on meditation and metta
"Metta is one of the techniques they teach you after you’ve completed a ten day silent meditation. It’s just like projecting loving kindness into the universe and helping you to be happy, that kind of thing. So I just thought that’d be a good message for the record.”
on songwriting...
" I like Radiohead, Coldplay and Elbow, Keane. I’m very into melody and chords...but I do like older kinds of American folk pop too, like James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Crosby Stills and Nash, Nick Drake -- and Jeff Buckley, which is newer."
on new songs...
"We’re actually working on my second record, which is going to be all acoustic and strings. I’m going to do a stripped down kind of record."
on guitar heroes...
"as far as my rock playing goes, my guys are like Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix and Angus Young. I like blues influenced rock guitar.”
on working with chris...
"Chris is actually quite keen on me creating up there…I try to mix it up a little bit. I notice that he always gets excited when things change, so I like that.”
Photo by Ross Halfin - used by permission
on peter thorn...
“We became friends on this tour...this is probably the best dual guitar relationship I’ve had, so I hope to work with Pete more.”
on soundgarden...
“The Soundgarden stuff is incredible - I just don’t know where he came up with all those crazy tunings and everything! It’s been pretty challenging learning all his unorthodox guitar styles.”
on euphoria morning...
“First and foremost I’ve always been a Cornell solo fan. Euphoria Morning was definitely my favourite record of his, just because there seemed to be more depth and harmony and melody and vocal performance and all that.”
on audioslave...
"I’ve seen video footage of Audioslave and they do their thing cool, they do it good, you know. But I think Chris is just a more diverse artist and he likes to do stuff that’s soulful and gospelly and bluesey and heavy rock and even acoustic sensitive stuff. So I think he probably is a little happier with us."
on guns for hire...
"It does have a really bad stigma, the term hired gun, but for all intents and purposes that’s what we are… people hire us, me and Peter and Jason and Corey, because we’re skilled at playing different styles."
Photo by Ross Halfin - used by permission
It’s rare to find musicians that combine virtuosity with strong songwriting skills. Usually talent is concentrated in one area or the other, and few of our most breathtaking instrumentalists are also consistent composers.
It’s interesting that Chris Cornell guitarist Yogi Lonich mentions two exceptions to that rule - Jimmy Page and Jeff Buckley - within five minutes of sitting down to talk backstage at the Birmingham Academy. And they’re not the only ones who’ve inspired him.
“Prince has done it quite successfully, he plays and he sings and he dances, And John Mayer’s obviously playing more now, ‘cause he’s doing his blues, Stevie Ray Vaughan kind of thing. Jimi Hendrix certainly did it. I think I’m just embarking on my path right now so for me to try to encompass all that is a little tough - but, you know, that was my first record!”” Yogi’s debut album Metta is named after a meditation practice - part of the Buddhist vipassana system.
“There’s no gods or rituals or anything,” Yogi explains, “but Metta is one of the techniques they teach you after you’ve completed a ten day silent meditation. It’s just like projecting loving kindness into the universe and helping you to be happy, that kind of thing. So I just thought that’d be a good message for the record.”
Despite his own pedigree as a lead guitarist - he played for Buckcherry and The Wallflowers before taking his current job in Chris Cornell’s band - Metta bristles with imaginative but accessible pop, owing far more to the British singer-songwriter tradition than it does to Page or Hendrix. As he admits, “my lead guitar playing is not at all showcased on that record, I don’t have any guitar solos. …as far as my rock playing goes, my guys are like Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix and Angus Young. I like blues influenced rock guitar. ”
Instead, the album sees Yogi showcasing his own strong singing voice: lead-off single Inside You recalls the wondering sensuality of some of the songs on Coldplay’s first album, Parachutes. “Sure, yeah,” Yogi agrees. “I mean it starts all the way back with the Beatles and the Stones and all that kind of stuff but, as far as more contemporary bands - I like Radiohead, Coldplay and Elbow, Keane. I’m very into melody and chords and all those kind of things, so yeah, I love Coldplay. I would say that’s definitely the genre that I’m leaning towards. But I do like older kinds of American folk pop too, like James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Crosby Stills and Nash, Nick Drake -- and Jeff Buckley, which is newer.”
The British influence also extends into the rockier end of things, like the oriental-tinged epic Full Speed Ahead, which recalls nothing so strongly as Robert Plant’s post Zeppelin solo work. “Oh really?” Yogi beams. “Wow, well, that’s great. It definitely has the eastern, Indian flavour you know, I’m using the sitar. Robert Plant, that’s interesting!”
Full Speed Ahead is one of two tracks that appear twice on the album - the second time in an acoustic arrangement with strings. Why did he decide to explore that route?
“Well, this buddy of mine, Stevie Blacke is a string player and arranger, he does a lot of work for producers in LA and he recorded the cello, then the viola, then the violin - he’s sort of a one man string quartet. He was just kind of interested in doing it and it ended up being so cool that I ended up tagging those songs on the end of the record as bonus tracks.”
Far from being afterthoughts, the two tracks make a stunning end to the album - so much so that Yogi plans to explore the formula further. “We’re actually working on my second record, which is going to be all acoustic and strings. I’m going to do a stripped down kind of record. And we’ve got two songs already recorded for that.”
