There’s nothing quite like a little bit of municipal rivalry. Less than a month after the Washington city of Hoquiam deemed 10th April ‘Nirvana Day’, neighbouring city and Kurt Cobain’s hometown Aberdeen has declared 2nd February ‘Kurt Cobain Day’, in a comical attempt to one-up their fellow Washingtonians.
After breaking the news of Hoquiam’s ‘Nirvana Day’ in December 2013, local news radio station KXRO have reported that Aberdeen Mayor Bill Simpson has told his community:
“Aberdeen residents may justifiably take pride in the role our community played in the life of Kurt Cobain and the international recognition our community has gained from its connections with Kurt Cobain and his artistic achievements.”
Simpson also gave special recognition to the efforts of the Aberdeen Museum, Tori Kovach, Denny Jackson, Randi Hubbard, and other volunteers who have worked to recognize Kurt locally. He also declared that ‘Kurt Cobain Day’ might even develop into a ‘Kurt Cobain Week’.
Aberdeen is where Cobain’s childhood home still lies (it even went up for sale late last year), and where the town’s amazing welcome sign has been paying tribute to the Nirvana song Come As You Are since 2005.
Hoquiam, where Cobain lived briefly as a child, will be celebrating ‘Kurt Cobain Day’ on the day that Nirvana’s surviving members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Cobain died on 5th April, 1994. Unearthed footage of Nirvana’s final Los Angeles show, filmed as the band toured In Utero, was posted online recently.
