You could call it the grungiest van in history.
A 1972 Dodge Sportsman passenger van utilized by pioneering Northwest sludge rock outfit the Melvins during their inaugural United States tour is hitting the auction block — but in bits and pieces.
After it is displayed today outside a pair of Seattle record stores, the “Melvan” will be disassembled, and Julien’s Music Icons will auction off the van’s various parts.
The most coveted part of the legendary vehicle will be the piece boasting late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain‘s signature — which he carved into the van, after using stolen Sharpie markers to draw a mural of New York rockers Kiss on one of the vehicle’s exterior panels.
Cobain was a teen when he befriended the King Buzzo-led Melvins, who formed in 1983, and have since issued more than 50 albums.
Cobain spent a lot of time behind the van’s steering wheel, shuttling his pals to their various gigs around Washington State.
In interviews after Nirvana achieved worldwide fame with 1991’s breakthrough Nevermind LP, Cobain — who was 27 when he died at the height of their fame from suicide in 1994 — regularly namedropped the Melvins, citing them as one of his strongest musical influences.
The vomit-green and white van also features the carved-in signatures of Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and Melvins drummer Dale Crover — who briefly played with Nirvana in the late 1980s, before Dave Grohl’s addition to the fold.
Buzzo actually introduced Grohl to Cobain and Novoselic.
Bill Clinton was president the last time the van was roadworthy.
The van was previously auctioned off for $24,700 in 2012.
The next auction is set for May 30 and May 31 in New York.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
