Krist Novoselic’s Band Shows Jagged Edges, Promising Future

Early in his new band’s set at the Troubadour Wednesday, former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic jokingly referred to the trio as a “support group.” Call it “Guys Whose Old Bands Were Ripped Apart by Drug-Related Tragedies Anonymous.”

Taking the name Eyes Adrift, the group teams Novoselic with former Meat Puppets singer-guitarist Curt Kirkwood and ex-Sublime drummer Bud Gaugh, each a survivor of that horror. Novoselic lived through the suicide of Kurt Cobain, Gaugh the overdose death of Sublime leader Bradley Nowell and Kirkwood the debilitating addiction of his brother and Meat Puppets bassist Cris Kirkwood.

The bond of that common experience was manifest Wednesday in the threesome’s spirited camaraderie. With Novoselic’s Nirvana mate Dave Grohl among the curious onlookers, the band leaned mostly to the psychedelic-country-jam-punk aesthetic of the Meat Puppets (Kirkwood is the primary singer and songwriter), and it did indeed occasionally seem adrift. But the three began playing together only two months ago, with just a handful of live performances under their belts.

Sometimes the raggedness seemed right, especially in songs suggesting Neil Young and Grateful Dead influences. Other times it was just ragged, with the writing not fully honed and the musical interplay not fully gelled.

Kirkwood remains a stunning guitarist, Gaugh (now of the Long Beach Dub All-Stars) a skilled and imaginative drummer and Novoselic a rock-solid bassist. So the building blocks are certainly there, and a closing jam hinted at tremendous possibilities, with alt-rock echoes of the Who, Pink Floyd and the Doors. It would be a big help if either Kirkwood or Novoselic were a better singer, though at times there was a charm to their not-quite-on-key vocals, too.