archived stories from February 2008

28 February 2008

After the European dates which are currently being announced, news of a likely American tour this summer comes from drummer Jason Sutter in a Q&A he has given to the Russian Chris Cornell Fan Club. Jason says, "it looks like we have European dates for festivals starting in June and a US tour in August." (thanks Nickson)

You can read Jason's answers here, along with some similar Q&A's from guitarists Yogi Lonich and Peter Thorn. Yogi talks about his new side project Run Through The Desert which also features bassist Corey McCormick and Jason Sutter. You can listen to some material at MySpace (thanks Yogi)

More news of Chris's forthcoming trip to Kuwait to entertain US troops on March 10 is beginning to surface - it's part of Operation MySpace, a "a ground-breaking live concert event" hosted by the social-networking website and will be streamed live. Other artists set to appear at the event, which will be hosted by Carlos Mencia, include Disturbed, Jessica Simpson, Filter, the Pussycat Dolls and DJ Z-Trip. You can read a press release about the event here (thanks Dani)

24 February 2008

Unlikely covers of Chris Cornell songs don't come much unlikelier than Fenella Fielding's rendition of Soundgarden's Rusty Cage. The 73-year old veteran British actress - once a celebrated Hedda Gabler on the stage and friend of Noel Coward and Federico Fellini - was also famous for her comic turn as a vamp in 1966 spoof horror film Carry On Screaming and recently appeared in The Vagina Monologues in Dublin. According to upmarket UK newspaper The Independent On Sunday, she has recorded "a splendidly bold interpretation" of the song for alternative British label and publishing company, Savoy, along with techno versions of songs by the White Stripes, Nick Lowe and John Lydon, though she's reluctant to see the collection released. Read the whole story here - although the Indie's writer fails to spot the scope for "Carry On" wordplay.

23 February 2008

Chris's guitarist Yogi Lonich gets the attention of the fashionistas at 24/7 Celeb in this web article about the recent pre-Grammy party in Los Angeles (thanks Di) - well, it is indeed a nice T-shirt.

Meanwhile, Chris Cornell's new German tour dates are listed at the promoter's site here (thanks Mo), along with a rather nice 2008 tour poster using one of the the live shots from the same pre-Grammy party. Meanwhile other new European dates continue to be added - see this site's tour page.

20 February 2008

A lot more pictures of the recent Verizon/People pre-Grammy party are now up in the gallery at Chris's official site, including shots of Chris with Timbaland, with his wife Vicky and in performance with his band.

photos courtesy of chriscornell.com

18 February 2008

More Chris Cornell European dates for 2008 (festivals and headline shows) are being confirmed all the time - keep checking the tour page for ticket links and details.

Chris will also be playing a special show in Kuwait next month to entertain US troops (thanks Emma). More details on that later.

16 February 2008

A string of dates for European shows in the summer are now starting to be announced - tickets are already on sale for a solo show in Tilburg, in the Netherlands (thanks Jo) and there's a rumour of a festival appearance in Bilbao, Spain (thanks Ed). Keep watching the tour page for details and ticket links as dates are confirmed!

Another new live date has been announced - Chris will be performing at the Rock Werchter festival in Belgium from Thursday July 3rd until Sunday July 6th, 2008. Tickets for the festival are set to go onsale on Saturday, March 1st. Other acts announced for the festival include Radiohead, R.E.M, Sigur Ros, Lenny Kravitz, The Kaiser Chiefs and K T Tunstall. Read more here.

11 February 2008

Sadly, Chris's Casino Royale theme song "You Know My Name" lost out at the Grammys to Siedah Garret & Henry Krieger's "Love You I Do," from Dreamgirls.

10 February 2008

More news of the recent Verizon/People party has emerged which seems to suggest Timbaland may have produced not just one song for the mobile album project, but a whole album for Chris. This story is officially unconfirmed as yet, but is being widely reported this morning as part of an account of Timbaland's apparently angry "tirade" at the party organisers. Here's a piece from the International Herald Tribune which also mentions that Chris performed a "new song" as part of his set.

"...Timbaland's discontent, however, could be seen earlier in the evening. As a shaggy-haired Chris Cornell, backed by a full band, rocked out some old hits and a new song in a 1:30 a.m. set, Timbaland stood at the side of the stage with a scowl on his face. But he only had a glowing intro for Cornell, whose upcoming solo album he produced, saying it was "the best" work he had ever done."

Also, here's an extract from a blog from Tim Kash at MTV who attended the party:

"My award for Best Standout Performance of the Night at a Pre-Grammy Party would have to go to either Chris Cornell (who’s undoubtedly one of the greatest musicians ever) or the dynamic duo of Missy and Timbaland, who closed out the night (amazing to see them do some of the old hits live, like it was yesterday)."

9 February 2008

Chris and Vicky Cornell arriving at the Verizon Wireless and People Magazine party to honour Timbaland last night in Los Angeles. More at Wire Image (thanks Mel).

Photo by Barry King/Wire Image

8 February 2008

After days of rumours, an Eonline news report confirms that Chris will be one of the artists playing Los Angeles's Avalon tonight for the Verizon Wireless and People magazine party honouring hip-hop producer Timbaland. Other artists appearing at this pre-Grammy bash include One Republic, Flo Rida and Taylor Swift (thanks Dani).

According to a report in Billboard, Timbaland is also putting together an innovative new "mobile album" project involving guest appearances from "some of those on the party's guest list". Apparently the songs won't focus on any particular genre of music, and will be released gradually throughout 2008 via V Cast, Verizon's mobile entertainment service. There's no confirmation yet on whether Chris will be involved. More details here.

7 February 2008

Chris is nominated for a Grammy for You Know My Name at this weekend's award ceremony, so let's wish him the best of luck with that. The song, which he co-wrote with composer David Arnold and performed for hit James Bond movie Casino Royale, is nominated in Category 84 - Best Song Written For Motion Picture, Television Or Other Visual Media. The other nominees include Eddie Vedder, Glenn Hansard of Irish band The Frames, and Prince.

Meanwhile, rumours have been flying about a TV appearance on Los Angeles's KTLA morning show on channel 5 some time this week, but we've been unable to get confirmation as to date or time. Keep watching!

Chris Cornell Fan Page © Clare O'Brien 2007