Surviving Soundgarden Members ‘Aren’t Over and Done With’ Despite Chris Cornell’s Death
After a band loses its frontman, their future is left uncertain. While the surviving members of Soundgarden haven't discussed any plans to continue with a new singer in place of Chris Cornell, they aren't necessarily "over and done with," and don't write off the notion of playing together again.
For the second part of the three-day 2020 Record Store Day, which was held on Sept. 26, Brandi Carlile released a two-track single titled A Rooster Says. The vinyl features Carlile covering the Soundgarden classics "Black Hole Sun" and "Searching With My Good Eye Closed" with Kim Thayil, Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd.
“‘Searching With My Good Eye Closed’ is one of Chris’ greatest songs, it has so much depth," Cameron described to Rolling Stone. "It’s a colossus. Hearing Brandi and the twins completely rock the fuck out on that tune was amazing. I love how it turned out. Kim’s solo is pretty incredible too.”
The project came to fruition following Carlile's performances with the surviving members of Soundgarden and Temple of the Dog at the 2019 "I Am the Highway" Cornell tribute concert. With the help of Carlile's collaborative partners Phil and Tim Hanseroth — aka "the Twins" — the reworked songs were recorded in November of 2019 in Seattle's London Bridge Studio, where Soundgarden's second album Louder Than Love was recorded.
“We felt honored that she asked us to take part in her Record Store Day project,” Cameron continued. “We had a blast. I think most people assume the three of us over and done with since Chris passed away, but that’s not the case. It’s nice to know that people still want to hear us play together.”
“It was so natural and fun to play with Brandi, and the twins, and playing with Ben and Matt is second nature for me,” Thayil added. “Any opportunity to play with all of them again whether live or in the studio, I would embrace without hesitation.”
Hear a clip of Carlile and Soundgarden's version of "Searching With My Good Eye Closed" in the singer's Instagram post below.
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