As the tributes and remembrances piled up on the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's suicide, it's become clear there aren't too many contemporary rock acts that'd be making music if the late Nirvana frontman never poetically put his innermost thoughts onto tape. And while he was only on Earth for a short 27 years, the impact Saint Kurt had on music as we know it today is immeasurable.
"When Kurt Cobain killed himself, my mom and dad called me at my brother John's house, where Dan and I were sleeping over after a NY Rangers game, to see if I was alright,"Kevin Devine wrote in a recent Facebook post, "because they knew how much I loved his band, and I was 14, and those are delicate times."
Devine, 33, a Brooklyn-based singer-writer who started beloved emo outfit The Miracle of 86 and currently fronts his own band — Kevin Devine & The Goddamn Band — is just one of thousands who paid tribute to Cobain this past April 5.
"I wouldn't have started playing the kind of music I play, or conduct my career they way I conduct it, if I hadn't have fallen in love with Nirvana." He added, "This was my dad's favorite Nirvana song." The post is attached to a bedroom video of him covering "All Apologies."
Devine's stripped-down version is obviously devoid of the fuzz of Nirvana's 1993 classic, but the song — marked by Devine's delicate coo delivering Cobain's heart aching lyrics — still packs all the angst and punch it did two decades ago.
Have a look at the clip below and check out Devine when he opens for Manchester Orchestra along side Balance & Composure at The Ritz Ybor (1503 E. 7th Ave, Ybor City) on Thurs., April 17. Doors are at 6 p.m., and tickets are $17-$20. More info on the show is available here.