Ice Nine Kills mastermind Spencer Charnas says that he idolized Nirvana‘s Kurt Cobain as a kid.
The vocalist has cosplayed a lot of horror icons over the years, but he practically cosplayed the Nirvana frontman as well. In a new interview with Metal Hammer, he explained how he tried to look like Cobain when he was younger.
“He was one of my absolute first idols,” Charnas recalled. “I saw the video for ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ on MTV and it changed everything for me. The music, the look – it made me want to want to buy a guitar and learn how to play all of Nirvana’s songs.”
“I grew my hair long and dyed the front of it blonde, I wore flannel shirts and I bought any Nirvana shirt I could get my hands on,” he continued. “But I was so young – seven, eight years old – that none of the shirts fit me. They all went down to my knees.”
Back in 2016, Charnas named Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind as one of the 10 records that changed his life during a conversation with MusicRadar.
Similar to the interview with Metal Hammer, he elaborated on how he tried to look like Cobain, adding that he cut holes into his jeans for a more grungy look, in addition to the T-shirts and long, bleached hair.
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He also shared that Nirvana were his gateway to other ’90s bands such as Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Stone Temple Pilots and Silverchair.
“The first song I ever played live with a band was a Nirvana song at a 4th grade talent show and from that moment on I knew I was destined for a permanent rock ‘n’ roll existence.”
