The curious and unknown Story of Kurt Cobain and Joao Gordo in Brazil

 THE CURIOUS NIGHT OF KURT COBAIN AND JOÃO GORDO IN BRAZIL: 'I SAW KURT LAUGHING, PLAYING'

The presenter met the leader of Nirvana and accompanied him during the Hollywood Rock festival in 1993

In 1993, the Hollywood Rock festival was in charge of landing three of the greatest bands in rock history in Brazil in three days of the event; In addition to having Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Alice in Chains, the organization knew how to take advantage of the rise of the grunge movement in the world and bring, in an unprecedented way, the greatest exponent of that period.

Nirvana landed in the country to play on the stage of the Morumbi Stadium, in São Paulo, on the night of January 16 of that year. With sold-out tickets, numbering more than 110,000 people, it would be the largest presentation in terms of audience and structure for the band, with a cigarette brand sponsoring the event and stamping its name.

Who did not know of this last fact, however, was the main singer of the band, Kurt Cobain, who arrived to the lands of Tupiniquim quietly with his wife Courtney Love. However, a guest who had access to the backstage of the event would be in charge of delivering this news on a crazy night to the chimerical musical group; It was João Gordo, singer of Ratos de Porão and, later, presenter of MTV Brazil.

Welcome punk

João explained, in an interview with the Flow Podcast, that it was not easy to speak English, but he knew some members of the group and the team that accompanied him, who also knew the work of his band. Among them, the group's roadie, Big John Duncan, who years ago was a guitarist for Exploited, being the bridge to the artists who still remain at the hotel.

Also, he met drummer Dave Grohl years ago in Amsterdam, when he was not yet part of the group: “I met Grohl in 1989. He had a band called Scream and we played in the same place, we met there and such. Then two years passed, I got the Nirvana record there, 'Nevermind', the guy is there. [I said] 'Look at the boy from Scream, what the fuck!' "

With the bridges made, Kurt met the Brazilian, but seemed disheartened, requesting heroin from the local musician. Gordo says that he explained the unpopularity of the drug in the country, but offered cocaine. Enough to disturb foreigners, the evening's show featured sharp commentary, boring covers from other bands, and even Kurt taking on the drums.

The result was an atypical presentation, drug-soaked and out of tune, being described as a “horrible rehearsal for 100,000 people” by João himself in an interview with the Morning Show: “We kept playing in his head that it was all shit, cigarette advertising festival . He went crazy! "

Grunge after party

If the show had the atmosphere of chaos in place, the post-show was even crazier, as João reported in detail in a report on the UOL portal. The rocker explained that at no time did he see a smile on Cobain's face, adding that the musician was wearing a handwritten T-shirt with the phrase "I hate myself and I want to die" in pen.

Still, he managed to arrange a tour for the group; Placing them on a light blue Corcel 2, they headed to the defunct Der Tempel bar, located on Rua Augusta - famous in São Paulo for the predominance of prostitution houses and alternative bars during the second half of the 20th century. In the morning: “I was playing the Beatles, songs from the sixties, and they were scared. And right there I saw Kurt laughing, playing, rolling on the floor. "

To the Morning Show, João revealed yet another moment, involving Courtney: "After we left the club, he saw a transvestite on the street and got out of the car like crazy, with her breasts hanging down, and she went to feel the We went down [ saying]: 'Get out of there, you're crazy, you're going to take a knife!' But she then she opened her wallet and gave $ 300, ”she added.

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