Secrets of a Carefree Supergroup

At this point in his life, what gets former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic excited are aviation (he’s learned to fly planes), reading classic and sci-fi books, and coding. Yes, the man who produced the thunderous, iconic bass lines for “Sliver,” “Come As You Are,” and “Lithium” learned to code.

During the pandemic, Novoselic went through unsorted boxes in his attic. In one, he found a CD labeled “9/01” that included riffs and instrumentation from a session he, Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil, Jon “Bubba” Dupree of Void, and former Kyuss/Queens of the Stone Age drummer Alfredo Hernández played.

After listening to the more-than-two-decades-old disc, Novoselic got a hold of Thayil and Dupree, and they decided to get a studio space. As luck would have it, Soundgarden/Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron happened to be there with his drum set and jumped in. Novoselic called Jillian Raye and asked her to lay down vocals. Taking ideas that were initially slated to be for Novoselic’s other band, Giants in the Trees, along with new riffs and songs from Cameron, Dupree, and Thayil, suddenly, the informal jam sessions gave way to files being shared back and forth, and 3rd Secret (named, enigmatically, after the last secret imparted in the Virgin Mary’s appearance at Fátima) was born.

The supergroup (for that is what it is) also includes vocalist Jennifer Johnson and quietly released their first album in April 2022. It showcased a variety of sounds, from acoustic-driven numbers to sludgy, grunge tracks.

Last June, 3rd Secret released their aptly titled second album, The 2nd 3rd Secret. With pandemic restrictions lifted, the group went into the studio to jam out songs to create a more complete rock record.

Novoselic enjoys that there’s no pressure and there’s little fanfare surrounding the project. Though they probably could have signed with a big label, the collective band members aren’t interested in that type of commitment. Nor do they care about social media or selling merchandise. In 2024, that could be a fool’s errand, but it suits them just fine.

“I’m lucky I can be so independent,” Novoselic says.

When I spoke with him, he was trying to round up the gang to shoot a music video and maybe, just maybe, play their first-ever show.

“It’s not going to be a Soundgarden record, and it’s not going to be a Nirvana record. We’ve done all that stuff,” he says. “We’re older now, so we can do a Blondie song and it feels right. There was zero commercial pressure. It was really for the love of music that we got together. What a luxury that is.”