Original subtitles

- A-ha!

(Geddy laughs)

(Geddy): I'm Geddy Lee.

Bass player in the band Rush for almost five decades.

But also, a bird photographer,

wine collector,

baseball aficionado,

you know, a nerd!

Which got me wondering whether my fellow bass folk

are more than just the shadowy figures

we see skulking around the stage.

I wanna know,

"Are Bass Players Human Too?"

("Morning Mood" by Edvard Grieg plays)

(birds chirping)

(feet tapping)

(Geddy): It's an idyllic morning in Deep River,

Washington. I'm here to meet Krist Novoselic,

bass player of the band, Nirvana.

Perhaps you've heard of him.

The fanboy in me was feeling excited

to have a chance to spend time in his world.

Hello!

("Morning Mood" continues)

(Geddy laughs)

Look at you guys.

- Hi, Geddy. - Hi, Krist.

- And this is Darbury. - Hi, Darbury.

- Hello. - And welcome to our world.

(Geddy): How gorgeous.

How long have you been here?

(Krist): 30 years. - Wow.

- 1992. - Nice.

- The year that punk broke.

(all laugh)

("Aneurysm" by Nirvana plays)

(Geddy): 1992, the year Nirvana exploded from the underground,

soaring up the charts,

unleashing their punk infused sound onto the mainstream.

It was a pre-Internet world,

yet they went as viral as it gets.

- Nirvana!

(crowd cheers) - Thank you!

(Geddy): Krist was living in the rural timber town

of Aberdeen, Washington, where he met Kurt Cobain.

- I couldn't find anyone in my hometown to play with,

until I met Krist.

(Geddy): With mighty Dave Grohl on board, the stage was set.

* Come on over, do the twist

* Aha *

Having played in a power trio myself,

I know that the role of each instrument is critical.

The driving bass lines of Krist Novoselic

held it all together.

* Keeps it pumpin' straight to my heart *

The impact of their sound was massive.

And like millions of Nirvana fans around the world,

I was sad when it came to a tragic end in 1994.

(guitar squeals, crowd cheers)

In post-Nirvana years,

Krist became known for his political activism.

- I looked around, there was a lot of things

that I didn't like. How can I make things better?

(Geddy): His recent musical adventures include

Giants in the Trees

and 3rd Secret, featuring members

of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

Despite being a giant of a man,

Krist keeps a low profile,

like a typical bass player.

Krist and I have hung out on the road,

but this was my chance to see firsthand

how he spends his "normal" time.

(accordion hums)

(Geddy chuckles)

- Yeah! (clapping)

I know that song. But is it a hit?

- It's not merely a hit, it's a masterpiece!

(laughs)

- So, is this your first instrument?

Did you play accordion before you played bass?

- Yeah, I played accordion as... very young.

But then, I got into like, rock'n'roll music.

It's hard to play like, Led Zeppelin riffs on accordion.

Beatles are good on accordion. There's some good Rolling Stones

are good on accordion. Rush is, you can play

Rush on accordion, yeah. I've proved it.

(Geddy laughs) Yeah, it's a fact.

- Did you go to guitar and then bass guitar?

How did that happen? - Yeah, I started guitar,

and then, I met Kurt Cobain and he had a guitar and an amp,

and then, I just borrowed this bass amp and a bass,

and started playing bass and I really got into

playing bass. - So, your bass playing

had to accommodate, you know,

where he went on the guitar.

- Which was pretty easy. I mean, those were great riffs.

I had these great riffs to work with.

The bass player follows the kick drum.

It's the boss, that bom, bom, bom, bom.

- Right. - You stay with that,

and then you have the job of like, doing the melody,

and filling in spaces. - Smoothing out the rhythm.

- Smoothing out the rhythm. (Geddy): And Dave was a drummer

back then. How did you guys sync?

(Krist): It was like a duck to water.

- Mm-hmm. - Then we started having a lot of fun.

- Yeah, that's good. - That's important.

We were playing and having a lot of fun.

And then, we wrote a record, "Nevermind".

