| Guitar Part Interview, Part 2
Guitar Part: What about Kristen Pfaff? Barnett: Kurt was leaving Courtney, and Kristen was getting out of Seattle and both her and Kurt died. Kristen seemed to be upset about Kurt’s death. When Kristen died, the medical examiner was Nikolas Hartshorne, the same guy who examined Kurt. Hartshorne was a friend of Courtney’s from years back. The Seattle Post Intelligencer reported that Hartshorne wasn’t going to comment on the cause of Kristen’s death for two weeks as he wanted to conduct toxicology tests. But why didn’t Hartshorne apply that caution when Kurt died? Hartshorne wasn’t clear on his criteria for a proper investigation. For proof of this, see scan below: Guitar Part: Kristen’s boyfriend broke the door in to find Kristen. What kind of door was it, what kind of lock did the door have? Barnett: I mention that on my site, I ask what kind of door and lock, but I don’t know. I can’t help you there. But Courtney claimed, in Rolling Stone’s December 1994 edition that Eric Erlandson had to be dragged away from Kristen’s body. Erlandson supposedly left the evening before she was found. At what point was Erlandson in the room having to be dragged away from Kristen’s body? It was reported that Paul Erickson found Kristen, but it’s also been reported that Eric Erlandson found Kristen. The person who reported that has since changed it to report that Paul Erickson found the body. Now, this is a reporter that knew Eric Erlandson quite well, so how could he have got the name wrong? Guitar Part: Who is this journalist? Barnett: Jerry Thackray aka Everett True. He’s the journalist who thinks Rohypnol is a baby sedative! That’s the kind of idiocy that we get from journalists over here. Why did Virgin publish a book by Thackray? He admits he lies as and when it suits him. Jerry Thackray: “I’ve told this tale in many forms before, all different and most of them were lies. I’ve never liked to be pinned down on anything,” LTT, published by Virgin in 2001, page 26. Jerry Thackray: “Rohypnol is, of course, the powerful baby sedative…..” LTT page 4. Barnett: Thackray once wrote an article about drugs (see ‘Viewpoint’ article, below) and his attitude was like (paraphrase), ‘if you are going to talk about drugs, talk about it in context, with a mature approach to the subject..’ and yet he’s written a book on grunge music and there’s almost 300 pages and a lot is about Kurt and his drug use, but I don’t think Thackray once mentions Kurt’s drug use in context with his stomach problems. Thackray is a huge friend of Courtney’s. Re-reading that article, Thackray seems to have ignored everything Kurt ever said about his heroin use, including that it alleviated the stomach pains he suffered from and that he didn’t like people who glamorised drugs. In his latest book, LTT, Thackray overlooks that it was Courtney who boasted about her drug use and who was underhandedly encouraging the drug rumours that surrounded her and Kurt, right from the start of their relationship. I recently discovered an interview with Courtney, conducted by Lisa Carver, which shows that there was a time when Kurt obviously was concerned about a “problem” which Courtney then described as her drug problem not their drug problem. This is evidence backing up the fact that Kurt’s drug use wasn’t ever as big/long term/ as Courtney and unnamed sources have tried to imply, so I've scanned the section covering this issue. In this interview Courtney also refers to Everett True/Thackray’s role in making her a “star" ! The full interview can be found in 'Rollerderby' published by Feral House 1996. When Thackray discovered Courtney was helping Charles R Cross write his book on Kurt, Thackray claims that he fell out with her: “We chatted for a while and then I lost my temper with her because she was helping a Seattle journalist I have no respect for, write a book on Nirvana.” (LTT page 276). And:“We finally fell out when she refused to take responsibility when I challenged her about helping Charles Cross in his Kurt Cobain book” (http://www.magnetmagazine.com/interviews/true.html). However, Thackray’s book, LTT, is very similar to Cross’ book, Heavier Than Heaven, it seems to be an exercise in reinforcing Courtney’s “Kurt was a suicidal junkie” myth, with no less than 28 references to Kurt’s “suicide”/Kurt “killing himself”/Kurt’s “Rome suicide attempt,” etc, regardless of the mass of evidence available which contradicts her claims. Barnett: And that’s another thing, the people in this list aren’t mentioned in Charles Cross’ book. In Cross’ book (and Jerry Thackray’s), it’s all “Kurt was on drugs; Kurt was suicidal” and the (contradictory statements of these) people in this list aren’t mentioned in his book: “Kurt was nowhere near the junkie people paint him as”. (Courtney, Vox’s Feb 1997 edition). Krist Novoselic: “I don’t know how much heroin Kurt was