live earth performer chris cornell stressed about green issues

by brian miller, artisan news, july 2007

With Live Earth about to take place on July 7th, bringing most of the world's top musicians for 24 hours of music from 9 concerts across all 7 continents, the time is now for the entire planet to take notice that climate change is a very serious issue that needs to be addressed globally. With a stunning list of musicians ranging from The Police, The Dave Matthews Band, The Smashing Pumpkins, Roger Waters, Snoop Dogg, John Butler, Xavier Rudd, Ludacris, Bon Jovi, Alicia Keys, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Genesis, Madonna and Linkin Park, music fans from around the planet will take part in the concert that will mark the end of a multi-year campaign led by the Alliance for Climate Protection and Al Gore.

We caught up with Chris Cornell, who is currently touring in support of his second solo album 'Carry On', to share his thoughts on Green issues.

"I've been stressed out about Green issues for a long time. I don't remember when it first hit me but probably when I was in my late teens I started to do a lot of hiking and camping in the Pacific Northwest. Which is some of the most beautiful geography in the world. I also saw a lot of things when I was doing that, that weren't so great. That were kind of disgusting. Things that concerned me. The Gulf War had a big effect on me.Being a kid growing up through the gas crisis had an effect on me."

Chris Cornell, who is raising his young son Chris, feels that as a parent he can't pass up an opportunity to raise awareness of these globally important issues.

"I've seen things sort of slowly change but I have children now and we're a couple of generations away from being in serious trouble. If I have an opportunity to be a part of an event that raises awareness for these issues, I'll definitely do it. Especially because it's a concert where bands are go and play and I'll be playing a concert the day before and the day after and if I wasn't doing this I'd be playing that day. For me it's what I do, so it's so easy. I'm just running in and doing what I do. The one thing I know how to do that people are going to bother to check out, and try to help push that button of awareness."

Chris Cornell also talked about Americans needing to focus on making positive changes toward helping our environment.

"We have sort of a pattern of behavior that we're used to. Americans more than anybody. We create right now, we're the number one creator of greenhouse gases and I think we consume sixty or seventy percent of all things consumed in the world. Anything that's a reminder to focus on the changes in our lives and help the environment is a great thing."

Chris Cornell, who will be performing in Hamburg, Germany, will be joined by Jan Delay, Juli, Katie Melua, Lotto King Karl, Mana, Michael Mittermeier, Reamonn, Roger Cicero, Sasha, Silbermond, and Snoop Dogg. Other artists slated to perform at Live Earth are The Beastie Boys, Black Eyed Peas, Bloc Party, Corinne Bailey Rae, Damien Rice, David Gray, Duran Duran, Foo Fighters, Genesis, James Blunt, John Legend, Keane, AFI, Fall Out Boy, John Mayer, Kanye West, Kelly Clarkson, KT Tunstall, Ludacris, Rihanna, Melissa Etheridge. Organizers have chosen New York, London, Johannesburg, Rio De Janeiro, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney, Hamburg and Istanbul as the 9 locations.

Reprinted from Artisan News. Originally available as an online feature with video footage here. Video also available on YouTube.

Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2007