Nirvana's MTV Unplugged Problem: Earnie Bailey (Nirvana Guitar Tech) Explains

Nirvana's MTV Unplugged performance is one of the band's most legendary shows, yet, interestingly, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the show in the days leading up to the event. Earnie Bailey explains.
This video is a clip from the full interview I did with Earnie Bailey. In the full interview, Earnie discusses everything from MTV Unplugged, to Nevermind, In Utero, funny Foo Fighter stories & more. The full interview will be uploaded to my channel in the near future, make sure to subscribe for more.
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[@DanielSarkissian]

Rock is Dead? Full Film: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p37PfZmoipqZoNU What is Classic Rock? Trailer: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2GyhYOEaLqIaNk -------- What is Classic Rock? - Canada & USA: - iTunes apple.co/2KNOCD2 - KZbin bit.ly/2Kbji5C - Vimeo bit.ly/2Iv1ywd - XBOX bit.ly/2K8AF6Z - Google Play bit.ly/3cwDybU What is Classic Rock? - Worldwide: - Vimeo vimeo.com/ondemand/whatisclassicrock2 Cheers, Daniel

[@mrnelsonius5631]

Funny story about accidentally renting a historic guitar from their unplugged: my band was touring and had a couple crazy fly dates. One day playing a show and separate acoustic performances in LA, next day same deal in NYC. We flew with our electric guitars but just rented the acoustics we needed in every city. I needed an acoustic bass. Quickly stopped in SIR music rentals and grabbed this old beat-up Guild acoustic bass. The neck had been broken and glued back together. It played HORRIBLY, strings 2 inches off the fret board. But it sounded very very good. An older rental guy there said “no one ever chooses that one. Been here decades, it’s the one Krist Novoselic used for Nirvana Unplugged”. I immediately looked up the model and only like 25 of them were made, one year in the 90s and it’s what Krist rented from the same SIR location all those decades earlier. Confirmed. I couldn’t believe such a historic guitar was still being rented out. And that no one wanted to use it it was such a dog!! I wanted to buy it from them but alas, was just another broke musician. I bet it’s still there being rented out :)

[@jeremyroach4445]

Holy shit, what a fucking honour

[@luiscedeno7856]

WTF MAN THATS CRAZY

[@billdagrasshawking]

in my mind it's a museum piece. theres some awesome bass runs on that album.

[@nursinghomefire6664]

I ended up buying it

[@mrnelsonius5631]

Brian Murray wait, really?? That’s awesome! Thing was a beast to play but it sounds really nice. I’ve played a TON of acoustic basses, renting them all around the country, and that one stood out for having a really powerful overtone rich sound IMO. Before I knew the story, why I chose it. Congrats man. If I hadn’t been broke at the time I would’ve ;)

[@tiki_trash]

All those guitar templates in the back ground. That's so cool!

[@airworks9233]

You're doing a great job man!! Please continue interviewing Nirvana-related people!!!

[@EricKlein]

These are rad, if you could make a playlist of all the nirvana related content you have that'd be baller

[@mitchelvalentino1569]

Have you been able to track down Big John Duncan? If not, you should. He might be worth interviewing about his time with Nirvana (and the Exploited and his other projects). Big John really has seen it all when it comes to punk and grunge music. I’d especially like to hear his experiences on the In Utero tour.

[@xx7secondsxx]

Great job again Dan! Amazing!

[@dirtydave2691]

These are really great. Very well made and interesting.

[@sidmazzei]

Man, i love your videos

[@broken1394]

Shining light on some Interesting areas - good interview. Thanks.

[@dallasboringnews7157]

Great interview.

[@tammyduke4213]

Unplugged is a priceless legendary performance of Nirvana 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@NickB-md1oy]

tammy duke actually it’s $25 on vinyl

[@70mjc]

tammy duke no shit.....

[@allenf.5907]

Great bands step up when it matters. They did!

