Author: Michael Pementel
Did you know that Nirvana singer and guitarist Kurt Cobain reached out to Dinosaur Jr.’s J. Mascis and offered for him to join the band – twice? When it comes to Cobain’s offer, Mascis says, “I didn’t think much about it.”
As reported by Metal Hammer, there is a new documentary coming out that explores the history of Dinosaur Jr.; said documentary is called Freakscene: The Story Of Dinosaur Jr, and is directed by Philipp Reichenheim. The film contains several interviews with prominent musicians, including members of Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, and more.
At one point in the documentary, Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore speaks to a conversation he observed between that of Kurt Cobain and Dinosaur Jr. singer/guitarist/and keyboardist J. Mascis. In that conversation, Cobain offered for Mascis to join Nirvana.
“Bleach wasn’t out yet,” says Thurston Moore, “it was just the single [Love Buzz]. And I remember Kurt saying [to Mascis]: ‘Why don’t you join us?’”
“I didn’t think much about it,” says Mascis. “I think we were much bigger than them at the time, so…”
In a conversation with Spin back in 2012, Mascis spoke to Cobain’s offer. He shared the following:
“I think [Kurt] was sick of the guy Jason [Everman] who was in the band at the time, and thought I should play guitar. I didn’t think much about it. Later, there was also talk of playing drums on a single [1990’s Sliver] they were doing, but it ended up being [Mudhoney drummer] Dan Peters.”
If you are familiar with the work of J. Mascis, how much of an impact do you think he might have had on the legendary Nirvana if he had joined them?
Freakscene: The Story Of Dinosaur Jr is out on Digital now; you can check out a trailer for the documentary below.