The Krist Novoselic Dedication Page

Flipper plays tunes from upcoming CD

Novoselic finds roots in Flipper Flipper is no household name; the TV dolphin, maybe, but definitely not Bay Area punk band, which remained on pop’s fringes even as alt-rockers it inspired topped the charts in the ’90s.

“The grunge sound came out of Flipper,” Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic said, citing the sludgy, shambolic sounds of the band’s 1982 album “Generic” as a template.

“I know Soundgarden were big Flipper fans,” he said. “Mudhoney (singer) Mark Arm’s a big Flipper fan.”

Novoselic has actually been in Flipper since 2006 and will play bass for the influential quartet tonight at Seattle’s Funhouse and Saturday at Hell’s Kitchen in Tacoma. It’s a scenario he never could have imagined as a teen when Flipper inspired him to make music.

“I put on ‘Generic’ Flipper. I was, like, 18 years old,” Novoselic recalled. “I listened to it, and it just sounded kind of weird. Like, it was so lo-fi. It sounded like the band was live, you know. And I kind of didn’t get it.”