The Last Time Duff Saw Kurt

In 2004, I was working as a radio journalist in London. For the 10th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death, I was commissioned by the BBC World Service to produce a radio package to commemorate his death.

I reached out to various labels to see who was around and interested in taking part. Velvet Revolver was in London promoting their debut album, and the label offered me Slash and Duff McKagen. I was super excited about being able to interview them (Appetite was and still is one of my all-time favorite albums), and I was curious about what they thought of Nirvana. After all, GnR were the kings of Hair Metal, and Nirvana destroyed Hair Metal with the release of Nevermind.

To my surprise, they were both big fans of Nirvana. Near the end of the interview, Slash prodded Duff to tell his Kurt story. I had no idea Duff had any connection to Kurt or where this story was going to go, but I knew I had to hear it. He told me something he hadn't told many people, and I broke this story when the package broadcast on the BBC World Service.

Fast-forward to 2020, and I no longer work in radio, nor do I live in London. I'm still producing content, but I live in Brooklyn. I was looking for a side project a few years ago and had an idea about animating some of my old interviews. I started to dig through my archive and came across the Slash and Duff interview. I dusted off my minidisc player popped in the disc and prayed it still worked.

The interview had some great stuff, but Duff's story about Kurt was the real gem. I roped in James Smith to deign while I art directed and animated.