The Late Kurt Cobain Used To Smash Guitars Onstage, Now One Is Being Sold

 
Following the release of its debut studio album, Bleach, in 1989, Nirvana set off on their first tour, where frontman Kurt Cobain took to entertaining the crowd not just with his lyrics and vibrato but also by smashing guitars.
 
The ’73 Mustang that’s now up for grabs made just two appearances before it was rendered unusable. Cobain had smashed it once at Club Dreamerz in Chicago, Illinois, and once at the Sonic Temple in Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania.

Unfortunately, the habit had led him to be guitarless early on in the tour, and he searched for a new instrument. 
 
One evening, while sitting in the apartment of Sluggo Cawley of the band Hullabaloo, who at the time was performing with the band, Cobain noticed a pretty beat-up Gibson SG hanging on the wall. While it was still battered and bruised, it was nowhere near the shape his fender had been in. So Cobain asked Cawley if he could have it to play at the remaining shows—and to smash around with—but Cawley noted that if he did so, his wall would be left empty.

So, Cobain went off and fetched the duct-taped ’73 Mustang and wrote a message reading, “Yo Sluggo, Thank for the trade. If it’s illegal to Rock and Roll, then throw my a** in jail,” before signing off with the band’s name, instead of his own, with two little flowers drawn at the top of the body.
 
Cobain took the Gibson, patched it up, and then returned to his rockstar ways, and the rest was history.
 

Now, Cawley is looking to sell the guitar with Julien’s Auctions, who will be running the sale at the Hard Rock in New York on November 11. It is estimated to fetch anywhere between US$200,000 and US$400,00. However, as Cobain is one of the most influential musicians ever, fans can expect it to go much higher.
 
 
 
[via Forbes and Guitar World, images via Julien’s Auction]