Nirvana Prank Called Gene Simmons | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

I want to ask you guys uh uh DAV and. chrisis I want to ask there's a lot of. there's a sort of a tradition of a band. has the first you know I know that uh U. never mind it's not your first record. but this big success you tour off that. success and then they have to go right. into the studio and they're. exhausted you guys had had some downtime. and the impression I get from everything. I've read and everyone I've talk to is. that you came into the inudo. experience ready to go with a real sense.

of purpose and playing really. well is that does that feel right to. Accurate description yeah I think. so well we we we the first song we did. was serve the servants and then we had. met Steve and he set up and then I. remember Steve just standing by the that. big stter tape machine that and you know. just he's hits record and he's got his. arms crossed he's watching us and we. knocked the song out in one take we're. like oh that was the keeper literally. the first thing recorded in the session.

is the first song on the album as. recorded yeah I think uh never mind I. think it was 2 months maybe to make and. then Udo is never mind was like 12 days. or 14 days was it 14 days I thought it. was it was really quick really the. recording of it yeah the recording of it. but then it's the mix the mixing and. everything that I mean I think Soup To. Nuts Udo is two and a half weeks three. weeks less we we I mean if we had if we. had been a little bit more efficient we. could have been out the door in 12 days.

but I I think we were done in 14 for. sure you here's the thing so um because. we were looking for that kind of uh. performance and we were looking for that. kind of recording and most of the takes. were maybe one or two takes or something. um we were done with the drums and I. think the basic tracks in what three. days or three or four days three or four. days so that left. me uh with a good week of sitting around.

doing nothing in that. house like The Shining watching those. David atenor videotapes like things like. that wait why you watching David atenor. nothing else to do yeah this is before. uh streaming this is a different time oh. I would do the fireplace I would start. fires remember and I would do the. fireplace very primordial primordial. primordial activity is a a man tending. the fire it was very shiny it was very. shining yeah okay you mentioned it so I.

can bring it up you say tending fires. there was also some Pyromania uh. happening during the making of In in. utero and I don't know if this was it in. this was something that you guys picked. up from these guys would play with. lighter fluid yeah let's talk about. that clean there was a cleaning solvent. that was used in the studio to clean the. tape heads and clean clean equipment and. stuff it's a very pure alcohol that. burns off so you can like you can put it. on your hand and set your hand on fire.

like oh look I'm you know I'm the Human. Torch blah blah blah whatever and so. some here I've brought some in we're. going to all douse ourselves with it and. you know you get bored with setting. regular things on fire and then you. start setting other people on fire and. stuff you know what what what kind of. things are you setting on fire did you. my ass we did that on I think you lit a. cigar off of my ass yeah that was uh. while that was on fire was there any how. long is your ass on fire for what's the. amount of time uh well long enough for.

long enough for for Chris to light a. cigar so that's I'm thinking at least 10. seconds for someone to take a picture. yeah okay did you ever smell anything. cooking yeah just our hot tracks um no I. think that uh yeah I mean you know we're. out in the middle of nowhere with. nothing to do no things thing you light. things on fire uh there were also prank. phone calls oh cuz Steve had this. realistic like remember radio shock and. it was a it was a microphone like you. can stick on a phone the microphone part.

of a phone the receiver the receiver. part you record you still have it I. might have you have some of these. recordings you can record off the phone. like on a cassette right yeah okay uh. I've done some research and like Nixon. you should have gotten rid of these. tapes uh you guys pranked Jean Simmons. yeah I believe it one of Kiss Fame. that's my favorite one who Des who. deserves pranking by the way favorite. one I don't know if you've ever spoken.

to jeene Simmons he yes I have I love. the Melvin that was my favorite he says. what I love the. Melvin he does he does he sounds just. like Jackie Mason yeah he uh he was on. my show once and all he did was sell. merchandise and I kept trying to get him. to tell interesting stories and he'd say. we'll get to that and but first and then. he'd go in and he'd say the kiss coffin. and he had a kiss coffin that he was. selling absolutely true uh the thing. that's weird about the.

