That Kurt Cobain Craigslist ad was a hoax by a Sub Pop employee

By The Strut on March 4, 2014

That Craigslist ad from Kurt Cobain’s ex-roommate selling all his old stuff? It turns out the sale was actually a hoax from Sub Pop employee Derek Erdman. You may remember Erdman as part of the group of Sub Pop employees who responded to a Virginia Tech homecoming candidate’s request for Nirvana to make a video for her. Revolt spoke to him:

Tell us about when this idea struck you.

Friday morning, right after I got to work. I was supposed to be working on something else that I haven’t been able to get into, so I created a diversion. Then I ignored it and went back to work. A few hours later I did an interview with CBC radio about it. Later that night I met a TV news crew (with cameras!) at the aforementioned Safeway for an interview, but they called my bluff and asked for ID. I told them that I was a one time bass player for 90s band Gruntruck. They didn’t buy it, and they were visibly not happy about me wasting their time, I was wearing a flannel shirt though. 

 Do people really want Kurt’s skis? What are the best Craigslist replies you’ve got so far? 

 FUCK YES, THEY WANT THEM BAD. They also want that video game. I’ve gotten a lot of replies from “serious collectors” and people who will pay for shipping. Have you ever shipped skis? That sounds like it would be really difficult. Not too many people wrote about the Swatch phone, which was surprising.

 So if it’s not Kurt’s, where’d this stuff come from?

I don’t have that stuff, I just found those photos on the internet. If I had a Swatch phone, there’s no way that I’d sell it.