Krist Novoselic

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.