KCGB: The Boy From the Porch
Reviews
KCGB, The Boy from the Porch is a family memoir from which the author, Joseph Hulscher, delivers an intimate retelling of interactions the famed grunge rocker, Kurt Cobain, had with Hulscher’s mother and siblings during a mid-1980s turning point in Cobain’s life in Aberdeen Washington. Unbeknown to all involved, the encounters would leave a lasting impression that influenced life choices, creativity, memories, and spiritual healing. Hulscher’s juxtaposition of biographical content of his mother’s life and death and Cobain’s connection to her is engaging, insightful, and downright eerie. Readers who appreciate fun loving family stories enveloped with mystical interludes with the famous will devour this story. —Geoff E. Foy (a.k.a. Dr. Fu and childhood friend of the author)
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I just finished reading KCGB - The Boy From The Porch - My Dying Mom & Kurt Cobain - A Memoir by Joseph Hulscher. Full disclosure- I had a couple of compelling reasons for reading this book- the author is my childhood friend, we share the hometown/summertime settings and well, there’s Kurt Cobain. All of those reasons slipped away as I became immersed in this story written by a mother’s son - a beyond beautiful tribute to the impactful life this mother lead. He tells the story of her childhood and how she became the mother of FIVE boys and her youngest girl. She was taken too soon - I loved so much learning the characters, their nicknames, stories and steps taken for this book to be written. If this were a Netflix series, I’d have Googled and Calendared the air date of Season 2!! I highly recommend!! Kerry Zelasko Kelly
The Mom Smile
Mom is the driving force behind this memoir and tells of her life growing up, meeting Dad, getting married, and starting a family. In the summer of 1986, she met a young boy, and they talked in the kitchen. He would return to visit her in the spring 1997, the month before she died. Until her death, Mom had no idea that young man was Kurt Cobain.
There is something special about the mom smile. We still feel it today. It hits you like St. Elmo’s Fire. This occurs when luminous plasma creates a corona discharge between an object and the surrounding air, often with a violet glow and a hissing or buzzing sound. We are that object, and we feel her buzz. Kurt must have felt it, too. Is that why he returns to visit her in 1997, just before she dies?
Boy From the Porch
Kurt Cobain May 25, 1986, Aberdeen Washington mug shot booking photo taken one week after his initial arrest. In the summer of 1986, Kurt was seeking direction in his life when he met our mom. What is that story? Very soon after, he found a connection with Krist Novoselic. Five short years later, the world came to know Kurt, Krist, Dave Grohl, and the band Nirvana. The rest is history. In 1997, three years after Kurt's death, he contacted our Mother. Are you as confused as our family was? We did not understand this then, nor do we understand it today. Did Kurt come back to thank Mom for giving him a sense of direction? Was his visit to prepare Mom in advance of crossing over in death? Or was Mom recalling Kurt in her memories? We are still searching for that answer, which leads me to believe the reader will have the final opinion.
Constable Huey
Our crucial eye witness to the events of this memoir in the summer of 1986. The world wants to know what happened in the basement Constable Huey. Was this a Kurt Cobain hideout, like legends of the old west telling the tale of Kurt breaking into the basement of a timber baron mansion? Pops says no way. Huey would have gone nuts if Kurt were sleeping in the basement. The lovable mutt was named after Hugh Anthony Cregg III, known in the music industry as Huey Lewis and the News.
When Kurt exited jail in May of 1986, he did not have many places to stay. Legend has him sleeping under bridges or on a porch in a cardboard box. Huey may have an update on the legends.