VOLUME 42 | NUMBER 21 Hen Chris Cornell Entered He Shrugged
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May 24-30, 2017 | VOLUME 42 | NUMBER 21 hen Chris Cornell entered He shrugged. He spoke in short bursts of at a room, the air seemed to syllables. Soundgarden was split at the time, hum with his presence. All and he showed no interest in getting the eyes darted to him, then band back together. He showed little interest danced over his mop of in many of my questions. Until I noted he curls and lanky frame. He appeared to carry had a pattern of daring creative expression himself carelessly, but there was calculation outside of Soundgarden: Audioslave’s softer in his approach—the high, loose black side; bluesy solo eorts; the guitar-eschew- boots, tight jeans, and impeccable facial hair ing Scream with beatmaker Timbaland. his standard uniform. He was a rock star. At this, Cornell’s eyes sharpened. He He knew it. He knew you knew it. And that sprung forward and became fully engaged. didn’t make him any less likable. When he He got up and brought me an unsolicited left the stage—and, in my case, his Four bottled water, then paced a bit, talking all Seasons suite following a 2009 interview— the while. About needing to stay unpre- that hum leisurely faded, like dazzling dictable. About always trying new things. sunspots in the eyes. He told me that he wrote many songs “in at presence helped Cornell reach the character,” outside of himself. He said, “I’m pinnacle of popular music as front man for not trying to nd my musical identity, be- Soundgarden. It allowed him to tour the cause the moment I nd it, I then become world with that band and as a solo artist. It a painter or a novelist or something.” It was factored into Grammy Award nominations obvious that the man was fueled by music, and wins, songs for major Hollywood lms. that he was always seeking the next sound, It made him a target of paparazzi. It helped not a singular Chris Cornell sound. He make him famous. joked that Seattle’s weather helped with But there was more to Cornell than his that pursuit, providing cold, dark places to magnetism, his musical talent, and that write about cold, dark things. Hindsight, unmatched, pliant voice his fans yearned though, suggests that was fabricated levity. for. He was a mentor and loyal friend. He Over the years Cornell battled addic- elevated other artists just by being around, tions, but what he ultimately succumbed in the rehearsal space, in the apartment. For to was intangible and internal. His creative those he bonded with, the impact was much passions, I believe, punched holes in that greater. He helped shape their personas and cold interior darkness, oering hope even careers. And his relationships with two oth- as it let more blackness ood in. As he sang er band leaders—Malfunkshun and Mother in “Reach Down,” unquestionably assum- Love Bone’s Andrew Wood and Pearl Jam’s ing the character of his late friend Andrew Eddie Vedder—singlehandedly shaped the Wood: “Love was my drug, but that’s not Seattle-centered global revolution that was what I died of.” It’s an uncomfortably apt grunge. coda for Cornell’s own life. Cornell’s band was the rst of the major Cornell’s love, we’re now given the unfor- “grunge” acts, and the others were inevita- tunate opportunity to understand, fostered bly inuenced by the Soundgarden front much of the music and culture born here in man. His prowling, carnal stage presence the late ’80s and ’90s. Here are ve distinct inspired many, even while it irked others. ways the mercurial artist changed Seattle’s His no-holds-barred vocals encouraged the music scene and identity—and therefore raw usage of the human instrument that shaped the planet’s culture—through his became a hallmark of the genre. His all-in ceaseless ambition, bravery, and friendship. showmanship demonstrated that stardom could be embraced without sacricing one’s His Band Started It All artistic integrity. And he provided an exam- Soundgarden formed in 1984, well before ple of how to stretch beyond one’s perceived the city’s golden age of rock began, and creative wheelhouse. Grotesquely, it’s easier before most other notable guitar-heavy acts • WEEKLY SEATTLE to connect the dots now that Cornell is were playing, with the noted exception of gone. e pioneering. e inuences. e Green River (which would split into Mud- dark lyrics. e impact on our city—both its honey and two-fths of Pearl Jam). In the history and future. His death in the midnight band’s infancy, Cornell sang from behind the hour of May 18—designated a suicide by drum kit, anked by bassist Hiro Yamam- authorities, a nding contested by his