Matt Cameron posted a beautiful happy birthday message to his Soundgarden bandmate Kim Thayil on social media. Yesterday was Thayil’s 57th birthday.
Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil attended Metallica, Avenged Sevenfold, and Gojira’s show in Seattle last month, and he was photographed backstage with the Gojira.
Gojira wrote, “Always nice vibes in Seattle. Really amazing meeting this gentleman backstage tonight. #kimthayil #soundgarden.”
These were the first photos of Thayil to surface since Chris Cornell’s funeral on May 26th. Thayil delivered a eulogy for his late friend at the service.
Bhi Bhiman described a part of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron’s eulogy for Chris Cornell on a recent Remembering Chris Cornell podcast.
“It reminds me of something Matt Cameron said in his eulogy for Chris.”
He added, “He was talking about the first time he met Chris, and he was in some band playing a pizza parlor at 4PM or something on a weekday. He was like, ‘Who plays that show?’ Nobody was paying attention, nobody cared, but when there is somebody who does care at those empty shows, you play for them, and it helps you get through the show, it helps you perform well during the show. At this one show, Chris was that guy.
He was sitting there like two feet away from him watching him drum, because Chris was a drummer, but he wanted a better drummer, or he felt the drumming in the band could be better, so he was watching him. That was the first time he met him. That was early stage Chris wanting to be involved with somebody doing something good.
He didn’t have the platform that he had later when I was on tour with him in that scenario, but that was always his M.O. I guess, collaborating with other people, working with other people, being humane to other people, and recognizing good talent when it’s there, and helping that talent along, however that might be. That’s something I take with me, that’s for sure.”