'Nirvana boy' Spencer Elden etched on vinyl by Cevin Key (Skinny Puppy)

In 2003, when Spencer Elden, the baby featured on the cover of Nirvana’s Nevermind, turned 12, he posed for another cover, that of Cevin Key’s “The Dragon Experience”. The album is now being issued on vinyl via Toronto’s Artoffact Records. “The Dragon Experience” is a collection of archival tracks which are now 30 years old. Originally recorded in 1985 in Key’s apartment, the songs sat on cassette for many years before being rediscovered and dusted off by Ken Marshall. It was a very primitive home cassette studio setup, the same that brought Skinny Puppy’s “The Center Bullet” and most of the bonus tracks from the Skinny Puppy debut, “Bites”.

Spencer Elden is featured on the cover of the “The Dragon Experience” vinyl reissue, as well as on the vinyl etching. Other images of Elden adorn the inside of the vinyl sleeve. His adult fame post-Nirvana has never waned: he has been interviewed and featured on CNN, The Daily Mail, The Guardian, and even had a documentary short made about him.

The 11-track album includes “Ambient Fruit”, which was written by Skinny Puppy co-founder Nivek Ogre, and “Metamorphosis (Theme From The Trial)”, a Kafka-inspired jam. The double-LP vinyl will be released in September in a gatefold sleeve. Several vinyl colours will be available, including an already-sold-out limited yellow, a blue version, and a standard black edition. Order your copy now as this one will be sold out in no time!

Since you’re here …

… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading Side-Line Magazine than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

Side-Line’s independent journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we want to push the artists we like and who are equally fighting to survive.

If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as 5 US$, you can support Side-Line Magazine – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The donations are safely powered by Paypal.