Anyone who stayed alive during the 90s knows all about Kurt Cobain, the former front man for Nirvana, which was arguably the best band to come out of the 90’s grunge scene and epitomized the Seattle sound.
Now, this particular vehicle you see here is a crappy 1972 Dodge Sportsmen Royal Van, which was actually not used by Nirvana at any point in the band’s history.
However, it was driven by another band known as The Melvins, and was appropriately dubbed “MELVAN” by the rockers.
As some of you no doubt recall, Cobain was a good friend of the band and lent his artistic touch to the side of the van giving it what the owner believes is six-figures worth of graffitti. If you look closely at the side of the main you’ll note pictures of the rock band Kiss drawn on the side.
As the story goes, Kurt Cobain liberated a set of markers from a grocery store late one night and set to work drawing images of the rock legends you see on the side. Considering that my artistic talents are nil, Cobain may not be a Renaissance master, but his renderings of the legendary rock band members look pretty good to me considering their age. Nirvana and Cobain are still wildly popular even though the band is no more, and Cobain tragically killed himself years ago.
So the real question is – does artwork of a legendary rock band, drawn by the hand of a now deceased legendary grunge singer, warrant a cool $100,000 for what appears to be a massive piece of crap? The auction is on eBay, and as of right now the bid is at $99,999.99 with the reserve not met.
The seller describes the van as a, “1972 Dodge Sportsman Royal Van, better known as the “MELVAN” Featured in many books, Cobain Unseen, Come As You Are ETC. & Many NIRVANA documentary films. This is a very unique piece of MEVINS/NIRVANA history & truly one of a kind. The KISS Mural on the side was hand drawn by Kurt Cobain using sharpie markers shoplifted from the Thriftway grocery store in Montesano Washington. (former employer of King Buzzo).
“This was one of the first MELVINS tour vans & was used on at least one U.S. tour. Kurt himself was often times known to drive this van to local shows, also included are two former registrations, one signed by Roger Osborne (King Buzzo) & the second signed by former MELVINS bass player Matt Lukin! Bid High & Bid Often, this will probably be your one & only chance to own this unique piece of music history!”