doing because I never saw him. I never saw Kurt fucked up on heroin. I never went to his house. I saw him high a few times, but never really a fuckin mess. I never saw that. That’s just what I heard or what I assumed. He was down in LA, I’d never go down to LA. I’d never go to his house. I didn’t want to go because I was afraid of what I might see. A lot of my perspective was second hand.” (CAYA p 256). Novoselic: “smack was just a small part of his life." (Seattle Post Intelligencer, April 14 1994). Courtney Love on their return from Rome: “I was not a heroin addict at that time, neither was Kurt, though he was abusing it in ways hitherto unseen ever by me. Mixing it, synergising it, yet I’ve mixed it since he died and never gotten wasted like that.” (Vanity Fair June 1995 by Kevin Sessums). “I know he was not taking drugs on that tour (In Utero, Feb 1994). He was walking around drinking Evian water and looking clean every time I saw him…” (Tony Barber, bassist for Buzzcocks Melody Maker April 16 1994 edition). Pete Shelley vocalist and guitarist, “He seemed really clean when we were on tour…” (Melody Maker April 16 1994 edition). “If Kurt had some kind of hardcore drug problem he must have hid it extremely well because he never did have a problem when I was in the band. . . we’d drink a lot, and Kurt, he didn’t- I mean, you can tell when people are fucked up. You can totally tell, their attitude changes and they’re almost not even there sometimes. And there just weren’t any of those kinds of problems at all,” Chad Channing.(Eyewitness Nirvana by Borzillo p 44-45). “To my knowledge I never saw him high. The three or four times I had long conversations with Kurt he seemed the most sober person on earth.” (Peter Buck, NME’s September 24 1994 edition). I’ve been asked repeatedly if Kurt was on drugs while I was there. And I’ve been around people who use dope a lot, and on the one hand I know how they behave and on the other I know how deceptive they can be. And my best estimate was that, no, he wasn’t, he was being very productive. That was a period of his life where he was very focused. He was focused on making this record and he didn’t want to let the other guys down. He was committed to the task. He was as sober — and I use that adjective to mean serious — as anybody I’ve ever worked with in the studio.”(Steve Albini, MOJO May 2001). Was it obvious he took heroin? Lenquette: No. He never looked like a junkie. He took drugs, like everyone in this business, but no, he never appeared to me like a druggie. Youri Lenquette, Loaded June 1994. He (Kurt) was very open, very honest and seemingly very happy. He also seemed clean. I know it seems strange in the light of Kurt’s Rome overdose and I even asked photographer Mark Leialoha if he thought the same. He agreed that Kurt seemed happier and cleaner than we’d seen him or known him to be. Steffan Chirazi, commenting on his meeting with Kurt at the Omni Arena, Atlanta, November 1993 in Kerrang’s April 23 1994 edition. And: “Kurt did not seem even mildly depressed, let alone suicidal.” And: “The whole evening in Atlanta turned out to be one of the best nights of the year; a great show, a relaxed post-gig atmosphere, no bullshit, just a good vibe.” Steffan Chirazi interviewed Kurt in November 1993, resulting in an article published in Kerrang’s December 11 1993 edition, see cover below, left. Chirazi reported that at Nirvana’s November 1993 gig at the Omni Arena in Atlanta he met Kurt backstage: “Frances Bean is wandering the premises with a beaming smile for everyone. Soon Kurt will lovingly, patiently feed her some macaroni cheese dinner for a late night snack, before cuddling her and talking quietly in her ear...."I’m not going to say a damn word about it being tough; I’m having the best time of my life!” laughs Cobain... Odd, then, that Charles R Cross reported that in Atlanta, November 1993, Kurt was supposedly at a physical low, lying on the floor backstage, clutching his belly from stomach pain while Courtney castigated John Silva for not overseeing the food prepared by the caterers. Heavier Than Heaven page 297. The top photo of Kurt and Frances (left) was published in Rolling Stone’s June 2 1994 edition, attributed to Kevin Mazur. It’s possible these pictures are from October 1993, when David Fricke interviewed Kurt and later commented on this meeting: “It has been a year, almost to the day, since I interviewed Kurt. At the time, he told me he was happier than he had ever been. And frankly, I believed him.” David Fricke, Rolling Stone’s December 14 1994 edition. And journalist Gavin Edwards said similar. While Dylan Carlson and Kurt himself said he wasn’t always using drugs. …if Kurt was using heroin while he was around me , he hid it well. In Seattle last summer (of 1993) he was alert and happy…(Gavin Edwards, June 1994 edition of Details magazine). Guitar Part: What