[@willjam71]

So interesting for us fans to still find out tid bits of info

[@bloggr2807]

I used to manage a Nirvana blog years ago and I remember an interview with steve albini which i lost... couldnt get it back, was in my Hotmail email those days. Tragic

[@BrodyLuv2]

Thank you !

[@jerseymusicman3332]

I love all of these interviews man. Keeeeeeep going

[@petenivek4282]

Man, these videos are so fucking cool, thanks a lot. Brings me back, Saludos From Costa Rica.

[@LewisRiverman]

mother of all unplugged concerts

[@ryanhenry21]

Lewis Riverman Pearl Jam was pretty damn good too.

[@KentuckyFriedKitten666]

ryanhenry21 and Alice In Chains!

[@michaelstewart2437]

I would like to see Earnie discuss his guitar set ups for Kurt. I have had two guitars set up based on the previous interviews Earnie has done from back in the mid-90’s with Brain Haberman, etc. I know its guitar geek stuff, but Kurt’s guitars have had a huge influence on other players and how guitars have been set up for the last almost 30 years. Need some question ideas?

[@80blkflg]

Amazing

[@purorockyaguita]

GRACIAS !!!!!

[@TheLockdownKidNYC]

Judging on the rehearsals I saw on the Unplugged DVD - nothing looks really bad. That being said, I would LOVE to see the bad rehearsals and the mess ups and mistakes. I want it all.

[@SeveredLegs]

Those were the rehearsals the day of. I think this guy is talking about some before that.

[@ryline666]

Ok, but only if we get to see your mess too

[@thelonejedi538]

I totally agree. These days I would much rather go see a concert where they sucked(assuming it was an off night, not how they play at their best) than see some over produced, mostly pre-recorder with some spots for live "interaction", and an pitch correction template running on the song so anything that sounds off is fixed in real time(which sadly is the case on nearly every arena concert these days with very few exceptions). Seeing some really messy stuff from the day before would just make the actual performance even better by appreciating how close it was to not being the amazing show it ended up being. Alice in chains had to restart a song during their unplugged show when Lain messed it up and it definitely did not reflect badly on the concert in the slightest(if you haven't seen it, drop everything and go do it, I think it even bests out clapton for second best unplugged)

[@Sim2322]

just get the "with the lights out" boxset, there a ton of that stuff there

[@TheLockdownKidNYC]

@@Sim2322 I've had WTLO for 15 years. Trust me. I've seen it all. Unplugged and 92 SNL rehearsals are the Holy Grail.

[@MartinguttenMakkaron]

I’ve allways wondered why it took so long to tune Pat’s guitar before The Meat Puppets segment. Even Kurt C. saying, «are they tuning a harp». Anyone have some info ON this? I’d love a behind The scene interview about it.

[@russellnelson5768]

The neck was made from carrots

[@misfit2022]

My favourite Nirvana era Reading ‘91 but the ‘93 unplugged was perfection and no big hitters like Teen Spirit, In Bloom, Lithium etc and what became the standout was from Bleach along with the great covers of which the standouts were Bowie and Leadbelly.

[@vilimbubas1302]

Best era was from 88 till 91, after releaseing Nevermind Kurt realized everything will change....It did, sadly bad for him

[@misfit2022]

Vilim bubaš I can’t argue with that

[@misfit2022]

Luke I can always hear them again but I agree. Also they were great covers and I am sure no one expected a punk band to pull out an excellent Leadbelly cover and Bowie cover. I have a friend who doesn’t like Nirvana but is a huge Bowie fan and even she agrees Man who sold the world is a great cover.

[@misfit2022]

Luke When I first heard Bowie I thought he was terrible Modern love etc then rifling through my bass player’s brother’s collection we came across Ziggy Stardust and the rest is history. 70’s Bowie is excellent especially up to ‘74 but I also like the Berlin period Heroes etc. I am not surprised as Bowie didn’t really talk about Ziggy after that period was over and because Mick Ronson died so young there was no later in life reunion to introduce the old stuff to a new audience like Kiss did in ‘96. Glad to hear you found your own way.

