soundgarden’s chris cornell on the band’s new tour and coming album

by john jurgensen, wall street journal, july 2011

The list of unlikely rock reunions that have flourished in recent years—Pixies, Pavement, Guided By Voices—prove that most fans need only be patient until their nostalgia wishlists are fulfilled. Soundgarden seemed to prove that rule by reuniting for Lollapalooza 2010 after breaking up 12 years before. Since then, a group that helped embody the Seattle grunge boom, has recorded a new album (title and release date to be determined). Singer Chris Cornell, whose piercing warrior howl ranks with that of AC/DC’s Bon Scott in the annals of hard rock, called in for an interview ahead of a tour that brings Soundgarden through the New York area this weekend.

Soundgarden wasn’t just a band, it was a business. What was the most challenging thing about getting that machinery running again?

I suppose there’s some catching up with ways of doing things and communicating with fans and getting the news out. In the 12 years or so we had off that stuff got easier. But we were also a band with a manager and a record label and a catalog department that was fully operational, but basically nobody was doing any of that. For us that was the biggest issue. I’ve always had a strong work ethic but it’s easy to get swept away by writing songs and playing shows, as opposed to sitting at meetings around giant tables in rooms that are over-air conditioned.

It’s been more than a year since you reunited in Chicago. What have you learned since then about playing together again?

Since then we’ve written an entire new album. That was pretty interesting. Once we were in a room working on new arrangements, that 12 years apart was erased.

Was it hard to take the step from playing old songs to actually writing new material?

It’s like wearing two very different hats. Rehearsing for a show after 12 years off, there’s less tension surrounding that. You know it’s do-able. The songs are on a list somewhere. Writing a new album, that’s when the individual relationships come into play. In that regard we’ve always been a really great band. Everybody supports everyone’s ideas. But there are still question marks in writing new music. What’s it mean? Who are we now? Hopefully the answers are in the songs.

After going solo, you experimented with different styles, from acoustic arrangements to the electronic stuff you did with Timbaland. Do you feel like hard rock is your natural state?

I don’t think I’d say that. Playing music is my natural state and within that I’m trying to experiment with what’s possible and what makes sense. I always felt like Soundgarden as a band should be able to include any element. When I wrote “Black Hole Sun,” I was afraid to play it for the guys because I didn’t think they would like it. We can do almost anything but “Black Hole Sun” won a Grammy for best heavy metal performance. So the lines get blurred, but that’s a fun thing to do.

It was hard to really classify Soundgarden. You were more amorphous than some of your peers.

There’s positives and negatives to it. We were the one band that couldn’t be easily imitated because there was no simple jumping off point. It was a great thing because it kept autonomy. But I suppose in terms of marketability it’s been a bit of a struggle because we couldn’t easily be explained.

Can you give me an example of what the new music sounds like?

I’m really happy with it. I understand the feeling of the album. It’s very true to form for Soundgarden yet you can’t compare it to anything else.

How does writing, playing heavy, aggressive music in your forties compare to doing it in your teens and twenties?

I don’t feel like the source has changed. In some ways as people get older they might have convictions that change but ultimately they may be more open-minded about everything. That’s part of being an adult and getting older. I don’t think music necessarily is affected by that. For me it’s important that the lyrics are borne of the feeling of the music. I don’t get in there and create a character. It’s more of a voice that I hear living inside the music.

What was it like to finally get in the same room together? Did anything happen in the 1990s that required apologies?

There was nothing like that. It was just five minutes of awkwardness. Then you start talking about what’s going on now and what you remember. We spent years and years traveling around together, so there are some pretty incredible stories.

Your voice was one of the most distinctive aspects of Soundgarden. How has it changed?

I never really stopped adjusting in terms of singing the old songs. Any of the hard parts for me are still hard when singing live. The thing that I like now is that we have the opportunity not just to rise to former glory, but to explore what these songs can do live. I never stopped thinking if there was a better way to approach it. It’s a moving target. And these songs have their own lives.

What was your hair strategy going into this tour. Short or long?

I don’t ever think about that much.

Well, you have to decide when to get a haircut, don’t you?

Not really. I don’t really have to do that. That’s one obvious 100% sure benefit of being a musician for a living is that I don’t have to think about that. I’ve never worn a watch or a tie and it doesn’t really matter what happens with my hair arrangement.

 

Reprinted from the Wall Street Journal - originally available as an online feature here

 

Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2011