Soundgarden

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Soundgarden in 1991 Left to right: Thayil, Cameron, Cornell, and Shepherd
Background information
Origin	Seattle, Washington, USA
Genre(s)	Alternative rock Grunge Alternative metal
Years active	1984 — 1997
Label(s)	Sub Pop SST A&M Polydor
Associated acts	Audioslave Temple of the Dog Hater Wellwater Conspiracy Pearl Jam
Members
Chris Cornell Kim Thayil Matt Cameron Ben Shepherd
Former members
Hiro Yamamoto Scott Sundquist Jason Everman

Soundgarden was an influential Seattle rock band who helped to define the sound that came to be called grunge. They are considered one of the 'big four' Seattle bands of the era, along with Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam. In 1997, the band broke up due to internal strife over their creative direction.

[edit] History

[edit] (1984-1986) Formation and first years

Soundgarden was formed in 1984 by Chris Cornell (drums & vocals) and Hiro Yamamoto (bass), and was later joined by Kim Thayil (guitar). Thayil had moved to Seattle from Park Forest, Illinois^[1] with Yamamoto and Bruce Pavitt, who would later start Sub Pop Records. The band named themselves after an outdoor phonic art installation called "The Sound Garden" located on NOAA property near Seattle's Magnuson Park, which makes eerie sounds when the wind blows.

Cornell originally played drums while singing, but the band enlisted Scott Sundquist to allow Cornell to concentrate on vocals. The band's first recordings were three songs that appeared on a compilation for C/Z Records called Deep Six. It also featured songs by fellow grunge pioneers Green River, Skin Yard, Malfunkshun, The U-Men and Melvins.

In 1986 Sundquist left the band, to be replaced by Matt Cameron, who was the drummer in Skin Yard.

[edit] (1987-1990) First releases

The band signed to Sub Pop, releasing the Screaming Life EP in 1987, and the Fopp EP in 1988. A combination of the two was issued as Screaming Life/Fopp in 1990.

Though the band was being courted by major labels, in 1988 they signed to SST Records to release their debut album, Ultramega OK, for which they earned a Grammy nomination for Best Metal Performance in 1990. Their first music video "Flower", was directed by Mark Miremont, and aired regularly on MTV's 120 Minutes. In 1989, the band released their first album for a major label, Louder Than Love, through A&M Records. After the release of the album, Yamamoto left to go back to college. He was briefly replaced by Jason Everman, formerly of Nirvana, who appeared on the Louder Than Live video. Ben Shepherd was soon recruited as a permanent replacement.

[edit] (1991-1994) Popular acclaim

The cover of Badmotorfinger, released in 1991, the album which gave Soundgarden their first charting singles and launched them into the mainstream.

The new line up recorded Badmotorfinger in 1991. Though successful, the album was overshadowed by the sudden popularity of Nirvana's Nevermind. At the same time, the focus of attention brought by Nevermind to the Seattle scene brought the band wider attention, allowing "Outshined" and "Rusty Cage" to find an audience at alternative radio and MTV. The band toured with Guns N' Roses to support the album, and later released the video Motorvision which was filmed on that tour. The band also took a slot on the 1992 Lollapalooza tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, and Ministry, among others.

The band made an appearance in the movie Singles playing "Birth Ritual". The song appeared on the soundtrack album, as did a Chris Cornell solo song, "Seasons". The movie also featured the demo version of "Spoonman", a song from the band's 1994 album, Superunknown.

Superunknown was the band's breakout album, driven by the singles "Black Hole Sun", "Spoonman", "The Day I Tried to Live", and "Fell on Black Days". The songs on Superunknown captured the creativity & heaviness of their earlier works, while showcasing the more radio-friendly aspects of the group. Lyrically, the album was quite dark and mysterious, as much of it is often interpreted to be dealing with substance abuse, suicide, and depression. Some songs had a Middle-Eastern or Indian flavor, such as "Head Down" and "Half".

[edit] (1995-1997) Down on the Upside and break-up

Soundgarden in 1996.

The band's final album was 1996's self-produced Down on the Upside. The album was notably less heavy than the group's preceding albums, and marked a further departure from their grunge roots. This album spawned several singles, including "Pretty Noose", "Blow Up the Outside World", and "Burden in My Hand". Soundgarden explained at the time that they wanted to branch out and explore other sounds. However, tensions within the group arose during the sessions, with Thayil and Cornell reportedly clashing over Cornell's desire to shift away from the heavy guitar riffing that had become their trademark.^[2] Despite strong reviews, the album did not top its predecessor's sales.

Tensions continued to increase during the band's ensuing tour in support of the album. At the tour's final stop in Honolulu, Hawaii in February of 1997, Shepherd threw his bass into the air in frustration after suffering equipment failure, and subsequently stormed off the stage. The band retreated, with Cornell returning to conclude the show with a solo encore. ^[3] On April 9, 1997, the band announced its disbanding. Soundgarden's final release, a greatest-hits compilation titled A-Sides, was released the following fall.

[edit] (1998-present) Post-breakup

Chris Cornell released a solo album in 1999, Euphoria Morning. He later formed the supergroup Audioslave with former members of Rage Against the Machine, which disbanded in early 2007. His second solo album Carry On is to be released in May 2007.

Matt Cameron initially turned his efforts to his side-project Wellwater Conspiracy, to which both Shepherd and Thayil have contributed performances. He then worked briefly with The Smashing Pumpkins and was even rumoured as a replacement for Jimmy Chamberlin. In 1998, he stepped in on drums for Pearl Jam's Yield Tour, and subsequently joined the band as a permanent member.

Kim Thayil joined forces with ex-Dead Kennedys vocalist Jello Biafra, former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Gina Mainwal for one show, performing as the No WTO Combo during the WTO ministerial conference in Seattle on December 1, 1999. Thayil later contributed guitar tracks to Steve Fisk's 2001 album 999 Levels of Undo, as well as Dave Grohl's side-project album Probot, released in 2004. In addition, Thayil lent his guitar to the album Altar, the collaboration between drone bands Sunn0))) and Boris. The album was issued by Southern Lord in 2006.

Ben Shepherd toured with Mark Lanegan and released the second Hater album in 2005. He also occasionally appeared on Wellwater Conspiracy albums.

Regarding a future Soundgarden reunion, Chris Cornell stated in an October 2005 interview that it would "probably not happen". He continued, "It's almost like we sealed the lid and said, this is Soundgarden and this is its lifespan, and put it out there. And it looks really great to me. I think getting back together would take the lid off that and then could possibly change what... to me seems like the perfect lifespan of the band. I can't think of any reason to mess with that." ^[4] In interviews following his departure from Audioslave in February 2007, Cornell reiterated that the members of Soundgarden had no interest in reuniting.^[5]

[edit] Discography

Main article: Soundgarden discography

[edit] Notes

[edit] Further reading

• Chun, Gary C. W. "Tantrum Mars Soundgarden Show". Honolulu Advertiser. February 10, 1997.
• Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Soundgarden". All Music Guide. Retrieved June 13, 2005.
• Prato, Greg. "Black Hole Sons". Classic Rock Magazine. Summer 2005.

[edit] External links

• Unofficial Soundgarden Homepage
• The Soundgarden Group on Yahoo! Groups