Krist Anthony Novoselic (born May 16, 1965) is a American rock musician best known as the bassist for Nirvana. Apart from his musical endeavors, Novoselic has been active politically, including the creation of the political action committee JAMPAC. The original Croatian spelling of his surname is 'Novoselić' (eng. Novoselich).
His family members were Paulo and Misha Novoselic and little brother Robert. Krist is Croatian-American born in Compton, California. He lived there for one year, before his parents relocated to San Pedro, California, where he remained for most of his childhood years. 1979 saw the Novoselic family on the move again, due to rising property prices in California, this time to Aberdeen, Washington. In 1980, Novoselic attended the gymnasia in Zadar, Croatia for a year, when the country was still part of Yugoslavia. There, he also picked up an interest in punk music, being exposed to bands such as The Sex Pistols, The Ramones, as well as various local bands. Back home, Novoselic graduated from Aberdeen high school in 1983.
One day, Novoselic's younger brother Robert walked in with his friend Kurt Cobain and Cobain noticed loud music coming from upstairs. Robert told Cobain that it was his older brother, who listened to punk rock. Cobain eventually befriended the elder Novoselic and the pair ended up sharing similar musical tastes, including a fondness for local band The Melvins. Some time later, Cobain gave Novoselic a demo tape of his former band Fecal Matter, which Cobain named Illiteracy Will Prevail. After several months of indecision, Novoselic finally listened to the tape, liked it, and agreed to start a band with Cobain.
Cobain and Novoselic's first band lasted barely a few weeks before it disbanded, leaving the pair to move on. However, the duo eventually discovered that the Melvins could pull eighty dollars a night for one show. Inspired, Cobain and Novoselic started a Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band, in which Cobain played drums and Novoselic sang and played guitar. That band was short-lived as well. Some months later, Cobain and Novoselic met Aaron Burckhard. While the new band never used the name, it was the first incarnation of Nirvana.
Burckhard lasted barely a few months and Melvins drummer Dale Crover filled in until Novoselic and Cobain met Chad Channing. The trio recorded their debut album Bleach, released in 1989. Channing left the band in 1990 and was briefly replaced by Crover and Mudhoney drummer Dan Peters.
Later in 1990, Melvins singer-guitarist Buzz Osborne encouraged Novoselic and Cobain to check out a punk band called Scream. The pair were impressed by their drummer, Dave Grohl. A few weeks later, Scream disbanded, and Grohl placed a call to Osborne for advice. Osborne gave him Novoselic's phone number, and Novoselic invited Grohl up to Seattle. Grohl passed the audition and joined Nirvana. A few months later, in the spring of 1991, the band recorded their second album Nevermind, which launched the band as a worldwide phenomenon.
In 1992, the Washington state legislature attempted to pass a bill called the Erotic Music Law. The law would allow courts to declare certain albums "erotic" by their content, and would make it illegal to sell those albums to those under the age of 18. A lobbying group called the Washington Music Industry Coalition formed as a response to the bill. Novoselic and Nirvana actively campaigned against the bill and performed a benefit concert for the lobbying group in September of 1992.
For most of his life, Novoselic had chosen to go by the Western spelling of his name, Chris. However, following a 1993 trip to Croatia, Novoselic decided to honor his heritage and return to the original spelling of his name, Krist.
Novoselic was also well-known for telling jokes and having humorous conversations with Grohl in between songs during concerts, especially after 1991.
Nirvana ended abruptly in April of 1994 following Cobain's death. For most of the rest of that year, Novoselic retreated from the spotlight. Novoselic and Cobain had been virtually inseperable for the past 7 years, and the loss of his close friend was especially hard on Novoselic. One of few public appearances came that September at the MTV Video Music Awards, where the video for Nirvana's "Heart-Shaped Box" was awarded for Best Alternative Video. Novoselic and Grohl took the opportunity to pay tribute to their bandmate.
While Kurt Cobain was known for playing Fender guitars, Novoselic played mainly Gibson basses, although for the album Bleach, he used both a Fender Jazz bass and an Ibanez Black Eagle. He used a Gibson Ripper bass for the recordings of Nevermind and In Utero. His live basses included RD Artist basses and Thunderbirds. He has used his Ripper in the video for Come as You Are, while he used an RD in the video for Heart-Shaped Box and a non-reverse bodied Thunderbird in the video for Smells Like Teen Spirit. In the music video for In Bloom Krist can be seen