were your reasons for investigating this case? Barnett: I’d read Max Wallace and Ian Halperin’s book and I picked up on information which they hadn’t. It snowballed and no one was showing interest in it. I like to dig things up, find out as much as I can about everything that I can. No one else was doing it. Guitar Part: What do you think of the Geffen conspiracy? Barnett: Courtney and DeWitt’s behaviour, their manipulation and calculation (creating as much mess and misinformation as possible about Kurt), she was starting that before she signed to Geffen. Hole didn’t sign to Geffen until 1992. But Courtney was starting the drug rumours (and misperception of Kurt’s drug use) and had Kurt trapped, because she was pregnant by December 1991. When she did a gig in London in December 1991 she threw stuff out to the audience and said: “This is heroin. I love heroin, I do it all the time. Me and my boyfriend, we do heroin all the time”. I’ll play you the tape. I play the audio tape and give them a copy to keep. So Courtney was bringing up the heroin. There’s no doubt that Kurt used heroin, but you have to look at what he said his reasons for using it, were. You can’t just say “Oh, he was a junkie” as if that explains it all. Courtney was encouraging lies and misperception of who Kurt was. People were influenced by that, and that was before she got involved with Geffen. Guitar Part: You're not frightened of Courtney Love? Barnett: No Guitar Part: You’ve had no threats? Barnett: No. Maybe a couple of veiled threats from a guy called Andrew Amirault, but anyone who’s ever threatened me has pretty much had a nasty shock. Andrew Amirault, aka Toby Amirault, claimed to be an investigative journalist who was supposedly campaigning to get this case reopened. His website was plugged by several major publications: MOJO and Kerrang magazines (owned by Emap), Melody Maker (owned by IPC Media), worldnetdaily.com, the Boston Globe, the latter article and Amirault’s mention in it, was reported in Max Wallace and Ian Halperin’s first book, ‘Who Killed Kurt Cobain?’ page 187. See my recently revised 29th December 1999 update for more on Amirault. Guitar Part: Have you heard about Brad Barnett, is he related to you? Barnett: No, he’s not related to me. Barnett is a common name! Brad Barnett claimed to have met Kurt on April 4th 1994. At that point Grant believed Kurt was already dead/murdered. Grant left a message on my message board (scan of this is in my December 1999 update), mentioning that he had corresponded with Brad Barnett and could prove Barnett was a hoax, although he didn’t go into details. In Max Wallace and Ian Halperin’s book 'Who Killed Kurt Cobain?' page 95, they reported on a witness (Brad Barnett) who claimed to have seen Kurt on April 4 1994. However, it was clear to me, from the start, that Courtney Love and unnamed sources were attempting to make out that Kurt was alive after Courtney had filed the missing persons report, which she did on April 4 at around 7am, see police report below. In this report, Courtney was stressing that Kurt was possibly suicidal, had a gun and was possibly frequenting a heroin dealers house on Capitol Hill (Caitlin Moore’s). (Christopher Sandford (p 326) wrongly reported that Kurt's mother filed this report and gave the time as 9am). I believe that Kurt had been murdered by the time Courtney filed this report, and that Courtney was using details of the murder (heroin use and gun) in combination with the suggestion that Kurt was suicidal so that when Kurt’s body was discovered, the police would use her suggestions as evidence that Kurt had committed suicide. Which was why I was cautious of Brad Barnett’s story. Guitar Part: And what do you think about Allen Wrench? Barnett: El Duce let the name “Alan/Allen” slip in Broomfield’s film, and in Wallace and Halperin’s (first) book, they reported that a punk rocker from LA knew who the murderer was and that he was going to make it known in a book he was writing. It turned out this person was called Allen Wrench. Now, I do believe that Eldon Hoke was offered $50,000 by Courtney to murder Kurt, Hoke passed the polygraph test, which supports his claims. But anyone could have gone up to Hoke and, acting seriously, told him that “It was Allen” who murdered Kurt. It’s not difficult to suggest a name (and Hoke simply believed it). When I first started researching this case, like everyone else I picked up on El Duce’s dropping the name “Alan/Allen” in Broomfield’s film. It was only when writing the ‘Unnamed Sources’ and ‘Rome’ sections that I concluded that “Alan/Allen” was a false lead. Courtney approached El Duce in December 1993. She possibly attempted to contact him again at the end of March 1994, but a serious incident had occurred between those dates, Kurt’s overdose in Rome. I fully believe that Courtney and DeWitt tried to murder Kurt in Rome, and if I