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A Madison building that once produced some of America's most iconic grunge and alternative rock this month welcomed back the musician who ran a studio there for over two decades.

Butch Vig, the drummer for Garbage and producer known for bringing a unique sound to albums like Nirvana's "Nevermind" and the Smashing Pumpkins' "Siamese Dream," wandered through the former Smart Studios while in Madison last weekend for Freezing Man, a fundraising music festival formerly called Joey's Song.

Vig was accompanied by current owner Neka Allen as they toured the building at 1254 East Washington Ave., which had been a biker bar, deli and basket shop before becoming the sonic laboratory that left an indelible mark on the production of modern rock music.

A private residence for the last few years, the space now has a small stage in one of the first-floor rooms, with vinyl records, gig posters and mementos lining the walls.

From the mid-1980s to 2010, Vig produced music here for bands that included Nirvana and Garbage. Alongside fellow musicians Vicki Peterson of The Bangles, John Cowsill of The Cowsills and The Beach Boys, songwriter Freedy Johnston and musician/producer Gabi Lima, Vig told stories about Kurt Cobain's recording preferences, the day he met Garbage bandmate Shirley Manson and the time a backhoe crashed into the building. (No one was injured.)

The second floor elicited memories about waiting hours while Johnston wrote lyrics in the bathroom and how the group rigged a Coke machine to dispense beer cans instead.

The artists had returned to Madison to support Joey's Song, renamed Freezing Man this year. The multi-day music event raises money to support epilepsy research, contributing $1.75 million since 2010. The festival raised about $483,000 this year.

Photos by Ruthie Hauge

John Cowsill, from The Beach Boys and The Cowsills, Gabi Lima, sound engineer/musician and Vicki Peterson-Cowcil, from The Bangles, listen as Butch Vig tells stories about his former business, Smart Studios. All of the musicians were in Madison for the Joey's Song Freezing Man festival, to raise money for epilepsy research.

Vicki Peterson-Cowcil, Gabi Lima and John Cowsill listen a Butch Vig describes where Kurt Cobain stood as he recorded vocals with Nirvana in April 1990. Vig ran Smart Studios in the space from the mid-1980s to 2010.

Musicians John Cowsill (left) and Freedy Johnston (right) listen as Butch Vig, music producer and drummer of the bands Garbage and Spooner, tells a story about converting a Coca-Cola vending machine into a beer vending machine when the building was Smart Studios.

John Cowsill from The Beach Boys and The Cowsills, and his wife, Vicki Peterson-Cowsill from The Bangles, embrace as they tour the former Smart Studios building with Butch Vig.