A Rockstar Joins Forward

Some huge news came out this week – Krist Novoselic has joined the National Board of the Forward Party!  Krist co-founded Nirvana with Kurt Cobain – he’s the tall, good-looking one playing the guitar toward the back.  Nirvana sold more than 75 million records and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.  Also, seemingly every teenager wears a Nirvana T-shirt to this day. 

Krist is no stranger to political activism.  He was the chairman of Fairvote, an org championing Ranked Choice Voting, for 9 years and was the former chair of his local county Democratic Party.  He even wrote a book, “Of Grunge and Government: Let’s Fix this Broken Democracy.“

I’ve been in touch with Krist for a number of months, but our first meeting was last month in Seattle.  At 6 foot 5 inches tall, Krist is a very conspicuous figure.  He joined me in speaking to the Washington Forward Party, and agreed to join our efforts after meeting the local activists and volunteers in the state. 

I remember when “Smells Like Teen Spirit” came out in 1991 – it felt impactful immediately.  Nirvana and the Seattle grunge scene was the defining music for a generation.  It certainly shaped me, based on the oversized flannel shirts I wore for years. 

You would imagine that Krist might feel larger-than-life between his height and fame, but he’s extraordinarily down to earth.  He’s still making music in Seattle, most recently with musicians from Pearl Jam and Soundgarden as part of the supergroup 3rd Secret. 

“The only way you do anything is to become really active,” Krist says.  He also said, in another context: “I kind of discovered my voice for the first time, and the more I did it, the better it got.”

That’s a pretty good summary of what Forward is about.  Can we change the face of American politics?  Krist thinks we can – and he’s done it once already.   

To check out Forward Party click here.  More people join every day!