeen's legendary band may never have graduated beyond a footnote in regional rock lore.

But all that and more happened. And, though mild-mannered Jack Endino — in town last week to work with local band JED — would never take credit for it, the longtime record producer/engineer/mixer and musician is one of the reasons.

"When Kurt [Cobain] called me and said, 'Yeah, my name's Kurt and I've got Dale from the Melvins helping me on drums,' I figured it must be all right because Dale wouldn't be in some [bad] band," Endino says — "Dale" being Dale Crover, drummer for the Melvins, another successful Grays Harbor outfit whose influence on Nirvana's legacy also can't be overstated.

As a member of the band Skin Yard, Endino was a successful musician on the burgeoning Seattle indie rock scene and fan of Crover's monstrous drumbeats.

So Endino agreed to help the unknown Cobain record his first demo. On Jan. 23, 1988, Cobain, Crover and Krist Novoselic arrived at Reciprocal Recording Studio in Seattle. Legend has it Endino said the threesome resembled mechanics more than musicians. Endino doesn't remember saying that but admits he may have. To him, they were "just another band."

The session lasted just five hours, but the time was productive. Nirvana recorded 10 songs — several which would eventually turn up on "Incesticide," the band's now-platinum 1992 rarities release, and on subsequent best-of sets and compilations.

"We did the mix right there, and they were out the door," Endino says. Because of how widespread those songs have become, Endino wouldn't mind having had a bit more time that day.

"They're not bad mixes, in retrospect, they're all right," Endino says. "But I could have made them sound a little better."

There wasn't time; Nirvana had a show in Tacoma. As he occasionally did, Endino made personal copies of what he'd just recorded.

"I liked the material a lot, that's why I kept a copy of it," Endino says. "I begged them to let me keep a copy of the tape just so I could let people hear it because I thought it was really cool. I thought I'd give it to a couple of friends of mine."

Endino's sharing, arguably, started the chain of events leading to Nirvana's breakout.

One of the demo copies — nicknamed "The Dale Demo" — went to Endino's girlfriend, Dawn Anderson, a writer for the small fanzine Backlash. Sounding prophetic, Anderson wrote:

"The group's already way ahead of most mortals in the songwriting department and, at the risk of sounding blasphemous, I honestly believe that with enough practice, Nirvana could become ... better than the Melvins!"

It was the first Nirvana article ever published.

Another copy went to Jonathan Poneman, whose Sub Pop record label was in its infancy. Poneman and partner Bruce Pavitt eventually signed Nirvana to its first contract. Cobain himself had mailed the demo to many indie labels — not including Sub Pop — but didn't receive any response.

A framed copy of The Dale Demo, embellished with Cobain's misspelled name in Endino's handwriting, is also on display at Experience Music Project in Seattle.

Nirvana eventually visited Endino's studio three more times, including a trip to record the "Love Buzz/Big Cheese" single for Sub Pop and to record its first album, "Bleach."

"They started doing the 'Bleach' record themselves [before signing with Sub Pop] because Sub Pop had wanted to do an EP. They were big on EPs because, theoretically, you could give them a lower list price and people would take more of a chance with it," Endino says. Nirvana "didn't want to do an EP, they wanted to do an album."

Endino says Cobain and bassist Novoselic, now joined by drummer Chad Channing, had improved since recording their demo.

"The first few times I saw them [live], they weren't very good," Endino says. "Kurt hadn't really figured out how to sing and play [guitar] at the same time. So his voice wasn't as good live as it was in the studio because he had to try and play the guitar parts. He figured out the key was to write simpler guitar parts so he could sing better."

The "Love Buzz" single got the band local airplay and their insanely aggressive live shows secured a following. Stateside and European tours followed and a major label bidding war ensued, with Nirvana eventually signing with Geffen Records and recording an album for them. "Nevermind," and its now-anthemic first single, "Smells Like Teen Spirit," turned the stagnant recording industry upside down, Cobain killed himself and Nirvana became ageless legend.

Back in early 1988, Endino knew they were good. He says he had no idea they'd become near mythical.

"Of course not, who would have?" Endino says. "Jon Poneman thought so at one point but ... I work with good bands all the time and some are great — they're as good as any on the radio. But 99 percent of the time that means nothing.

"Who becomes big and successful in this business doesn't necessarily have anything to do with how good the band is. It has to do with a lot of other factors."

Finding the right people to help record an album is one of those factors. Landing a guy like Endino — whose lengthy résumé not only includes Nirvana but also Soundgarden, Screaming Trees, Mudhoney, Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson and dozens more — is a plus.

Endino says his career has benefited from Nirvana's unprecedented success — but not as much as most might think.

"Nirvana didn't really become a big deal until 1991-92 and I was pretty much already established as this grunge engineer that everyone wanted to work with before Nirvana meant anything to anyone," Endino says. "I had a lot of momentum already. Even if Nirvana had not happened, I was already well along. I had 70 or 80 records on my discography by '92.

"I didn't get that successful. It's not like I went to L.A. and made millions of dollars. Nirvana certainly hasn't hurt. It keeps my name out there. But I never really felt like my name wasn't out there."

Readying to return to Seattle, Endino says he enjoyed his first trip to Aberdeen, the "Nirvana place," as he calls it.

"I'm from Bainbridge, so it's really not that different," Endino says. "At least Bainbridge, in the '70s, looked a lot like Aberdeen does now — minus the Wal-Mart."