Having been one of the opening acts on what will now likely be Soundgarden‘s final tour, The Dillinger Escape Plan guitarist Ben Weinman has commented on last night’s passing of Soundgarden/Audioslave, etc. frontman/guitarist Chris Cornell. Speaking with Clrvynt.com, Weinman said of the man:
“Chris Cornell was, to me, the example of the unicorn. He was the guy that I said, ‘When I’m 50, if I could look half as good and be half as prolific and be half as good at my craft, I’d be happy.’ So, it’s such a shock. Even though Dillinger Escape Plan did a bunch of dates with Soundgarden, he didn’t really talk to anyone. The rest of the guys would hang out before the show and all of that, but he would fly into the show and go back to the hotel.
On the last tour that we were on together, he was sort of very quiet. But at the end of the day, he was just this unicorn that you stared at in awe. How does he do it? “I’ll have what he’s having.” He’s got a beautiful family, unlimited amount of resources, looked like the perfect picture of health. What kind of vitamins is he taking?”
He later said of Cornell:
“…He was a very private guy. Seemed to be very into his family, which is [what’s] so shocking about all of this. And the other band guys were the ones kind of hanging out backstage; Kim and I talk on the phone all the time. It’s such a blow to Cornell’s family and all of that, but also to the band, I can’t imagine what’s going through their heads right now. In the middle of a successful tour trying to write new music, you see Matt Cameron in two of the best bands in the world playing those songs like it was 30 years ago, just enjoying it so much.”
You can read more of his thoughts on the band and the massive impact they had on him over at Clrvynt.com.