my the I I pretended to be Kurt calling. Jean Simmons back he Jean Simmons had. reached out to Kur Jean Simmons had. called their management because there. was a kiss tribute album being put. together and Nirvana the biggest band in. the world were friends with the Melvin. and the Melvin did a Kiss cover and he. assumed that Nirvana would want to do a. Kiss cover to be on Jean Simmons cannot. fathom that anyone on Earth is not a. massive kiss fan right.

he's I'm going to say this a healthy ego. and Jean if you're listening this is a. good thing to have when I was like 12. years old to like maybe 14 I was huge in. a kiss yeah yeah and Jean was my. favorite yeah and Nana had recorded a. kiss oh God I was a disaster what did. you record we were drunk do you love me. uh-huh we were drunk okay well a few. drinks are needed to record a Chris Kiss. song Sometimes occas so the word comes. down that Jean Simmons is desperate to. get Nirvana on this album and Kurt is.

and and it's the the the appeal comes. from management like through directed. through management like we got this call. from Jean Simmons he's really hot to. have you guys on this album do you want. to call him back and Kurt is like I. don't want to talk to Jean. Simmons and I said I'll do it you know. so I called him I called them called him. back and I pretended to be Kurt and I I. def like like parried the whole thing. away by saying that I wasn't making all. the decisions because had a reliability.

problem so you're and are you talking. directly to Jean yeah as Kurt and Jean. thinks he's talking to Kurt yeah and. Kurt is sitting right next to me. listening to me doing impression of him. you do a really good Kurt by the way can. we hear just a second of you talking to. jeene sim I can just see Kurt giggling. yeah he was choking it back can I hear. you do you know do do you know the. wipers that's a good I I really love the. wipers do you know the wipers and then. Jean Simmons comes back with I don't. know the.

wipers I know the M know I don't know. the wipers uh you call I love this one. you call Evan dando no even better Evan. D there was someone in Evan dando's tour. party who was a friend of Nirvana and. had the phone number for the studio and. called from a hotel in Australia a. direct call from a hotel in Australia.

probably the most expensive. phone call that you could make right. right build to the to the room so Evan. danzo's Evan D's like footing the bill. for the most expensive direct call on. Earth and what we did was. we somehow we convinced that guy found. Evan and convinced him that Madonna's. personal assistant had found had tracked. him down yes at the hotel in Australia. and wanted to talk to him that's it.

that's the whole that's the whole. context so Evan Doo thinks he's on hold. waiting for Madonna right and every few. minutes I would get back on the. phone and say she asked me to place the. call she's still busy can you can you. wait a little bit longer and I had some. absurd accent that I thought Madonna's. assistant would have you know and and. now Madonna has and then he's just like. yeah of course yeah sure I'll wait yeah. of course and. so literal silence for minutes on end on.

this and then the sound of him. exasperatedly like telling everyone. around him like I'm on the I'm on hold. for Madonna you. know and the whole time and he's paying. for the whole thing sure because it was. actually the call actually start. $700,000 prank phone call yeah yeah that. one was that one was pretty funny and. then Australian dollars Eddie veter I. think was there a prank called Eddie. veter at some point yeah yeah and I. don't remember why that one that was me.

as well I don't remember why we did that. one cuz I don't there was no you guys. weren't like fighting or feuding with no. no no so um I do remember getting him on. the phone and telling him I pretended to. be Tony visanti record producer that. you're by the way you're supposed to be. the adult in the room I remember that. you know you're the guy that's supposed. to be you're in charge and you're. lighting you're lighting artists on fire. and uh and and and prank calling. people's like I'm producing David Bowie.

or something I remember that I can't. remember what it was I can't remember. the context but I was like yeah I'm uh. I'm here with the black crows or. something I had some band that. I claimed that I was with and then I and. and they were playing me your record and. I I want to get you in the studio with a. real band guys who can really. play that's pretty good did he get mad I. or no well you have these you going to. you got to put these out at some yeah I. don't I don't I genuinely don't remember. the the banter but I do remember I think. I thought handled it pretty deftly I.

don't I think he acquitted himself well. like talking on the phone to Tony. Visconti record producer who wanted to. fire his band do you uh you say at one. point you. say he goes where where are you and you. said uh I'm in I'm in. Manitoba and then he said he said do you. know do you know where that is and. there's this long pause he goes. no.