am right, then when Kurt recovered, Courtney and DeWitt were on borrowed time, because after Rome, Kurt seemed to have lost his memory as to the events leading up to that overdose. Memory loss is a common symptom of people who have suffered Rohypnol assaults. At some point, Kurt was likely to regain his memory. If, in March/April 1994, Courtney had successfully managed to find a replacement for El Duce to carry out the murder, then it would have been a "clean" murder, made to look like a suicide. Not only would Courtney have been clear of the crime scene but so would DeWitt, and there would be no need for any suspicious activity between them. In reality, Courtney and DeWitt were acting very suspiciously, DeWitt was lurking around 171 but avoiding Grant and he was making no attempt to help to find a supposedly suicidal Kurt. Further, when Courtney discovered Ernest Barth had installed surveillance on 171, she was furious, so obviously something suspicious was occurring at that house which she was aware of/ involved in and which she didn’t want anyone to know about. See my recently revised section on Eldon Hoke aka El Duce In May 2000 Grant provided an update on the hoaxes surrounding this case, one of which is Allen Wrench, see scan of that update, below: Given the fiasco that developed over El Duce passing the polygraph test and the way in which El Duce was left to face the consequences, it's possible that it was made worth his while to help create a false lead, or that someone simply told him "Alan/ Allen" did it, and El Duce simply believed them. Guitar Part: What about the fact that the people are all junkies, strange personalities, how can we believe any of them, like Eldon Hoke, Dylan Carlson, even Courtney? They are only junkies. Barnett: But a junkie is a person with their own motivations and behaviour. You can say “Courtney is a junkie, DeWitt was a junkie, Dylan was a junkie, Eldon Hoke was an alcoholic, etc.” OK. But Dylan was a junkie who was saying that Kurt wasn’t suicidal, so Dylan was giving the police very good reason to investigate Kurt’s death. Courtney was/is a junkie who happens to be a particularly violent person and who has deliberately mislead journalists (and police) and paid people to plant a false story. So, that’s that junkie, who looks a damn sight more suspicious than Dylan, who gave the police good reason to investigate Kurt’s death properly. “Junkie” isn’t a fair description, it’s someone who takes drugs, but they are people who have their own motivations and behaviour regardless of whether they are on heroin/alcohol, or not. Guitar Part: But for journalists it’s an easy conclusion to make. Barnett: Well, don’t take the easy route. Easy is not worth it! Guitar Part: I was surprised in Broomfield’s film that Carlson stated that he didn’t know Kurt and Courtney were going to divorce. Barnett: Dylan’s in a difficult situation. It’s easy to pinpoint Dylan and say he’s suspicious because he said he didn’t believe they were getting a divorce, but while the police aren’t taking this case seriously, Dylan has no protection. If your best friend was found dead and you knew they weren’t suicidal, but the police were saying that he was suicidal and the media were saying he was suicidal, but you went to the police and said that he wasn’t suicidal, and if the police then told you to go away, at some point you’d think that “I’m one of the few people that are giving reason to doubt this suicide and I’d better shut up and be careful about what I say.” Dylan gave the police good reason to investigate Kurt’s death properly. No one would do that if they had been involved in a murder plot or if they had murdered someone. Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl have kept their mouths shut. Novoselic kept quiet for years. There’s only one telling reference of his, regarding Kurt and April 1994: “Smack was just a small part of his life. I don’t understand what happened, I haven’t worked it out.” (Seattle Post Intelligencer April 14 1994). But in Charles R Cross’ book (Heavier Than Heaven, pages 320 & 325), Novoselic has changed his story, he’s saying stuff like: “Kurt was using a lot of drugs and I knew he was going to kill himself, knew I’d never see him alive again.” That doesn’t tally with what he was saying back in April 1994. He’s changed his story. For an article in Spin magazine by Jim DeRogatis (June 2002) Krist Novoselic said “I’m ready to do deals with Courtney, I’m easy,” so Novoselic isn’t going to come out and speak about this case, he wants to make the deal, he wants the money and that’s spelt out in that Spin magazine. Guitar Part: Perhaps the murder was premeditated but not for a specific time or place? Barnett: All the information shows that Courtney was planning this and that she was ensuring that Kurt was written off as a “suicidal junkie” and when you look at people who have