Nirvana, the "alternative" rockers who recently reunited to shoot a very special homecoming video message for Virginia Tech's "Hoagies," first signed to Sub Pop Records in 1989. Fortunately, the Pacific Northwest label has kept the original paperwork around all these years and published that initial contract to Tumblr yesterday, which we've reposted below:

As you can see from the handwriting, this agreement was made before Dave Grohl joined, back when Nirvana was still a four-piece with Chad Channing on drums and Jason Everman on guitar. Perhaps more significant, the band's first record-deal advance was $600. "Six hundred bucks well spent—not that we had it at the time," noted the label.

[photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images/MTV Unplugged: Nirvana]

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