Melvins van featuring Kurt Cobain’s artwork heading to auction
A 1972 Dodge Sportsman Royal, once used as a touring van for pioneering proto-grunge band Melvins, is set to be broken up and auctioned off. The van, affectionately dubbed the ‘Melvan’, features artwork created by Nirvana songwriter Kurt Cobain, who was a close friend of Melvins’ leader Buzz Osborne.
Parts of the tour van, including Cobain’s artwork, are due to be stripped from the vehicle and sold by Julien’s Auctions in New York in May, as a part of their ‘Music Icons’ auction at the Hard Rock Cafe. Prior to its sale, the intact van will be displayed at local record stores Easy Street Records and Silver Platters for Record Store Day this weekend.
Melvins were an essential group in the development of styles like grunge and sludge metal, and they provided a young Cobain with a wealth of musical inspiration. In return, the Nirvana frontman created a mural of Kiss on the side of the Dodge van, apparently using marker pens that he had shoplifted.
The van was previously owned by Ben Berg, who once told Rolling Stone, “I think Kurt’s name is carved somewhere in the van, as well. I don’t know the exact location. I know that Krist Novoselic’s name is carved in there. Dale Crover’s name from the Melvins is carved in there.”
Despite being a key vehicle from rock and roll history, the van does not run. “Buzz [Osborne] told me one time that somewhere on that tour, they woke up to [Matt] Lukin trying to put out a fire in the engine. It hasn’t been started for years,” Berg recalled, discussing Melvins’ first US tour.
CEO of Julien’s Auctions, Darren Julien, wrote, “Seattle is the birthplace of so many defining moments in rock history.” Adding, “We’re thrilled to partner with Record Store Day and these beloved local record stores to give fans a front-row seat to this one-of-a-kind piece of music memorabilia before it goes to auction.”
After being displayed in Seattle on Record Store Day, the van will be broken up and auctioned on May 30th and May 31st at Julien’s in New York City.
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