“Kurt ended up giving me this rad guitar!”: Foo Fighters’ Pat Smear recalls how his ‘good’ guitar wasn’t good enough for Nirvana

Foo Fighters guitarist Pat Smear has revealed that his first ever performance with Nirvana did not go as he had planned - and that he wasn’t allowed to go on stage until he changed his guitar.

In a new interview for Premier Guitar, alongside his fellow guitar-playing Foos bandmates Dave Grohl and Chris Shiflett, Smear talks about Nirvana’s appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1993, shortly after he had joined the band.

Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Pat Smear & Chris Shiflett Reveal Their Triple-Guitar Recipe - YouTube

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The guitar that Smear had with him was a 1982 Charvel he had bought in his previous role as a backing musician for German singer-songwriter Nina Hagen.

He recalls: “She [Hagen] had a musical director, and they were snobs, and they hated that there was a f**king punk rocker in their band. They hated it so much. I mean, she didn’t, but the band did, and they’re like, ‘You need to get a good guitar.’ So I end up buying this Charvel.

He continues: “It was gorgeous. I mean, this thing was so pretty. I thought, ‘Okay, now I have a good guitar.’ So we’re doing my first-ever gig with Nirvana - Saturday Night Live. And I’m like, ‘Well, better play my good guitar. I’m gonna play my Charvel.’

“And what I didn’t know at the time – I don't even know if you [referring to Dave Grohl] were involved – but there was a discussion about me and that guitar like, ‘No, no, no, we can’t let him on stage.’”

Instead, for this performance, Smear was given a blue Mosrite Mark V by Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain.

“Kurt ended up giving me this rad f**king guitar, which is not a Charvel.”

In the remainder of his time with Nirvana, Smear played several other guitars that were gifts from Cobain, including a few primarily Fender Stratocasters.

And this particular story has a happy ending. In 2023, Smear returned to the stage of Saturday Night Live with the Foo Fighters and their guest star H.E.R.

“I noticed she was playing a Charvel,” Smear says. “She goes, ‘Yeah!’ [and I said] ‘I have a perfect guitar for you,’ and I sent her that guitar.”