Krist Novoselic

Krist Anthony Novoselic (Novoselić; born May 16, 1965) is an American musician and activist.

Novoselic co-founded the rock band Nirvana and played bass for the band.

Krist Anthony Novoselic was born in Compton, California, on May 16, 1965, the son of Croatian immigrants Kristo Novaselić and Marija Mustać.

Kristo was a native of Veli Iž on the island of Iž while Marija originates from Privlaka.

The original Croatian surname of Novaselić was mistakenly changed to Novoselic by a clerk when Kristo was applying for a passport to go to America.

Novoselic lived in Compton for one year before his parents moved to the ethnically Croatian Los Angeles neighborhood of San Pedro.

His first language is Croatian.

He has a younger brother, Robert (born 1968), and a younger sister, Diana (born 1973).

In 1979, his family relocated to Aberdeen, Washington, due to surging real estate costs in California.

Through the late 1980s, Nirvana established themselves as part of the Seattle grunge scene.

In 1980, his parents sent him to live with relatives in Zadar, Croatia.

He returned to Aberdeen in 1981.

His earliest memory of listening to music is listening to Chuck Berry with his father.

Growing up, he had a severe underbite, for which he underwent corrective surgery.

Novoselic was interested in bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, The Who, Van Halen, Devo, and Aerosmith.

He also enjoyed listening to Yugoslavian bands such as Zabranjeno Pušenje, Prljavo kazalište and Azra.

He became interested in punk rock, and discovered bands such as the Sex Pistols and the Ramones when he lived in Croatia at the age of 14 for one year.

He has cited Paul McCartney, Geezer Butler, John Entwistle, and Gene Simmons as fundamental influences of his bass playing.

Novoselic's brother Robert introduced him to his friend Kurt Cobain, who had noticed loud music coming from upstairs in the Novoselic household.

Robert told Cobain that it was his older brother, who listened to punk rock.

Cobain eventually befriended the older Novoselic, as the pair had similar musical tastes, including a fondness for local band Melvins.

The two had several mutual friends and began hanging out shortly thereafter.

Krist attended Aberdeen High School while Kurt attended high school in nearby Montesano.

At one point, Cobain gave Novoselic a demo tape of his former band Fecal Matter, and asked him to form a band together.

After several months, Novoselic finally listened to the tape, liked it, and agreed to start a band with Cobain.

Novoselic and Kurt Cobain formed the band Nirvana in 1987 along with drummer Aaron Burckhard, whom they recruited.

In 1989, the band released its debut album, Bleach.

Nirvana released their second studio album Nevermind in 1991.

The band achieved worldwide fame through the success of Nevermind and the lead track off the album, "Smells Like Teen Spirit".

The band's third studio album, In Utero (1993), was also a major success.

Nirvana abruptly ended in 1994 following the death of Kurt Cobain.

Novoselic has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Nirvana, and has also received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award as a member of the band.

After Nirvana disbanded, Novoselic formed Sweet 75 in 1995 and Eyes Adrift in 2002, releasing one album with each band.

From 2006 to 2009, he played in the punk rock band Flipper, and in 2011 he contributed bass and accordion to the song "I Should Have Known" on the Foo Fighters' studio album Wasting Light.

From 2007 through 2010, he wrote a weekly column on music and politics for the Seattle Weekly website.

Novoselic has served on the board of the electoral reform organization FairVote and has served as its chair.

Since 2017, he has played bass and accordion for the band Giants in the Trees.

Outside of music, Novoselic has been active politically.

In 2020, he became board chair of Zócalo Public Square.

He joined the Forward Party in 2023 and became the party's leader in Washington after the resignation of Chris Vance.