[@tanglung4379]

some idea , interview whith people who collaborate at fender to create a legendary guitar ,it will top

[@cymbaline87]

It would have been nice to know things regarding Kurt's gear, incluiding the whereabouts of his most iconic guitars. Neverheless, great interview!

[@Neil_goldman]

I’m pretty sure Francis’ ex-husband won the unplugged acoustic in the divorce.

[@cymbaline87]

@@Neil_goldman Yes and yesterday I actually found out that is being auctioned in a few days.

[@shaunpilkington4625]

Leandro Fernández ya for what like 6 million 😱

[@MacKay1812]

How about some questions about the Sao Paulo show in Brazil.

[@bellabear653]

Lol Kurt was never simple. R. I. P buddy. Great content please keep it up.

[@Cairo98_]

Uncut interviews would be sweet, great hearing behind the scenes of Unplugged. Kurt grew into it and did well, pains me what could've been after that show, he wanted to do more stuff like that before his sudden death.

[@pattytracey3131]

Why was one of the meat puppets guitars not tuned and slowed the show down. Also who says ‘hurry up’ to Kurt. Covered in other clips?

[@RichCrowley]

I didn’t know Screech did interviews now

[@EliYBY]

Jared Leto

[@DaBears08]

Uncertainty about this and even more uncertainty about the MTV Alice In Chains show

[@joehera8311]

Alot of people were upset cause he did alot of covers and brought the meat puppets out they didn't do all of there hits kurt did the total opposite and he only gets praised now because what he did was original

[@thatkid386]

@danelsarkissan will you be interviewing Anton Corbijn the director of heart shaped box?

[@solderbuff]

So, basically, Krist saved the legendary performance? That's an interesting detail.

[@Beathoven007]

Comparing the rehearsal with the real deal, the best decision was to hand Dave the brushes for his drums.

[@Sambob79]

so what were the kind of abstract ideas that Kurt had that were difficult to implement? ...stuff like that I find more relevant and interesting than to ask about the Top of the pops thing

[@drexlspivey5828]

I always thought the fact he had what appeared to be an electric guitar pickup added to his acoustic looked strange, it didn't sound like a true acoustic either which is what I assume was a result of that, Kurt also used a distortion pedal on The Man Who Sold The World which is pretty much unheard of on an acoustic and can cause insane feedback, I'm assuming it's stuff like that is what would have been a logistics nightmare

[@KentuckyFriedKitten666]

A few thoughts from a Nirvana nerd: Kurt wanted to use his distortion pedal on Man Who Sold the World. He had Earnie construct a way to disguise his on stage set up to make it look like he just had a monitor wedge rather than an amp and pedals because that ran counter to the unplugged ethos. Kurt insisted on using his Martin although it created buzz and feedback (his Martin was part of a limited run of very early proto acoustic electrics) which you can hear him speaking about in their Unplugged rehearsal. Bailey wanted him to use the “Nixon Now” epiphone Texan instead - sonically the Texan sounded way better and had more modern electronics.

[@cygnustsp]

@@KentuckyFriedKitten666 so cool, i was a low grade roadie and band member and that's the kind of stuff i remember

[@Sambob79]

@@drexlspivey5828 and the version of 'The Man Who Sold The World' that went on the air sounds awesome! Kurt broke the rules and did a good job it seems...

[@sabbracadabra8367]

Kurt also wanted to use his chorus pedal and some songs.

[@highlighted_reply]

Nirvana had a guitar tech?

[@LuigisonsDojo]

I want to hear what he can't share or what he thinks isn't ready for Prime Time. Kurt died in 1994. Who/what is he protecting?

[@solderbuff]

Maybe his daughter.