- Yeah. - Yeah.

- And the rest is history.

- The rest is history, yeah.

(laidback bluegrass music plays)

(Geddy): So, where are we headed?

- Well, we're gonna go to the goat-el.

- Goat-el. - Where the animals live.

- Right on. (Krist): I don't seek 'em out,

they just come here

and one way or another, like, people know that...

that I can have space for 'em.

(Geddy): The community is aware

of your love of animals, so... - Yeah, yeah.

I've got a couple chickens.

This lady gave me these chickens.

You wanna see the chickens? - Hi. Come on.

- Come on in. - Come on.

- Go inside, Geddy. Go on. - Hi, hi, hi!

The little white one is amazing.

- Life's rough on roosters.

People are like, I'm gonna have a chicken

and I'm gonna have eggs.

And then, they have chicks and it's a rooster,

and nobody wants him. So, like, okay,

I'll take the rooster. When I brought him in,

he was so happy.

He's the happiest rooster in the world.

(Geddy): Fantastic.

(horse neighs)

(Krist): Hey! (Geddy): Hello.

Is that some kind of greeting?

- That's Sirius. I went by this house

and he was just in a bad spot.

- Aw, hi. - I obtained him.

So, he's way better now. I felt bad for him.

(Geddy): Is that an alpaca? (Krist): That's a huarizo.

His father is a llama

and his mother is an alpaca.

- Wow. - It can happen.

(Geddy): From one unusual-looking

fellow to another, hi.

- So, that's Cicero and Edmonia. And I was driving down

the road at night, and they're in the middle of the road.

And I knocked on the door, and I'm like, "Hey, man."

- Hi. - "These goats are gonna get hit."

"You're not taking care of 'em."

He goes, "You can just have 'em."

Then they followed me home. I just, they wanted

to get the heck outta there. See, Edmonia, she's from Mars.

Hey. You're a freak, madam, freak!

- How can you tell she's from Mars?

- I've been. I go there. I go there often.

(Geddy laughs)

(upbeat music)

(Geddy): Well, an accordion serenade and a close encounter

with a Martian goat,

all of this had me wondering what lies ahead?

(knocking) (Krist): Hello?

Darling, it's me.

(Geddy laughs) Lucy, I'm home!

- Hello, Geddy. - Hi, hi, hi.

- It's Edmonia. (Darbury): She can come in.

- No, she can't. (laughing)

(Geddy): Here we be, in the studio of Krist's wife,

textile artist, Darbury Stenderu.

And you've done all these?

- Yes. - This is all your work?

- Yes. - Beautiful.

(Darbury): Why, thank you.

(Geddy): It's clear that a do-it-yourself spirit

is alive and well at the Novoselic homestead.

Darbury even makes clothing for herself and for Krist.

So, this is Krist?

- This is Krist.

And then, this is his new vest.

- She made me this coat.

- Really? Wow. - Yeah, she made this coat.

And then, she made the, uh, cub overalls. Ta-da.

(Darbury laughs)

She made this skirt. - Good for you.

Lucky man. I like the hood.

(Darbury laughs) - Oh, yeah.

- Grunge gothic. (laughing)

(lilting jazz music plays)

(Geddy): Interior, kitchen,

a bounty of homegrown veggies sets the scene.

Cut to Krist introducing me to another DIY project.

- I roasted these tomatoes that I grew,

and then, we shall can them.

- Okay. - So, we need to get to work here.

So, I got you an apron.

- Well, I'm looking fine.

Oh, that's nice. Beauty.

- So, if you wanna just kinda pack it in there.

God, you're so good. You're a natural.

(laughs) - I'm a natural spooner.

- There you go. - I spoon with my dogs

every night. - It's a tender story.

- Yes. - Man and animal.

- Yep. - Yeah, I've been canning

for a long time, 'cause I grow the garden

so I wanna preserve things.

(tomatoes squelch)

- High drama. (Krist squelches)

(Krist): So, here's the brine, sugar.

