Jason Everman was born in Alaska, in October 16, 1967 where he lived with his parents in a two bedroom cabin with a pet ocelot. The marriage didn’t work out and his mother left with Jason when he was a toddler, moved to Washington and remarried an ex Navy man; the family eventually settled in Poulsbo, across Puget Sound. from Seattle. After an incident in which he and a friend blew up a toilet with an M-80 firecracker, his grandmother put him in therapy sessions to deal with his emotional problems. Everman began playing the guitar during therapy sessions; initially he took one of the guitars the therapist had in his office, and then the therapist decided to play with him, hoping it would help him open up. He then went on to play in various bands during his high school years. In addition, he reestablished contact with his biological father, who at the time owned a fishing boat in Alaska, and worked several seasons on the boat. Before joining Nirvana, he played guitar in a local band called Stonecrow with future Nirvana drummer Chad Channing.
Everman joined Nirvana in February 1989 as a second guitarist. He is listed as being second guitarist on Nirvana‘s Bleach and appears on the cover, but did not actually play on any of the tracks. Nirvana founder Kurt Cobain said the credit was a token of thanks to Everman for paying a fee of $606.17 to record the album. On the 2009 remastered edition of Bleach, Everman is no longer credited but can still be seen on the front cover and he is given special thanks in the booklet.
Everman toured with Nirvana the summer of 1989 in support of Bleach. He can be heard playing guitar on Trust No-One, an unofficial release of a live performance in Boston. Cobain had broken his guitar the previous night and only provided vocals, leaving the guitar playing to Everman. Everman can also be seen in the bootleg video of Nirvana playing an in store performance at Rhino Records in Los Angeles on June 23, 1989. During his time with Nirvana, he could sometimes be seen using Fender guitars, generally the Fender Telecaster. Nirvana fired Everman after the tour ended due to his moodiness.
A two song Nirvana session featuring Everman on guitar is available, albeit in separate releases. A Kiss cover called Do You Love Me? was released on the 1990 tribute album Hard to Believe: A Kiss Covers Compilation, and Dive was released on 2004’s With the Lights Out. Both tracks were recorded at The Evergreen State College’s 24 track studio in June 1989.
Everman next joined Soundgarden in Fall of 1989 as Hiro Yamamoto‘s temporary successor on bass. In April of that year, he played on the band’s cover of The Beatles‘ Come Together, which appeared on an EP called Loudest Love. Everman appeared in Soundgarden‘s Louder Than Live home video. Everman left immediately after Soundgarden completed its promotional tour for Louder Than Love in mid-1990 to play bass for the band OLD (Old Lady Drivers) and Soundgarden found Yamamoto‘s ultimate successor, bassist Ben Shepherd. Later, in 1993, he played guitar in Mind Funk.
In September 1994, he left Mind Funk to join the United States Army, subsequently serving with the Army’s 2nd Ranger Battalion and later with the Special Forces, serving tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. After completing his service, he took a break from the military and lived in New York City where he briefly worked as a bike messenger. He then traveled to Tibet and worked and studied in a Buddhist monastery before returning to the U.S. He reentered the Army when offered the chance to join Special Forces.
After receiving an honorable discharge in 2006, Everman went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Columbia University School of General Studies on May 20, 2013. General Stanley A. McChrystal wrote a letter of recommendation for his application.
In July 2013, The New York Times published a portrait on Everman, written by guitarist and writer Clay Tarver. The article features interviews with Everman, his family members, former band colleagues, music industry people, and soldiers. A 2014 The Daily Beast interview mentions that Everman was invited to attend Nirvana‘s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, that he lives in New York, has participated in writing workshops and “still goes overseas regularly, working as a consultant for the military.”
According to his biography on the homepage for the Pat Tillman Foundation, of which he is a member, as of 2017, Everman was pursuing a Master’s in Military History from Norwich University.
In May 2017, Everman met fellow veteran Brad Thomas in New York and the two decided to start a band. By July the band, named Silence & Light, had a complete lineup consisting of military veterans with Everman playing the guitar. They began recording an album in January 2019 in Van Nuys, California. One song was released in October 2019 and the complete album was released in December 2019. The band’s profits are dedicated to helping members of the Special Operations Community, the Military, and First Responders. The band says they consider their genre to be modern rock. In April 2023, Everman appeared as a guest on the Joe Rogan Experience to talk about his life and career.
Discography
With Nirvana
Bleach (1989) (Credited but does not play.)
Hard to Believe: A Kiss Covers Compilation (1990)
With the Lights Out (2004)
With Soundgarden
Loudest Love (1990)
Louder Than Live (1990)
With OLD
Lo Flux Tube (1991)
Masters of Misery – Black Sabbath: An Earache Tribute (1992)
With Mind Funk
Dropped (1993)
With Silence and Light
Volume One (2019)
Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda… (2023)
