An Easy Friend

Chapter 22

A few days after my birthday I received a letter from my father. It explained that since I had just turned 18 he was no longer responsible for me. He would stop sending checks to pay the house and would therefore leave me alone unless I ever wanted to see him. At first I was upset, but Kurt told me that it was for the better. He encouraged me to find a job, preferably downtown where I could be in the center of business.

I wanted job that would enable me to be part of the entertainment industry whether that be music, film, photography, or art. All of those things have always kept my interest. Luckily, I managed to get a job at Aberdeen's only music store.

The shop was a pretty decent size. Most of it consisted of your most common means of music listening: CDs, cassettes, and vinyls. A quarter of the store, the side closest to the back, was dedicated to musical instruments and equipment. Most of that was secondhand.

Everyone in town knew this little shop so it was a pretty popular site. I enjoyed working there, especially because of the employee discounts I received. Within a week I brought home five new vinyls to add to our collection.

Meanwhile, Nirvana was off getting more publicity with the Melvins, Buzz Osborne's band. They're pretty popular and already had a couple of songs out, so when the town found out that they were back, they were greeted graciously by their fans. Of course, the Melvins held a few shows around Washington and brought Nirvana along with them.

The small tour help Nirvana become even more known. They promoted themselves and their upcoming LP. The LP was under the working title of 'Too Many Humans'.

The recording of Too Many Humans started in mid August. It was now the beginning of September and they were beginning to encounter some difficulties.

Kurt, being a perfectionist, wanted only best to be included in his album. Krist and Chad thought everything he wrote was great but he pushed himself to make even better music.
This burst of determination resulted in four new songs.

There was also a recent addition by the name of Jason Everman. Jason served as the second guitarist during the live shows for even more sound. He insisted on being let to record with them but Kurt refused. They would get into fights all the time. I didn't really like the guy.

And while all this was happening I was hanging around like a fly on the wall doing what I was assigned to, which was photographing them. I photographed their shows and everything else they did really. Krist insisted on a photo shoot around Seattle, which I agreed to. But Kurt was a bit nervous about it because he wasn't photogenic. He said it was different to have someone take pictures of you when you weren't aware because then it was a totally natural photo. But having to pose for it with something else.

This was something I had always noticed about him; he never thought that he was good-looking. It bothered me because he really was. but eventually I convinced him to go through with it.

I must admit I did get some pretty good photos. Of course, it did help that my subjects were a group of handsome dudes. (They laugh their asses off when I say that.)

What was crazy was the amount of fans Nirvana had managed to get. The other day Kurt and I were out smoking in the park and two chicks came up to him and told him how much they loved his music. Kurt's eyes gleamed with the attention he received. At the end of every show, there would be a massive round of applause. Kurt would walk off the stage and hug me with a huge smile on his face.

"This is what I've always wanted." he would say.

---

Nirvana finished recording their album in January. Kurt had seen a poster directed to heroin addicts that told them to "bleach the needles" to prevent AIDS. This inspired him to change the album's name from Too Many People to Bleach. Everyone liked it, it seemed fitting somehow.

While everything was being altered and put together, Nirvana continued to promote their music.

A few days after Kurt's birthday, they played a concert at the Reko Muse art gallery in Olympia. The crowd was very hyped that night, so I decided to get some photographs of them and the band. After reviewing them with Nirvana's manager, he picked out one in particular.

"That one. That one screams punk rock."

"What do you want it for?" I asked.

"The cover."