murdered, they are very manipulative and get things to work for them, they set up the right environment. Barnett: Do you believe Courtney was planning this murder? Guitar Part: Yes! Guitar Part: I was convinced by her father, which is odd, but I believe the key to it is Courtney’s personality. When I heard her father talking about her childhood and when we did some research, I really felt she had the capacity and motivation. Barnett: Yes, although I’d rather not use information that comes from Hank Harrison, he can give pointers, but you can use information obtained independently of him to come to that conclusion. Like, when Wallace and Halperin reported (in their first book) that Grant believed Rome was an attempted murder, their response was that Grant offered nothing to support that idea, well, you can apply that to anyone! In my November 1999 update I quoted the poem Harrison attributed to Courtney, 'Future Date,' as an example of Courtney's manipulative and calculating psychology, but I've also included several other examples, obtained independently of Harrison. (You can see Harrison reading 'Future Date' in Nick Broomfield’s film 'Kurt and Courtney'). Guitar Part: Before we began to work on this case I didn’t suspect (that Kurt had been murdered). Barnett: I didn’t either! In 1998 I thought Kurt had committed suicide and now I’m totally convinced that Kurt was murdered. Guitar Part: Yes, for us, we followed the media. Barnett: The media has bombarded their readers with misinformation, so that the minute “murder” is mentioned, it just sounds like another conspiracy. But there is so much evidence of murder. I mean, when I read the MOJO May 1998 article, it was done in a jokey way, badly written. Then when I read W & H’s book I thought the argument was a bit stronger, and then I started looking into it and my belief got stronger. The fact that journalists I sent my work to ignored it, but continued to go along with the “suicide” verdict, well, a lot of journalists are friends of Courtney’s. You probably are! Guitar Part: No! Guitar Part: I don’t know what I’d ask Courtney if I had the chance. First and foremost we are music journalists, but now we have worked on this case, it would be difficult to see her purely in terms of music. Barnett: Well, she’s getting publicity for her new album and there are articles on its release, and I wonder what is going through the minds of the journalists that write them? How can they ignore everything and just talk about music? Guitar Part: Probably most journalists are our age and have grown up with the media manipulation (misinformation). I remember when I saw Broomfield’s film ‘Kurt and Courtney’ and I didn’t believe it was serious. For me it seemed like somebody else who was trying to make money. It’s easier to think that. Barnett: People are making money from Kurt all the time, like Steve Sutherland said: “Kurt sells issues.” There’s an article by Steve Sutherland in 1993 and his attitude to Kurt was that Kurt was just a junkie, whining about his problems, and that if Kurt didn’t want the fame, he should shut up and get out of the music industry. But that’s exactly what Kurt was trying to do! (And he was on the verge of leaving Courtney, seeking a divorce and changing his will to exclude her). But after Kurt died, Sutherland ignored those facts and went along with Courtney. In an article for NME’s November 12th 1994 edition, this guy from The Black Crowes, Chris Robinson, went into Courtney’s behaviour (after Kurt died), he found it offensive, and the journalist that interviewed him, Steve Sutherland, then defended Courtney, and that’s just typical. It shows the attitude of journalists towards Kurt when he was alive. The media published so many stupid little stories; “Kurt died in a car crash,” “Kurt won’t be performing at Reading,” “the band have split up,” etc. It got fed to people and people got tired of it. Kurt himself got sick of it. He said he was constantly trying to put the record straight, but constantly journalists misreported him or used information he gave, out of context. Guitar Part: The problem is that some of the media manipulate peoples perceptions, saying things like “Kurt was a coward to commit suicide and leave his daughter.” I’m surprised that with all the TV shows in the United States that no show has done an investigation on this case? Barnett: Someone e-mailed me the other day and joked about the show ‘Crime Scene Investigation’ and the lengths they go to, to find the truth. The person who e-mailed me was expressing contempt between real life crime that is treated so poorly and a fictional series which is so much more serious and competent. For the 10th anniversary of Kurt’s death, Court TV wheeled out Hank Harrison. Time Warner own 50% of Court TV. If real life forensic teams want to apply their knowledge, they can. If they don’t want to, they won’t. END |