Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins discussed a conversation he had via text with Soundgarden and Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron shortly before Chris Cornell’s death in a new Daily Bulletin interview.
“This is a pretty flawless bill, if you ask me, “ Hawkins said about Foo Fighters’ upcoming Cal Jam 17 festival. “I don’t want to sound big-headed and put us in the flawless category, but as far as a great rock ‘n’ roll bill goes – I think this is about as good as it gets.”
The one bittersweet thing about the line-up, Hawkins revealed, was that just before Chris Cornell’s death back in May, Soundgarden was confirmed for Cal Jam 17.
“We love Soundgarden as people and as influences on us,” he said. “Matt Cameron is one of my favorite drummers and Chris Cornell was such a beautiful songwriter, singer and a beautiful dude. We were excited to have them. It’s a huge bummer. I remember, I text Matt when the line-up was solidified and I said ‘Dude, you can’t kick my ass too hard before we play, man. You gotta take it easy on me. Leave your A-game at home and just bring your B-game. Don’t make me look bad at our own festival’.”
Foo Fighters have been a part of a lot of festivals over the last two decades and Hawkins said what makes Cal Jam 17 stand out is that it’s not trying to be diverse or appeal to every musical taste – it’s apologetically a straight up rock fest.
“This is really a celebration, I guess you could say, of a generation that really loves rock and roll, hard rock, punk rock, speed metal, acid rock and alt-rock,” he said. “That’s who we are and what we like as musicians. We’re definitely not going to have a DJ tent and that’s OK, there’s a million places to go see a DJ that night in L.A. if you want.”
