slave to the sound

chris cornell ignores hype, goes on writing songs

by jennifer chancellor, tulsa world, 18 november 2007

Chris Cornell, the voice behind Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog, was ranked 12th in MTV's "22 Greatest Voices in Music" survey, ahead of such icons as David Bowie, Steven Tyler and Bruce Springsteen.

He's also been dubbed "the single most dynamic rock 'n' roll force produced by the grunge revolution of the early '90s." Blender magazine called Cornell's voice "one of alt-rock's most elastic instruments."

"They sound really smart, don't they?" joked Cornell in a recent telephone interview. "The statements each come unraveled, you know, when I tell them that I don't believe that there was any such thing as a 'revolution.' "

Regardless, Cornell's influence on modern-day rock 'n' roll is undeniable, as he's fronted two of the most popular rock acts of the former millennium, and well into this one -- Soundgarden and Audioslave. He'll bring his solo show -- and trademark voice -- to Cain's Ballroom on Sunday, supporting his first solo release since 1999, a rollicking rock album called "Carry On."

When asked why such a long hiatus between solo releases, "Well, I've recorded three albums for another band and toured all over the world," he answered matter-of-factly.

He's also raising three children, remarried, established homes in L.A. and in Paris, opened a Parisian restaurant called Black Calavados and served as the face of the men's fashion designer John Varvatos' 2006 ad campaign. It's the 13th album of his storied career -- one born from a lifetime of hard work and dedication.

And for him, it's also been a lucky number. While heading into the studio, Cornell was struck by a truck making a U-turn, he said. "He hit my bike and I went flying; I think I broke my finger. It bends to the right," he laughed.

All joking aside, he strolled away with minor scrapes and bruises -- his bike had to be completely rebuilt. "It took the brunt of the impact, lucky for me," he said. That day, he walked into the studio and started recording what he'd written for his solo project.

Writing music is something Cornell's done for as long as he can remember. Cornell composed and performed his first full set of music at age 8. By age 9, he was studying the Beatles obsessively and by his early teens had mastered the drums, forming his first band. At age 15, he dropped out of school to work full time. "My parents divorced, and we went from upper middle class to barely middle class," he said. "For me, self-sufficiency was easy. I liked the idea of independence."

That drive has served him well. He met guitarist Kim Thayil in 1984 and formed their own original band, Soundgarden, named after a wind sculpture in Seattle. Honing his vocal and guitar abilities, the band earned early raves from music critics as it "made a place for heavy metal in alternative rock," wrote music critic Stephen Erlewine.

The band played a circuit that would several years later be traveled by Nirvana and Mudhoney, and eventually, in 1994, Soundgarden hit it big with the album "Superunknown" and its crossover single "Black Hole Sun" went multiplatinum, earning two Grammy Awards.

During that time, he also formed a one-off project with Pearl Jam members, Temple of the Dog, as a tribute to Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood. In 2002, Audioslave, which Cornell fronted, released its self-titled debut, which quickly went triple platinum.

Two albums were released since, and the band also became the first American rock band to perform in Cuba. "There's a lot of music there, a lot of history," he said.

At Sunday's show, he said to expect a long set, anywhere from two hours to two hours and 40 minutes. "I'll perform songs that go all the way back to 1990 -- (Temple of the) Dog, Audioslave, Soundgarden, solo stuff, new stuff and the odd cover now and then," he said.

One will likely include the cover of a song -- and artist -- that Cornell never cared for until he watched the reaction of his fans. He originally started playing the song "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson as a joke during Audioslave shows.[Actually, it was during an acoustic solo show he played to promote Audioslave's last album, "Revelations" - webmaster]

"It was an emotional roller coaster for them," he said. "I just started playing it in a different time and key. They started with this clamor of recognition, then paused, like, 'Wait?' as they realized what was going on," he laughed. "There were three sets of applause, it was bizarre. That song in particular, it's not a stupid song. It's really well-written, but the song was lost in the beat and the bassline."

Reprinted from the Tulsa World. Originally available as an online feature here.

Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2007