Cobain memorial starting small with concert

HOQUIAM — The Kurt Cobain Memorial Committee is starting with a small concert to raise money for a future youth center and park in the rocker's name. They hope it can develop into a yearly celebration for the former lead singer of Nirvana, who would now be 40 years old.

"Our initial intentions were to have a February concert, but that wasn't very conducive to what we want to accomplish, which ultimately is an outdoor music festival, something along the lines of Warped Tour," said Jeff Burlingame, president of the committee.

The first step in reaching the committee's goal comes Saturday with a small concert — Lounge Acts 2007 — featuring punk and grunge bands from the Northwest. Each band is volunteering its time to perform and will play at least one Nirvana song.

The Cobain committee would like to see a celebration develop, similar to what Memphis, Tenn., does every year for Elvis Presley.

"I think we can get to that point, but what we need right now is the support of the community so we can keep going," Burlingame said. "I think it's important for the community to know they sort of have ownership over what we do from here on out."

Cobain was born Feb. 20, 1967, at Grays Harbor Community Hospital. He spent two-thirds of his life in the Aberdeen and Hoquiam area on the Washington coast.

By the 1990s, Cobain and Nirvana helped reshape popular music. But Cobain struggled with drug addiction, his marriage to Courtney Love and the pressures of becoming a spokesman for Generation X.

On April 8, 1994, he was found dead at his home in Seattle. Doctors ruled his death a suicide and said he likely died on April 5.

His childhood home has embraced Cobain's celebrity, commemorated by a sign on the edge of town welcoming visitors to "Come as You Are," in reference to a song from the grunge band's breakthrough album. It was the first step in the community recognizing Cobain's impact. Burlingame hopes the benefit concert is another positive step.

"I don't think there's been any cause for local fans to get behind, so to me this is the opportunity for the people of Grays Harbor and Pacific counties to show if they want this or not," he said.