Hear Early Nirvana "Scentless Apprentice" Demo With Dave Grohl, Krist Noveselic | Revolver

Hear Early Nirvana "Scentless Apprentice" Demo With Dave Grohl, Krist Noveselic

Scratch Acid's Rey Washam played drums during 1992 jam session

Known for his work with bands like Scratch Acid, Tad and Ministry, drummer Rey Washam recently shared a long-lost demo recording from Nirvana's rehearsal studio where, in 1992, he jammed with the band's Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic for a couple of hours before an unidentified conflict led him to never play with Grohl again. 

"Dave was obviously new to guitar, but had some songs he wanted to try out with a band. I had just quit playing in Tad and Dave asked me to come over and 'jam,'" Washam writes in a YouTube post. "I had never met Dave or Kurt and Krist even though I had heard Kurt was a fan of a band I used to be in, Scratch Acid. The jam was very low key , but I had to play Dave's drums the way he had them set up for himself. Krist showed up and fun was had by all."

The drummer then recalls attending a Guns N' Roses concert with the two later that night, where a clash of creative minds reportedly ensued. "Dave got me into the show and a little trouble started. Maybe a few too many egos in the place. I think the tape speaks for itself," says Washam. "Dave made the right decision to have Taylor [Hawkins] play drums in Foo Fighters and not me. He never asked me to play with him again after that night. I still think he's a good guy." 

The 30-minute recording sounds like a fairly standard brainstorming session recorded in any number of rock band practice spaces with the exception of an instrumental version of "Scentless Apprentice" popping up at 24:35 — the final song, of course, made its way on Nirvana's 1993 album In Utero. Washam has since continued his drumming career with various side projects like Lard and Daddy Longhead, and has reunited with Scratch Acid for various anniversaries and tours throughout the years.