“I had just moved to Olympia, and I heard some ruckus in the street, and then on my porch... it was Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl”: Bassist Joe Preston on how he joined the Melvins – with a little help from Nirvana

Bassist Joe Preston may be best known for playing with the Melvins and Earth. However, he is also one of the most prolific bassists to come out of the early-’90s grunge and the Washington underground scenes, before hitting his stride with Sunn O))), High On Fire, and Thrones. 

In a new interview with MusicRadar, he reveals how a message from Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl served as the catalyst that led him to join the Melvins. 

“There was no audition, and I already knew them. And I’d gone on tour with Nirvana [with Earth] and stuff. I’d also interviewed them for a magazine I was writing for, so I’d known them for several years by then,” says Preston. 

Melvins "Second Coming/Dwight Fry" 3-27-92 at Berkley Square - YouTube

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“But I had just moved to Olympia, and I heard some ruckus outside my house outside in the street, and then on my porch, and it was Kurt and Dave from Nirvana, who had a note for me with a message from Buzz, saying, ‘This is not a joke, call Buzz about playing with the Melvins.’”

The Nirvana connection doesn't stop there. Elsewhere in the same interview, Preston talks about touring with pre-fame Nirvana while he was a member of Earth. 

“It was exciting and weird, because when things started getting going for them, it all happened quickly, from being broke punk rock guys to being able to buy stupid stuff or whatever,” he recalls.

“In the spring or summer of '91, we went down there, and they were recording Nevermind. It was just really weird to see them get to that level. 

Thrones (Joe Preston) - live at Rudyard's, Houston,Tx - YouTube

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“I got to be with them when the A&R guys would take them out, and it was really weird, because they went from being a band they’d never heard of to wanting to talk to them. It was a weird time because it was the beginning of all this brown-nosing from labels.”

Back in 2023, Buzz Osborne also recalled the post-grunge A&R era that saw The Melvins themselves courted by major label executives. 

“We thought Atlantic would take one album from us, hate it and be done,” Osborne told Guitar World. “But they did three, which is still surprising to us. People told us they were surprised, but trust me, no-one was more surprised than us...”

To read the full interview with Joe Preston, head to MusicRadar.