Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil is featured in a new interview with Pete Thorn, found below. During the chat, Thayil discussed the term "grunge", which was used to earmark the music coming out of Seattle - Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden to name a few - in the early '90s that effectively wiped out the hair metal trend of the '80s.
Thayil: "We knew that this was something that was not necessarily going on in other scenes or other cities. People were being very true and allegiant to the punk rock ethos, and Seattle was doing something different. We were very aware of that. We didn’t think it was grunge. That became some marketing thing later. None of us were listening to hair metal. It’s not because we didn’t like it. I didn’t get MTV. I don’t even think I had a TV. And when we did have a TV, it was just broadcast. I didn’t have a TV at home until like 1995."
During a recent interview with LifeMinute, Thayil commented on the possibility of himself, Ben Shepherd (bass), and Matt Cameron (drums) reuniting and performing under the Soundgarden name.
Thayil: "I think it's very likely that Matt and Ben and I will play together. I think we know that the songs that we love, that we did for decades with Soundgarden - if we're going to play those songs again, or hear those songs - where we want to hear them, at best, it'll be with at least the three of us, you know, that's the closest we're going to get at this point. I think we'd want to re-explore that, do that, some time in the future, and I think the three of us have an interest in doing new things. We certainly like working together."
Thayil also discussed having to practice about a dozen or so old Soundgarden songs to prepare for his participation in Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp’s latest romp, Sounds Of Seattle.
On May 18, 2017, Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell was found dead, in his room at the MGM Grand hotel and casino in Detroit, Michigan, after performing at the Fox Theatre with Soundgarden. Following an investigation his death was ruled a suicide by hanging.
In September 2017, drummer Matt Cameron told Billboard that he and the other surviving members of Soundgarden had yet to make a decision about the future of the band following Cornell's death. He was quoted as saying: "I don't think we're ready to say anything other than ... Kim and Ben and I are certainly aware of how much our fans are hurting, and we're certainly hurting right there along with them. 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."
