All you rock memorabilia geeks take note! Tragically brilliant grunge rocker Kurt Cobain’s ratty powder grey sweater that he wore on MTV’s Unplugged will soon go up for auction. “Cobain appeared in his now-famous cardigan, which he paired with a white tee and baggy jeans….It could fetch up to $300,000 when it goes under the hammer this month.”
The writer of the article, Marianna Cerini, goes on to explain Cobain’s sartorial aesthetic: “Having grown up in a blue-collar family in Aberdeen, Washington, Cobain had learned to layer up to keep warm and to wear things for as long as possible before replacing them—something that stayed with him through his brief adulthood.” Cobain’s influence on rock music and “grunge style” is undeniable. But, he did not invent power cords or shopping at thrift stores. What’s my interest in such silly crap? The “white tee.”
In the late 1980’s I was invited to teach a class at the San Francisco Art Institute. It was a month long gig that came with an apartment (the bunker) on campus and basically the run of the place. Since I had attended S.F.A.I. in the ’70’s it was like coming home for me. My life was back in New York, where I had started my own rock band Purple Geezus and the CLGM in quick succession, but my heart was still in SF. Why not have a church on campus?
I always find that it’s preferable to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. So, I rented a red striped tent, set it up on a piece of lawn outside the bunker and enlisted my students in putting on a CLGM service. Everybody was down, burning dollars and performing for the ad hoc congregation of students, faculty and curious neighbors. The core of any CLGM service is the band. To fill in for the NYC church band, The Workdogs, I invited local rock stars, the all women band Frightwig to be the church band. The Marshall amps were plugged in and cranked to 11, Cecilia straddled the drums, Deanna strapped on her bass and the quietly sedate North Beach neighborhood came alive. Windows rattled and the SFAI switchboard lit up with complaints. I was in heaven.
If you go to Frightwig’s Wikipedia page (yeah they got one) you’ll read: “The band gained momentary fame after Kurt Cobain was seen at Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged concert wearing a Frightwig T-shirt.”— the white Tee under his fuzzy sweater. These women were feminist, punk rock pioneers, on the front lines of art, music, fun and absurdity. They were musician’s musicians, having influenced much more famous Riot G-rrrrrl groups like L-7, Bikini Kill and Hole. Kurt Cobain was hip enough to know of Frightwig and proud enough of the band’s cred. to rock their tee shirt on MTV.
My tenure at the Art Institute ended in chaos and infamy as I was kicked out of the bunker after letting my students paint a mural on the walls (without permission). The administration also wrongly accused me of “storing guns and knives in the apartment.” I would never. Between the tent church, mural and inflammatory gun gossip I was forced to leave the school in disgrace. Luckily administrations at SFAI change regularly. I’ve been invited back many times over the years, but never ”officially” to the bunker.
The last time I ran into Deanna she was pushing her kid on a swing in a SF park. We hadn’t seen each other in years and neither recognized the other at first. I was also pushing my Goddaughter Ramona Labat on the swing set. After we caught up, she confided that she thought I was some tattooed “creep” with a lost little girl in tow and had considered calling the cops. Times had changed. I don’t know where Kurt’s Frightwig T-shirt is, but I bet it would bring a pretty penny at auction. I think I have the first pair of Frye boots I ever bought in 1969 and a nice mohair sweater….if anyone is interested.
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