EVENT
Scented apprentice
Tribute act Smells Like Nirvana brings teen spirit and more to Diamond Ballroom. By Jeremy Martin
As a kid, Paul Wandtke wanted to be Kurt Cobain, but Wandtke’s brother had another idea. “To tell you the truth, I grew up listening Nirvana, and when I saw Kurt on TV, I said, ‘I want to do that when I grow up. I want to play guitar. I want to be in my own band,’” Wandtke said, “but growing up, my brother made me play drums. I was forced to play drums, so I was always, like, a closet frontman.” As vocalist and guitarist for Nirvana tribute act Smells Like Nirvana, Wandtke is still playing grunge covers like he did in his brother’s band at the age of 11, but now he’s front and center. Smells Like Nirvana plays 8 p.m. Jan. 11 at Diamond Ballroom, 8001 S. Eastern Ave. Wandtke has had high-profile success drumming in a metal band and a jukebox musical, but he started the tribute ba nd hoping to have more steady work. “I was sick of looking for gigs, professional gigs,” Wandtke said. “It’s not every day you can find them. I played for the famous metal band Trivium, and before that I was doing Rock of Ages. I was doing my last Rock of Ages contract, and I was like, ‘Shit, man. After six months, I’m going to be home, not making any money, looking for gigs.’”
I’ve had 50-year-old men come up to me crying like, “Dude, I relived my childhood.” Paul Wandtke Nirvana cover bands are less common than Beatles or Rolling Stones tribute acts, but Wandtke said the Seattle grunge band was the obvious choice for his interests and vocal range. “If you go check me out on karaoke night, I do not sound good unless I’m singing Nirvana,” Wandtke said.
Drummer Nick Rich — grandson of legendary jazz drummer Buddy Rich — agreed. “He was meant to be the singer for this tribute band,” Rich said. Cobain, who took his own life in 1994, had a complicated relationship with rock stardom. “When we’re back stage and the lights go out and the manic roar of the crowds begins,” Cobain wrote in his suicide note, “it doesn’t affect me the way in which it did for Freddie Mercury, who seemed to love, relish in the love
and adoration from the crowd which is something I totally admire and envy. The fact is, I can’t fool you, any one of you. It simply isn’t fair to you or me. The worst crime I can think of would be to rip people off by faking it and pretending as if I’m having 100% fun.” Despite the band’s somber end, Wandtke said people have fun at Smells Like Nirvana shows. “Everybody sings along,” Wandtke said. “The last time we were at the Diamond Ballroom, there was like 1,200 people there. … Everybody’s in there just having a good time. … It’s been over 20 years since Kurt’s been gone. It was a different time and a different era. At the end of the day, it’s about entertainment. … People go crazy, man. They’ll jump offstage and they’ll crowd-surf. They’ll get kicked out of the venue. It’s partially like, ‘Is this what it was like when Nirvana was there?’” The people in the audience range
from “teenagers to people in their late 40s, early 50s,” Wandtke said. “I’ve had 50-year-old men come up to me crying, like, ‘Dude, I relived my childhood,’ and then they’ve got their kids with them,” Wandtke said. “It’s weird because on social media, half our followers are kids. It’s crazy to see that, but I think kids gravitate towards it because it’s real music. … People just like that Kurt was really honest and didn’t give a shit. He just put his heart and soul into everything he did. I think that’s what people miss in modern-day music.”
to make people move,” Wandtke said. “Then you add a sick melody, but if the groove’s not there, it doesn’t matter what kind of melody you’ve got.” As a drummer, Rich appreciates Wandtke’s approach. “That’s the great thing about having Paul, obviously, writing the original songs — he uses his drum background,” Rich said. “For a drummer like me, it’s so evident that that’s there because the songs just flow in such a groovy way.” Because Smells Like Nirvana crowds might appreciate Dead Original songs, Wandtke said he uses the tribute act to Dead Original “cross-promote.” Wandtke and Rich also play Wandtke’s “We’ll just book Smells Like Nirvana original songs in the band Dead and sneak an original song in the set Original, which Wandtke said draws just for fun,” Wandtke said. comparisons to Alice in Chains and Tool Not sticking to the traditional rules as well as Nirvana. The band recently of a tribute band is, in a way, a better toured as support for Candlebox. tribute to Nirvana than a note-for-note “On the surface, right away, you’re reproduction, Wandtke said. Live, going to be like, ‘Oh my god. That singer’s Nirvana would sometimes unexpectinfluenced by Kurt,’ but if you dig into it edly cover Kiss or Boston (whose “More musically, we have different elements Than a Feeling” bears more than a passing resemblance to “Smells Like Teen Spirit”) or even prank the audience: In response to tabloid rumors about his drug addiction, Cobain took the stage at the 1992 Read i ng Fest iva l dressed in a hospital gown and sitting in a wheelchair, for example, and the band began its MTV Video Music Awards performance playing the opening chords of “Rape Me” before launching into hit single “Lithium” to scare the executives in the audience. Tribute act Smells Like Nirvana plays 8 p.m. “That’s why we aren’t Jan. 11 at Diamond Ballroom.| Photo David so rigid,” Wandtke said. Urmanski / Concert Close Ups / provided “That’s why we tell people about the origilike odd meters,” Wandtke said. “Our nal project, because it’s like, ‘Hey, we’re ultimate goal is to keep Smells Like real dudes. We’re playing Kurt’s music. Nirvana but have Dead Original be the Let’s remember Kurt.’ … I’m not going one that’s touring around the world.” up there wearing the exact shoes he Rich thinks fans of one band are wore. … We say whatever’s on the top of likely to enjoy the other despite their our minds in real time. It’s kind of like a obvious differences. punk rock show to be honest with you.” “If you were to compare Nirvana and Rich agreed. Dead Original, it’s such a completely “That’s what makes a Smells Like different sound, a completely different Nirvana show so interesting, that you structure, songwise,” Rich said. “It’s know what you’re going to get in a sense not even similar, except for the fact that just like you would with a Nirvana show,” we’re trying to make America grunge Rich said, “but you never know what again. … They’re two different monsters you’re going to get when the band plays.” that will appeal to the same crowd.” Tickets are $13. Call 405-677-9169 Like Nirvana-drummer-turnedor visit diamondballroom.com. head-Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, Wandtke has stepped out from behind the kit to Smells Like Nirvana take on frontman duties, but he thinks 8 p.m. Jan. 11 his drumming experience is evident in Diamond Ballroom his songwriting. 8001 S. Eastern Ave. “The thing is with drumming, diamondballroom.com | 405-677-9169 whether you’re a virtuoso or you’ve just $13 got the basic skills, you understand how
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