(Geddy): Mm-hmm. - Salt and vinegar and water.

- Mm-hmm. - You've got the lid on tight, right?

And see my special tool that I got

from my mother-in-law? - Whoa.

- And then, you pick it up,

and then, you put it in the water.

- So, what does that do?

- It kills any kind of like, bacteria or anything.

- Right. - It sterilizes it.

Canning is a lot like playing the bass guitar.

- Yes, you see. - Wanna get your temperature up.

- After you do a fine bass part, it's in the can!

- It's in the can, that's right.

- And then you take your cans off.

- What happened to that take? We canned it.

- Yeah, we use the phrase, we schmized it.

- We schmized it. (glass crackles)

Did that...? That's not making good sounds.

- Something is. - I hope that didn't...

It broke! Oh, right off the bat.

That happens sometimes. - No good?

Schmized it. (laughing)

- I thought I heard it pop.

- Transition.

(turkey gobbles)

(Geddy): Krist wants to introduce me

to another of his passion projects.

Much like the animals he's saved,

this vehicle is also a rescue.

(engine rumbles)

(deep rock music plays)

(Krist): So, this is a 1957 Volkswagen Panel Van.

This van was in the woods for 40 years.

There are bullet holes in it. (Geddy): Oh, wow.

- Yeah. I got it for $1,000.

So, we rescued it. If you maintain them,

they just keep going.

- Yeah, we travelled around in one

in the way, way early days,

and we'd get all our gear in it.

- Yeah. - And we'd get in it.

(Krist): This is the uh, covered bridge.

It's the only covered bridge in Washington State.

(Geddy): Wow.

(van rumbles)

Look at that. That is cool.

(Krist): I mow this park.

(Geddy): You do? - This is for the public.

- So, you take it upon yourself to mow it?

- Yeah, I do. I mow this park.

(Geddy): Now, I really dig a history nerd,

and Krist is certifiable.

Case in point, an impressive restoration.

(Krist): This is the Deep River Lutheran Church,

a pioneer church, built in 1899.

I was driving by and I noticed that their steeple

was looking kinda shabby and it needed a paint job.

And so, I talked to my brother and my nephew and I said,

"Why don't we just paint the church this summer?"

We noticed that the windows were rotten.

And then, we got into the bottom of the steeple

and the bottom needed a lot of work.

And the belfry and the cupola were gone,

so we rebuilt it.

- Can we go inside? - Let's go inside,

yeah, check it out. After you. - Thank you.

(easy bluegrass music plays)

(Krist): It's a construction site right now.

We're just waiting on the windows to be done.

It's a log truck.

(truck horn honks)

Toot, toot. (Geddy laughs)

(music continues)

(Geddy): This is a very cheerful stove.

(fire crackles)

Having grown up in a much different

musical vibe in Toronto, where there was really no scene,

there was very little interaction between musicians,

I was really impressed with the Seattle.

The sense of brotherhood and community

that existed between musicians.

- Nirvana started and we came out of the punk rock scene

of the 1980s. American hardcore music,

those were just young people with like,

shared needs and values that just found each other.

It wasn't satisfying, what was in the mainstream media.

It was just way more interesting what was going on

in the underground. We would play things like

Elks halls and the Eagles halls,

granges, these community centres

that had stages. And they'd want, you know,

for people to come together.

We liked the bands that we were playing with

and liked the people, and there's how you get

a community there.

We never really expected to be like,

famous, or popular.

And then, bands were getting signed in Seattle,

and like, major label. You know, there's this,

like, they got signed to a major label.

(Geddy): Right. - So, then it was our turn

to get signed, because a major label

started to see like, well, there's this new movement.

- Those successful musicians or those people

that were part of that movement

are still very approachable, down to earth,

despite enormous success.

I think that speaks to something.

(birds chirping)

(upbeat rock music plays)

(bleating)

(Geddy): After a quick stop back at the farm,

we switched to a more modern mode of transport

as we continue our tour through the countryside

that Krist calls home.

Krist is a respected member of his local grange,

a grassroots political organization

working for the wellbeing of the community.

