Pat Smear (born George Ruthenberg, August 5, 1959), is a guitarist who has been a regular member of several well-known bands including The Germs and the Foo Fighters. He was first introduced to a wide audience as Nirvana's touring guitarist. He is also known for co-hosting the MTV fashion show House of Style with friend and supermodel Cindy Crawford.
He was born and raised in West Los Angeles. He was born to an African-American/Native American mo...
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Pat Smear (born George Ruthenberg, August 5, 1959), is a guitarist who has been a regular member of several well-known bands including The Germs and the Foo Fighters. He was first introduced to a wide audience as Nirvana's touring guitarist. He is also known for co-hosting the MTV fashion show House of Style with friend and supermodel Cindy Crawford.
He was born and raised in West Los Angeles. He was born to an African-American/Native American mother and a German/Jewish immigrant father. His parents forced him to take piano lessons at a young age, and a few years later, he began teaching himself to play guitar. He lists his influences as Joan Jett, Brian James, Brian May, Steve Jones, and Steven Huffstetter. As a teenager in 1972, Pat Smear met Darby Crash and together they formed The Germs with bassist Lorna Doom and drummer Dottie Danger (the pseudonym of Belinda Carlisle who went on to front The Go-Go's).
Carlisle was soon replaced by Don Bolles and, in 1979, the band released...
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