There were dozens of bands involved in the alt-rock scene of the 90s. But it’s an undeniable fact that Nirvana blazed a trail when they released Nevermind in 1991. The scene was starting to bubble up in the mainstream, but that album had it spilling over.
By the time Nevermind released on September 24, 1991, the Nirvana hype was palpable. Their music was what everyone needed, but had no idea they needed, until it was punching them right in the face through the radio. Nirvana was very much a product of their time, and they made music for people just like them.
So not only was Nevermind important for the alt-rock/grunge scenes and insecure, listless Gen-Xers, it was also important for a tiny independent radio station in Boston. Kurt St. Thomas, who could easily call himself one of the first Nirvana fans, was a DJ at WFNX. He was one of the band’s earliest champions, determined to get their music to a wider audience.
In the summer of 1991, that’s exactly what he did. His friend, Mark Kates, was a promotions director at Geffen Records, which owned the DGC Records label that released Nevermind. Through this connection, and variations of what’s known in the business as “bugging people”, St. Thomas was able to get an advance tape of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”. In August 1991, WFNX was the first radio station to put the single on the air.
“I said, ‘This song’s going to change music,’” Kurt St. Thomas told The Ringer in 2021. After the station aired “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, their phones started ringing off the hook. “The craziest s**t I’ve ever seen … Every time we’d play it, it’s just like, ‘What is that?’”
Indie Radio Station Debuted ‘Nevermind’ Almost a Month Before Its Official Release, Unleashing Nirvana Fever in Boston
At the time, WFNX was competing against WBCN, the more established, corporate-owned Boston station. But WFNX had the advantage of embracing the new sound that was coming out of the Pacific Northwest. Due in part to St. Thomas’ efforts, the station was playing alternative and grunge before anyone even knew about alternative and grunge.
And that singular determination to get Nirvana out there had WFNX beating their corporate-backed rivals to the punch. Speaking with The Ringer, St. Thomas recalled people thinking he was crazy for trying so hard to push Nirvana. And that definitely didn’t work out, not at all.
The station took it a step further, though, getting a leg up on WBCN once more. Almost a month before Nevermind would be officially released, Geffen Records granted WFNX access to the full album. On August 29, 1991, St. Thomas premiered Nevermind, in full, on his radio show.
By September 22, two days before the album was released, Nirvana was in Boston. They played a free show for WFNX’s birthday celebration, and Kurt St. Thomas got to meet his favorite band. Again, technically. He reminded Cobain and Novoselic of a 75-person club show they’d played in Cambridge the year before, where they’d hung out backstage (Dave Grohl hadn’t yet replaced Chad Channing on drums).
“When I went to that first show at ManRay [in Cambridge], they were blown away because they were like, ‘You work at a commercial radio station?’ They were kind of taken aback,” St. Thomas explained. “So I reminded them of that, and they were like, ‘Oh, yeah!’”
Photo by Paul Bergen/Redferns
The post How a Small Boston Radio Station Introduced Nirvana to the East Coast Before “Smells Like Teen Spirit” Was Even Released appeared first on VICE.