Spot the bass player.

And if that wasn't enough,

he's also studying for an effin' graduate degree.

- It's a Masters of Legal Studies.

- Okay. - I'm studying energy

policy right now. We did ocean law.

We did environmental justice,

which I really learned a lot about.

- Is that just so you can be prepared to fight

for the things you believe in your community and environment?

- It helps doing that. I've been doing election reform.

I started doing that in about 1997,

like, ranked-choice voting and proportional representation.

- These things apply ideas

that could turn into solutions

for some of the problems we face.

- Absolutely.

(Geddy): Krist's way of living reminds me of the adage,

"Think globally, act locally."

He keeps an eye on the big picture.

A bird's-eye view, if you will.

So, I'm not surprised when he tells me he knows how to fly.

(Krist): You get what's behind door number 3.

Tell 'em what they've won.

(Geddy): Okay, look at that.

- It's a 1970 Piper Aztec. We're gonna go flying.

(Geddy): When did you start flying?

(Krist): In 2001.

I started getting my lessons. I got my certificate.

- Right. - I just use it a lot.

It's just a great way to get around.

- Fantastic. - You're gonna see

I'm a really boring pilot.

We're gonna get up to altitude,

I'm just gonna be like, "Okay, enjoy the scenery."

- Something you may not know about me,

but my favourite kind of pilot is a really boring pilot.

- Oh yeah.

(upbeat music continues)

(chuckling)

Are you ready? - Haha, I'm ready!

Creaky old man coming in.

- Clear prop!

(engine rumbles)

Like one of these? - Sure, thank you.

- Gotta fly with LSD. Oh, wait a minute.

(Geddy laughs)

Off we go. Woo-hoo!

("Fly by Night" by Rush plays)

Airspeed's alive.

Eighty miles an hour, rotate.

Up we go! Hey!

Woo-hoo!

Gear up.

500 feet a minute.

* Why try, I know why

This is aviation. - This is spectacular.

- It's fantastic. It's a great way to get around.

Here we go.

* New life ahead

There's the mighty Pacific.

(Krist singing): Beyond the sunset!

* Fly by night, away from here

* Change my life again

(Krist): So, that's the beach there, Long Beach.

The water is like, placid.

- Amazing. - We'll go just to the tip

of the bay here, and then, we'll just go back.

(Geddy): Looking down at the planet

with Krist by my side,

I can see why he's so inspired

to make his world a better place.

* Moon rise, thoughtful eyes

(Krist): Okay, this is it. There's our runway.

- Oh. - There we go.

("Fly by Night" continues)

(tires squeal)

(air traffic controller speaks indistinctly)

- Terra firma. All right.

That was a good flight, wasn't it?

(Geddy): Nice job. - It's fun to fly.

(Geddy): I thought you said you were a boring pilot.

- I am boring. I didn't do like, "Let's do a barrel roll!"

- That is so fun, man. Thank you so much.

Is this South America?

Doesn't look like it. Damn!

(rooster crows)

- Is this bass too loud for you?

- Sounds wonderful.

And it's nice and punchy.

It sounds great, Jack.

(Geddy): Now for some bigtime muzo fun.

Krist has gathered together a group

of his current bandmates,

including my old pal, Matt Cameron,

drummer of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

He even lends me his super cool black Ibanez bass.

Now, that's effin' magic.

(accordion hums)

(Krist): Okay, here we go.

("Dark Days" by Giants in the Trees plays)

* If there's anything I understand *

* It's doing the best you can

* No matter what the deity meant *

* It's never in your head

* I know that you believe it

* But nobody understands

* So the dark cloud hanging over me *

(Geddy): In our time together,

Krist has shown me that the same principles

behind the underground scene that birthed Nirvana

still guide him today.

A combination of qualities

that make him exceptionally human.

* 'Cause what it comes down to

* It's not the skills that you do have *

* But how well you play the game *

* Make you smile and deny that there's even a problem **

(music continues)

Subtitling: difuze