[@micaela7159]

me too

[@joehotmail1305]

The BBC order artists to lip-sinc either the vocals and/or the whole band. Nirvana (and a lot of other artists) didn’t agree. Kurt being Kurt I guess just wanted to piss off the BBC so he butchered the vocals. Check out their performance on Jonathon Ross’s BBC Chat show. Nirvana were promoting Lithium and they ended up playing Territorial Pissings instead. Maybe because it was for the BBC again. Fortunately their BBC radio recording sessions were great.

[@lucasoheyze4597]

That Johnathon Ross show was on Channel 4.

[@joehotmail1305]

@@lucasoheyze4597 You’re right, before Channel 4 turned ‘Woke’

[@Dr.Jekyll]

THE TECH EXPLAINED NOTHING AND THE INTERVIEWER DIDNT EVEN ASK FOR ANY DETAILS OR FOLLOWUP. The description of this video needs to read: Two guys without a clue fumble through a conversation about nothing. Here’s his guitar tech who didn’t explain anything at all. He said Kurt wanted something special with his guitar. He didn’t want just an acoustic. Yet is was for Unplugged, a show about playing acoustic guitars. The tech said nothing at all about what Kurt Nobrain wanted. Then the tech said nothing at all about details of how/why it sounded like they “weren’t ready.” He didn’t say they couldn’t play in time, forgot the song structure, were too drugged up, couldn’t play their instruments. The band had been touring. Why are they so unprepared? This tech gives no explanation. Yet the Channel describes this as the tech’s explanation. Lastly, Kiss, who’s been slammed for doing what every single artist has copied since (pyro, huge production, merchandise), and who gets unjustly ridiculed for being all show/no musicianship, made the second best Unplugged (could be number one now) show, with REAL acoustics, not electrics like most of the bands who did Unplugged, and certainly not any “specialty wizardry” that Kurt Kablam wanted, presumably because he sucked so bad at playing the damn thing. What kind of wizardry? Again, the guitar tech explained nothing. And the interviewer didn’t ask. I couldn’t dislike this video fast enough.

[@Dr.Jekyll]

Liam Bennett, I don’t have a life? I take it I don’t have a life because you disagree? And let me be clear: you’re not my “bro.”

[@FLITT]

Fuck off and listen to kiss then 😂 They're not a band, they're a traveling gift shop.

[@Dr.Jekyll]

Phuzz Guns, Nirvana doesn’t sell merch? Tell me which other bands don’t sell merch! The world could learn a lot from you... Also, you say Kiss isn’t a band, yet Nirvana loved them. Don’t you love Nirvana? Lastly, my pointing out the Kiss Unplugged show was because it disproves the falso notion that Kiss is not a good band. It also disproves your false and hypocritical statement. Clearly, you missed the main point.

[@Dr.Jekyll]

Liam Bennett, so according to your logic, I’m hurt, and it’s not okay to hurt people who are hurt, yet you write a comment in an attempt to hurt me. Oh, the hypocrisy and irony! Don’t presume you know anything at all about my time management or understanding of suicide or anything else, hypocrite. I know it might take you days to string a few words into a sentence. Others have overcome the challenges of first grade. You know, it’s OK to have fun sometimes. You don’t have to seek attention by pretending you’re too “individual” to care about fun because the world is apparently too awful for you to cope with. Instead, you can mature and learn to make lemonade out of lemons. You don’t have to just suck on the lemons. Grunge is one big pity party of lemon-suckers.

[@Stanger182]

There is so much secrecy around what was really happening behind the scenes with this band. I wonder why people are afraid of telling the truth????

[@dailyflash]

Why do you think people afraid? It’s more likely they respect the band’s privacy.

[@scottoleson1997]

El Duce died 3 days after the Kurt vs Courtney documentary interview in 1998 right after he said that Courtney offered him like 10k I think to “whack Kurt cobain” but he didn’t do it but he said he knew who did.

[@KentuckyFriedKitten666]

Stanger182 respect for the dead? Respect for the family and close friends of a man whose drug abuse, personal issues, and tragic suicide were dragged into the public pop culture spotlight and combed through for tabloids’ amusement?

