During a recent appearance on Knotfest.com’s ‘Nu Pod’ podcast, Nadja Peulen opened up about her memorable jam session with Iggy Pop and the reasons she had once declined the opportunity to meet him.
Peulen detailed her relationship with Whitey Kirst, Iggy Pop’s then-guitar player. She said that she was once given a chance by Whitey to meet Iggy in person. However, she hesitated, explaining:
“ I’m really good friends with his then-guitar player Whitey Kirst. I’ve known him since I was about 18 years old, I believe. And I’m a huge Stooges fan, I’m a huge Iggy Pop fan. And when I met Whitey, he was, like, ‘Well, when you wanna come to one of the shows, I’ll introduce you to Iggy Pop,’ and I always said, ‘No. I really don’t wanna meet him because if he’s a d*ck and I don’t like him, then I’m never gonna listen to the music the same way. So I’d just rather keep it separate.’ But he was, like, ‘No. He’s super cool.'”
It was years later that Whitey invited Peulen to the Swing House studios for an impromptu jam. Still, she was hesitant:
“And anyway, years went by, and I never met him. And then one day Whitey called me, and this is after a bunch of Coal Chamber tours and stuff. ‘Cause I’ve known him way before Coal Chamber or me playing music in L.A., and he goes, ‘Hey, I’m at the Swing House studios. I’m here with some cats. We’re like jamming some music. Why don’t you come down and bring your bass and jam with us?’
And I wasn’t really feeling up to it, ’cause I was, like, ‘Nah, I don’t really feel like going down there and playing with some people I don’t know. I don’t even know what this is.’ And so he kept bugging me and calling me, and I was, like, ‘No, bro. I’m not gonna come down there.'”
Peulen then revealed it wasn’t until a personal call from Iggy himself that she decided to grab her bass and head over:
“And then eventually I got this call, and it was Iggy, and I recognized his voice. And he was like, ‘Hey, Nadja, this is Iggy. I hear a lot of good things about you. Come down. Be here in 15 minutes, or f*ck it.’ And I said, ‘Whoa.’ And I got really nervous. I mean, what am I gonna say? No. I’m not gonna… I didn’t know he was there.
I thought it was just Whitey and some people hanging out. So I took my bass, and I went down there, and I jammed for a little while. And it was very nerve-racking. And he was a very nice guy. He’s like the real deal… It was a very pleasant surprise, ’cause he was super chill, down to earth, very cool. And it was really something I’ll never forget.”
In the same interview, Peulen also discussed the resurgence of the nu-metal scene. You can read the details here.
Coal Chamber, having announced their second reunion in November 2022, is gearing up for a series of performances, including the Hell & Heaven Festival in Mexico this November. Their following dates are next year, starting from February 14 to February 21.
Following the release of his latest album, ‘Every Loser,’ in January 2023, Iggy Pop is currently set to perform on October 20 and 21 at the III Points Festival at Mana Wynwood Convention Center in Miami, Florida, U.S. Grab your tickets here.
The rest of the interview is below.