Like all struggling songwriters who need to make a living, Yogi’s currently juggling his own material with other work, fitting in the odd solo acoustic show where he can on his nights off.. There’s no need to wash dishes or tend bars when you’re nearly six months into a marathon world tour with rock icon Chris Cornell, though. Does he find teamwork satisfying or would he rather be concentrating on his own songs?
“You always kind of want what you don’t have. I’ve been a hired gun guitar player for over ten years and I’ve had some success at it, it’s great, I love it, but I’m just really jonesing to get up there as a singer-songwriter. The past couple of years has been cool. You know, I would do like a year touring with an artist, and then I’d have down time, six months or whatever till the next thing, and I’d make a record then and I’d gig and I’d record and all that kind of stuff and so far I’ve been enjoying it because obviously, doing the big tours with the successful artists keeps the bills paid .”
This time round you look like you’re enjoying yourself as well, I tell him.
“Oh yeah, I think this Chris Cornell gig - I’m quite at home here because of the rock blues kind of influence and the heavy thing, I think this one really allows me to express myself. Chris is actually quite keen on me creating up there…I try to mix it up a little bit. I notice that he always gets excited when things change, so I like that.”
One of the best things about watching Chris Cornell’s current live band is the interplay between the two lead guitarists. While Yogi’s own style is bluesy and fluid, bandmate Peter Thorn’s playing is more jagged and experimental. Live, the two really do spark off each other, and familiar songs by Soundgarden or Audioslave have been morphing gradually night by night into something subtly different via unexpected new solos, new intros, new endings.
Yogi agrees enthusiastically. “We became friends on this tour, we met through doing other auditions and have referred each other to things in the past - but now we’ve actually become friends. This is probably the best dual guitar relationship I’ve had, so I hope to work with Pete more.”
Recently, Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello said he felt Chris would be happier with hired musicians than what he called a “band of equals”, a remark that caused some controversy. “Well, of course, I’ve seen video footage of Audioslave and they do their thing cool, they do it good, you know. But I think Chris is just a more diverse artist and he likes to do stuff that’s soulful and gospelly and bluesey and heavy rock and even acoustic sensitive stuff. So I think he probably is a little happier with us.”
Yogi has no problem with being called a “hired gun”, though.
“I know …but people use the term, and essentially it’s just the simplest way to describe it. It does have a really bad stigma, the term hired gun, but for all intents and purposes that’s what we are… people hire us, me and Peter and Jason and Corey, because we’re skilled at playing different styles.”
And how about the future? Can he continue to combine his own individual creativity with band teamwork?
“I’ve been in bands before where I joined as a member and became one of the songwriters and all that, and then there’s a situation like Cornell where I think this may turn into a band, you know, because he’s expressed some interest in maybe having us record his next record. But that’s just hearsay, who knows if it’ll happen… but we all are very excited by it, so yeah -we’ll stay with it!”
Although Carry On - recorded before Audioslave had officially split - used studio musicians, the cohesiveness and energy of the live band would be great to hear in a studio setting. Cornell has said that just as Euphoria Morning was in many ways a reaction to leaving Soundgarden, Carry On was a reaction to his work in Audioslave - and that perhaps his next solo album might end up being a reaction to Carry On. What kind of direction does Yogi anticipate for the next solo album?
“It’s hard to tell,” he murmurs. “I know that Chris has enjoyed acoustic music but I wouldn’t doubt that he probably feels like his heavier roots are probably being missed a little bit by the Soundgarden and Audioslave fans. But it’s hard to say where it’s going to go. He hasn’t really told us what he’s been working on or writing but, I think as far as the musicians in the band go, we’d like to do a heavy record with him. But we’ll see. I’d be happy to play anything.”
With twenty years’ worth of material and the band playing well upwards of two hours every night, there’s certainly a lot of scope for changing the set around and exploring different kinds of music. From Yogi’s point of view, which material is the most fun to play - and which presents the most challenges?
“First and foremost I’ve always been a Cornell solo fan,” he replies. “Euphoria Morning was definitely my favourite record of his, just because there seemed to be more depth and harmony and melody and vocal performance and all that. And then I would say Soundgarden, then Temple Of The Dog, and then Audioslave. The Soundgarden stuff is incredible - I just don’t know where he came up with all those crazy tunings and everything! It’s been pretty challenging learning all his unorthodox guitar styles.”
Having seen several shows on the solo tour, I’ve personally been struck by how different in content and character each one has been: it seems like there’s a lot of spontaneity going on.. I ask Yogi what makes a successful show for those up there on the stage.
He laughs. “Aside of people playing the right notes and performing well, I think when we feel the audience responding and just being moved and inspired, that for me makes a show. When I feel like I’m connecting with an audience. Sometimes if I tune up, close my eyes for too long and get lost in my own little world then I don’t feel as fulfilled afterwards. So I know if I’m connecting with the audience and they’re feeling what I’m feeling or what I’m trying to project.”
Interview with Yogi Lonich conducted at the Birmingham Academy, 4 September 2007. First published at Subba-Cultcha - see here. Hear extracts from Metta at Yogimusic.
© Clare O'Brien 2007
