UPDATE: Entered in the auction with an open estimate, the guitar attracted 21 bids and rose to $157,773, making it the top seller in a $2.5 million event.
Where you were on January 18, 1991? History was in the making in the library at The Evergreen State College when the local, and not-yet-famous band Nirvana performed for an anti-Gulf War benefit concert. Founder and lead singer Kurt Cobain ended the concert with the live debut of “Endless Nameless” and violently took a hammer to the left-handed Memphis Stratocaster replica guitar, doing it serious damage. The remains of that guitar from that auspicious evening are on auction at Hake’s, a source to find all manner of Americana and collectables at auction.
Cobain’s Guitar Rescued and Kept Safe
Chris Brady, a bassist from Portland, drove up to see the concert. Fewer than 500 people paid $4 apiece to attend. He recalls that he scuffled with others at the end of the concert to take possession of the smashed guitar. Chris made his way out of the venue with the guitar tucked under his winter coat. Shortly after, he gifted it to his friend and Nirvana fan Janel Jarosz at her surprise birthday party.
Jarosz was a singer/guitarist for the Portland band Trailer Queen. She was also owner of The Ooze, a tiny record shop in Portland. She’s been in possession of the guitar for the past 33 years. No one knew at her party that Nirvana was soon to begin its epic rise to fame with the studio album, “Nevermind.”
For many years the guitar was part of the store’s window display. It was later secured to the ceiling after miraculously surviving two break-ins. Her window display was entered in an MTV national concert and won, giving her a backstage experience at a Nirvana show in Seattle.
It is unusual for memorabilia of such exquisite museum quality to become available and with such a clean provenance with letters from both Brady and Jarosz, the two owners since Cobain. Previous Cobain-used guitars set top records for sales with his Fender Mustang used in the “Smells Like a Teen Spirit” video selling for $4.55 million and his Martin D-18E used at the MTV Unplugged concert for $6 million. Jarosz says she has had the guitar for many years and is ready to pass it along. It will also help with her retirement plans.
The Cobain Guitar Details
“[The guitar is] a left-handed Memphis Stratocaster replica produced in Japan at the Matsumoku factory in red with remnants of original electronics and white pickguard,” according to Hake’s. “Picking up this Memphis Stratocaster before launching into the final jam, Cobain utilized a hammer to smash the instrument breaking the headstock clean off, gnarling the frets, shredding the pickguard, ejecting the pickups and leaving his mark on every surface.”
You can’t play it, but you can hold the emblem that originally played the song that became the band’s frequently used closer accompanied by instrument destruction. You will own a piece of the legend from rock and roll history. It is in stable structural condition.
Cobain in Olympia
It is suggested that Cobain wrote about 75% of his lifetime musical output while living near downtown Olympia in a tri-plex on Pear Street. You can catch a video of the apartment here.
Nirvana’s first hit “Smells Like a Teen Spirit” was said to be inspired by graffiti written on the bedroom wall by Kathleen Hanna, Bikini Kill artist.
Olympia was the epicenter for the Riot Grrl movement that began in the early 1990s. The music is underground feminist punk. It served as a vehicle to express anger, rage and many other emotions that were not commonly expressed by women. In addition to Bikini Kill, there were many other bands like Bratmobile, and Heavens to Betsy.
Bid on Cobain’s Guitar
You can bid on the Cobain guitar that saw its tragic end in Olympia. Bidding continues until November 20, 2024, the second day of a Hake’s two-day event. At the time of writing, the current bid was $82,500. There are other grunge-related items for sale, as well.
“This guitar reflects the violent beauty of rock ‘n’ roll,” notes Scott Mussell, Hake’s director of Americana. “Cobain channeled his feelings in the moment while also harkening the spirit of Hendrix, Simonon and Townsend in destroying this piece that is to me the single coolest thing Hake’s has handled in our 57 years of operation and ranks among the most moving artifacts I have had the privilege of handling. Everywhere I’ve been with it people are moved, reactions ranging from joyous smiles to stoic reflection, this piece has an energy unlike anything. It’s an honor to bring this to market and I greatly hope that the next owner shares it with the world at large.”
You can view snippets of the concert and the guitar smashing in the video above. You can watch Chris Brady and Janet Jarosz talk about the history and acquisition of Cobain guitar.
