Carlson was born in Seattle, Washington, United States. His father worked for the Department of Defense, and, as a result, as a child he moved quite frequently, living in Philadelphia, Texas, New Mexico, and New Jersey, before coming back to live in Washington state. He had first become interested in being a rock musician at age 15, inspired by bands such as Molly Hatchet, AC/DC, and Black Sabbath. He also cites The Melvins, and composers La Monte Young and Terry Riley as major influences on his music. It was in Olympia, Washington that he met Slim Moon, Greg Babior, Dave Harwell and Joe Preston, with whom he would later form Earth. During this time, he would often make "sonic collages" with his then roommate Kurt Cobain, whom he had introduced to heroin, and future Bikini Kill member Tobi Vail. From 1991 to 1996, Earth had an ever-changing lineup. Carlson attributes a lack of (full-length) studio album recordings from 1997 to 2005 to "legal and drug problems".
While addicted and dope sick, Carlson purchased the shotgun with which Kurt Cobain committed suicide, though Cobain gave him the money so he could get well. Carlson has said that he did not believe Cobain to be suicidal at the time, and that Cobain had told him that the gun was for home protection.
Carlson was one of the many people interviewed in the Nick Broomfield documentary Kurt & Courtney (1998). He states he regrets appearing in the film, saying "I was misled about his intentions."
Powered by Wikipedia
