Buzz Osborne was childhood friends with Kurt Cobain, and they remained close throughout the years. However, Buzz apparently had his reasons for firing his friend from a Melvins project. Speaking to Eonmusic, Buzz Osborne revealed why he let Kurt Cobain go during the making process of an album.
During the recordings of Melvins’ fifth studio album ‘Houdini,’ Kurt Cobain was chosen as the album’s producer. However, Cobain wasn’t really producing anything as he was struggling with heavy substance addiction at that time. Melvins had to fire him in the end, but the Nirvana legend still received co-production credit on six songs.
“One thing for sure is we’re not getting a dollar per play for ‘Honey Bucket’! I doubt we’re even getting half a cent per play!” said Buzz Osborne, laughing. “Halfway through that record, I had to let him go because he was messing up on drugs, so that was a sad time.”
“The way all that stuff ended was all terrible and horrible feelings,” Osborne said about Cobain’s loss. “I don’t have a lot of good memories about all that stuff; to look at it from that perspective other than a tragic perspective, I would rather have him be not famous and alive than famous and dead. The world is not a better place without him. It’s tough.”
Melvins’ ‘Houdini’ album was released a year before Kurt Cobain’s tragic passing. Apart from Nirvana’s ‘In Utero,’ the album remained one of the last efforts he worked on. Apparently, Cobain was lost in substance use at that point, and even his close friend Buzz Osborne had to fire him as he was out of control.