[@EchoBravo370]

I would guess 'not ready for prime time' equals things like groupies, drugs, probably disagreements/fights, and living band and family members to protect from such vivid stories. I mean Kurt and Krist were married while in the band.

[@Nick-rz8cy]

Toon hye ess?

[@scootertelford9873]

Alice In Chains

[@MIKE-TYTHON]

This guy looks like Danny Boyle aha

[@ryanhenry21]

Greggs Pie hahaha I thought the same.

[@krisfrederick5001]

Oh...you broke this up..clever girl.

[@Cairo98_]

👀

[@chad017]

Lip sync instruments? 🤣

[@stefanhamilton8713]

These are pretty ordinary questions

[@AirCanada1J5]

This interviewer is so sleepy and gets so awkward

[@nikku1166]

No matter how shitty any MTV unplugged ever was, none of them ever came close to Saturday night live performances. I don’t know what it is but almost every band that performs on Saturday night live sounds horrible.

[@KentuckyFriedKitten666]

Nikk Grimes bad sound mixing probably. I think SLTS in 1992 is a good example of how they butcher sound. Kurt’s voice has a weird effect on it and the mic is super dry, his guitar tone is weird, etc.

[@mirata7748]

@@KentuckyFriedKitten666 His guitar tone in SNL 92' is actually a lot better than some of the live performances they did before, Usually for tv shows the tone gets adjusted so it sounds good otherwise in live performances kurt always used to change the settings before every show so that it sounds different.

[@Daneiladams555]

Kurt looked annoyed in between the songs on the rehearsals

[@kevinr.3542]

and every other clip after 1992

[@KentuckyFriedKitten666]

A combination of nerves and drug withdrawal, probably.

[@jfiery]

The Armenian Jake Gyllenhaal. See you got some shade from another YTer who's covering Nirvana. Good for you, dude's a whiner. Enjoy your series and professionalism.

[@bryanbrunson2744]

😂😂😂american spy fox

[@Cairo98_]

@@bryanbrunson2744 Really? I like him lol don't get the shade.

[@Cairo98_]

Love that. 😂

[@Cairo98_]

@Donovan Davis Think he said he doesn't mean to do that, at least he's acknowledging he might come off that way. Enjoyed his Nirvana series and the current Alice In Chains one.

[@Cairo98_]

@Donovan Davis Oh I agree lol.

[@465marko]

They "Butchered" top of the pops? Interesting word choice.

[@Ayyem93]

How so? I mean they made an intentional mockery of it so one could say they butchered it on purpose

[@465marko]

@Tonto - They made a mockery of it, that's exactly what they did. To butcher a song, I think you at least have to be singing it in the first place.

[@jodybriggs1075]

Funny hearing a yank refer to Top of the Pops as a Gig.

[@jessemontano6399]

Well, it is a gig, right?? Or...what is it??

[@jodybriggs1075]

@@jessemontano6399 no, it was a hosted TV music show. Every episode they have a bunch of bands perform the hit they'd have in the UK chart at the time. That would have been the only song they played. Well, mimed (bar the vocals) as Earnie said. It was all fairly plastic and of its time, but in fairness it was an institution and a great way to give upcoming bands exposure.

[@jessemontano6399]

@@jodybriggs1075 I see. Thank you

[@jodybriggs1075]

@@jessemontano6399 Not a bother

[@r3d5ive87]

If a band shows up somewhere to perform they call it a gig.

[@BortLicensePlates]

Dude you have a chance to ask some real questions and you failed miserably. Especially when he's touching on things no one has discussed before. You followed your bullet note questions which sucked.

[@MrBeen992]

lol more than 25 years of a performance that no one listens anymore and NOW you found a" problem" ???? hahahaha SAD....

[@capnphuktard5445]

That guy looks just like Kurt Cobain would look if he was older.