Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron has spoken for the first time about how he, Kim Thayil, and Ben Shepherd are dealing with the death of Chris Cornell, and he had a message for fans on behalf of the band.
Cameron told Billboard, “I don’t think we’re ready to say anything other than…Kim [Thayil] and Ben [Shepherd] and I are certainly aware of how much our fans are hurting, and we’re certainly hurting right there along with them,” Cameron says. “But we’re extremely private people, and we’re all still processing our grief in our own way and on our own time. But we definitely are thinking of our fans and love them very much.”
This was the first time a surviving member of Soundgarden has offered an official comment on behalf of the band about Chris Cornell’s death, as they have yet to release an official statement.
Matt Cameron discussed playing his debut solo album Cavedweller for Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder in a Rolling Stone interview earlier this month. Cameron completed the album earlier in 2017, and played it for Cornell just two months prior to his death. Below is an excerpt of what Cameron told Rolling Stone.
Thirty years of work with Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder – inarguably two of the greatest singers of their era – made Cameron slightly unsure of his own vocal chops. “The vocal aspect was the toughest part for me,” he says. ” I’m pretty limited in terms of what I can do, but it’s better for me to do it all as opposed to bringing in a real singer and doing it that way even though my vocal prowess is very limited in comparison to Chris and Eddie.”
The album was finished before Cornell passed away. “I played some of it for him last March,” says Cameron. “He really liked it. He was always very supportive of me writing music for the band and kind of going for it. That was great. And I played some of it for Eddie and he really liked it, too. That felt great.”
