Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins discussed Chris Cornell’s death and Soundgarden in a new Modern Drummer interview.
“We all come from the same spots musically. Dave and I both loved AM radio when we were kids. And the Police, Zeppelin, Queen, the Beatles, Soundgarden—those were things that we really bonded over. We both think Matt Cameron is a master.
He’s without a doubt one of the greatest drummers ever, end of story. Chris Cornell was one of my big heroes, and his loss is so devastating. I just can’t get over it. The last record they made, King Animal, was a perfect addition to where they were heading as a band. It ranks up there with their greatest records. Matt and Chris together was such a magical combination.
Such a great band. They were set to make another record. I’m forty-five, and if you were a musician in our age group and you heard Soundgarden coming up, you knew, whoa, these guys are serious players with a lot of heart and soul.”
Foo Fighters frontman and former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl discussed Chris Cornell’s death in a September Hot Press interview.
“I just want everyone to survive,” says Grohl. “You cross your fingers and say your prayers and hope everyone makes it home safe at night. When you find out that you’ve lost a friend…” He trails off.
He discussed becoming friends with Cornell and the rest of the Grunge scene when moving to Seattle in 1990 to join Nirvana.
“The one thing I was pleasantly surprised with when I moved to Seattle was that the music scene was a community of friends that happened to play music,” Grohl recalls. “Whether it was Mudhoney or Soundgarden or Pearl Jam or Nirvana or Alice In Chains. Most of those people you could find at the same bar on the same night.”
When Grunge exploded and industry fixed its gaze on Seattle, there was, he reports, a strong camaraderie among all the bands that had come up together.
“Everybody felt connected to everyone else in this beautiful way. Especially when the scene really started to blow up. You would bump into your friends from Seattle on the other side of the planet. You had something in common. Over the years I’ve made friends with Chris Cornell and all the Soundgarden guys. It’s like this big extended family of musicians that all happened to have the same incredible experience at the same time. You know, we’ve lost a couple of beautiful people – musicians – over the years. It just fucking breaks my heart.”
Cornell’s death, at aged 52, stunned even those close to him. Nobody in his life had suspected he was suicidal. Even now, five months later, his motives for taking his life are unclear.
“We were all shocked, fucking shocked,” says Grohl. “That was not one that I saw coming at all.”