wife— ato and guitarist Kim ayil. A year later, left a black hole in fans’ and friends’ hearts the vocalist deferred percussion duties, and and in Seattle’s music community. You don’t the move changed the dynamic—and the WEDNESDAY, MAY 24, 2017 24, MAY WEDNESDAY, know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone, the song trajectory—of the band. Ironically, Cornell goes. I think we did know what we had in decided to focus on vocals after watching Cornell, but like all things, we took him for Matt Cameron drum for the band Feedback. granted, wanted more Soundgarden, more As he recalled thinking in Mark Yarm’s book Temple of the Dog, more shows, more of his Everybody Loves Our Town, “Oh, that’s what octave-crushing howl—without considering a good drummer is supposed to play like. the toll it all took on him. How Chris Cornell shaped Seattle music Maybe my talent lies elsewhere.” His epiph- Looking back at my hotel-room talk any opened the door for Cameron to join with Cornell, it’s also easier to see that he culture and brought it to the masses. the band in 1986—and proved to be quite an felt compelled to create just as fervently as understatement. people wished he would. rough half of our By Clint Brownlee CONTINUED ➤ conversation, he was kicked-back, cool and Cornell at the Avast! studios in 1993. indierent. He ran ngers through his hair. CHARLES PETERSON 7 MARK SELIGER RUMBLE & GOD OF WAR MAY 26 9:45 PM RE:DEFINITION EVENT: SIFF CINEMA EGYPTIAN MAY 26 6PM PARAMOUNT THEATRE MAY 31 9:30 PM SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN FREE WITH RSVP! The early days of Soundgarden. Join us for the energetic Seattle premiere Hong Kong action director Gordon Chan’s sprawling war epic is set in of Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7 the World, sponsored by Amazon Video 16th-century China, where marauding Direct, in conjunction with the Paramount Japanese pirates threaten the coast In that year, Soundgarden’s rst recordings actually thought about quitting Nirvana. He Theatre’s gallery opening of Re:defi nition, and it’s up to Commander Yu (Sammo were pressed into wax. e now-legendary wanted to try out for [Soundgarden], because followed by SIFF’s 4th World afterparty Hung) and the newly promoted General Qi (Vincent Zhao) to defeat them. Deep Six compilation featured the songs he liked them that much.” featuring a special guest DJ. “Heretic,” “Tears to Forget,” and “All Your No other local vocalist or band inuenced Lies.” ough even the record’s producers others so early and so clearly. admit its sound quality and sales disap- pointed, the compilation proved to be the His Band Broke Taboos are signaling Seattle’s rise. Soundgarden Soundgarden’s impression on major-label and the comp’s other ve bands gained representatives was equally profound. In local notoriety simply by being recorded. It Everybody Loves Our Town, Epic Records’ brought coverage in inuential music paper Bob Pfei¨er said, “I was nuts about that e Rocket, and more live shows. band. I thought I saw God.” He wasn’t alone; THE LAST ANIMALS POW WOW Soundgarden impressed most people who a bidding war ensued. e band signed with MAY 27 3:00 PM MAY 29 7:00 PM saw the band play, including Bruce Pavitt A&M in 1988, and became the rst Seattle SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN* AMC PACIFIC PLACE MAY 28 6:30 PM JUNE 5 6:30 PM and Jonathan Poneman. e former had been act of the era to get a major’s backing. But it SIFF CINEMA UPTOWN* ARK LODGE CINEMAS issuing an underground fanzine and compila- wasn’t that simple. Soundgarden had already JUNE 6 6:30 PM Directors Michael McConville and tion cassettes in Olympia, then Seattle, since recorded its debut full-length, Ultramega OK, ARK LODGE Robinson Devor scheduled to attend the early ’80s and struggled to release Green and agreed to release it on storied indepen- *Director Kate Brooks Seattle-based Robinson Devor’s River’s Dry as a Bone EP on his edgling Sub dent label SST. e band shrewdly kept both scheduled to attend. (Police Beat, Zoo) latest iconoclastic With the value of their tusks and horns documentary uses the lives of residents Pop label in 1987. e latter was a musician obligations intact, thus avoiding a delay in skyrocketing in recent years, African living on the fringes of Palm Springs and KCMU (now KEXP) host with, as he getting their music into fans’ hands. elephants and rhinoceroses have in the sun-baked Coachella Valley to said in Everybody Loves Our Town, “like Signing with A&M turned o¨ some of been slaughtered at unprecedented illuminate the story of an infamous 1908 $15,000” in savings bonds and a strong desire those fans, though.