When Nirvana’s frontman sought drugs at a South American festival, he turned to someone he assumed was a local expert.
“It’s actually not really a tour story,” he began. “I was here in Phoenix.
“It was during the tour cycle for the 1993 album Chaos A.D. My son, Zyon, was just born, Chaos A.D. had just come out, and Nirvana was playing at a big festival in Brazil.”
A friend of Cavalera’s, the lead singer of a hardcore band, was also performing at the festival. This friend called Cavalera and soon handed the phone to Kurt Cobain.
“I was like, ‘Oh, shit! Kurt Cobain! Damn!’” Cavalera exclaimed on The Bogcast. “I started talking to Kurt Cobain. He mentioned his daughter [Frances Bean Cobain, born in 1992], and I said, ‘Yeah, I have a son, Zyon, blah blah blah.’”
Then, unexpectedly: “Right in the middle of the conversation, [Cobain] was like, ‘Where can I get some fucking drugs, man?!’”
Cobain was struggling with addiction at the time, including heroin. Cavalera’s wife and manager, Gloria, later wrote on her website that Cobain specifically asked for heroin. The question left Cavalera baffled.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know, man! I’m in Arizona!’” Cavalera recalled. “‘Tell you what: the guy that you’re hanging out with, he’s the one. Just talk to him about it!’ That was pretty funny.”
Cobain tragically took his own life in April 1994, at the age of 27. Cavalera continued to front Sepultura until 1996, when he left due to disagreements with his bandmates over management. Iggor stayed with Sepultura until 2006 and reconciled with his brother shortly after.
Cavalera now plays in Soulfly and Cavalera Conspiracy with Iggor. The siblings recently re-recorded Sepultura’s 1987 album Schizophrenia and are touring to promote the release. Sepultura, sustained by classic members Andreas Kisser and Paolo Jr., continue to perform and are currently on a farewell tour.