Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic was in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday at a Senate hearing on the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of parental warning stickers on rock and rap records.

The hearing is being chaired by Kansas Republican Sam Brownback, who also led a hearing last fall on the lyrics of artists like Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails.

Novoselic, who currently directs his musical energy to his group Sweet 75, also heads a Seattle-based advocacy group called JAMPAC, which promotes the free speech rights of performers and record companies.

He arrived in Washington early to catch last weekend's Tibetan Freedom Concert, where spoke with MTV News about the efforts he's seen by politicians on his home turf of Seattle to crack down on the music industry.

"It's a handy issue for some politicians up there so they can go back to their districts during the election and they claim they're doing something about the school shootings and teen pregnancies and teen violence, and it's a real quick fix, but it's a ruse," Novoselic told MTV News. "These are complicated issues. How do you address something like all these unsupervised afternoons and summers when all these young people in America have all this idle time?"

• Sweet 75

August 28 [10:00 EDT] -- Former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic is back, with the debut album from his post-Nirvana band, Sweet 75.

For the effort, Novoselic teams with Venezuelan singer and onetime street musician Yva Las Vegas, who Novoselic first met at a birthday party where she was singing. Novoselic was so taken with her Latin folk songs that the two began writing together.

"It just kind of happened," Novoselic told MTV News.

"We rehearsed like 40 hours a day, for like three years," Las Vegas explained.

"For like three years we were compelled and committed, just for the sake of music," Novoselic added. "It was just something to do, and it was a lot of fun. Just for some wild reason I started playing 12-string electric guitar, and Yva, she was playing guitar, but she switched to bass..."

"Which I love," Las Vegas interjected.

Sweet 75 launches a U.S. tour, with L7 opening most dates, next Sunday in Boise, Idaho.

Here's where Pollstar says you can find them:

• 8/31 - Boise, ID @ Bogie's
• 9/1 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Brick's
• 9/2 - Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre
• 9/3 - Omaha, NE @ Ranch Bowl
• 9/4 - Iowa City, IA @ Gabe's Oasis
• 9/5 - Green Bay, WI @ Concert Cafe
• 9/6 - Madison, WI @ O'Cayz Corral
• 9/7 - Chicago, IL @ Vic Theatre
• 9/9 - St. Louis, MO @ Galaxy
• 9/10 - Cincinnati,OH @ Bogart's
• 9/11 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
• 9/12 - Toledo, OH @ Main Event
• 9/14 - Syracuse, NY @ Lost Horizon
• 9/16 - Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club
• 9/17 - Providence, RI @ Met Cafe
• 9/18 - New York, NY @ Supper Club
• 9/20 - Philadelphia, PA @ Theatre Of Living Arts

• Nirvana
• Sweet 75