Louder Than Love || Chris Cornell

Heroes... And Heroin

Landgraaf, Netherlands Overste Hof Pub, June 8 1992

From The Point of View of the Editor - Lonn M. Friend

Chris Cornell is bathed in white light. Maybe it's just a trick of the local pub's dimly lit table that sat beside the large window overlooking the streets of Landgraaf , but I swear, there's something special about his presence. Clad in a pair of standard Seattle below-the-knee baggy shorts, a black 90 logo T-shirt and black Doc Martens (even though they're dirty, they somehow shine like they've been recently spit-polished), he sips a Diet Coke and Jack Daniels and relaxes in the booth, fully prepared for my journalistic bombardment. Chris' wife and Personal Assistant, Andrea Cornell, has already briefed the dark-haired, blue-eyed vocalist on our engagement and that your humble editor did not travel thousands of miles just to make idle chit chat, re-iterating that nothing is off limits.

She strolls away off to the bar in her Pantera tank top, her ripped jeans and black Doc Marten's that match Chris's so impressively. It's very apparent that she is a metal chick who is extremely cute and down to earth with a bit of shyness that she makes up for in exuding sweetness and humor. Upon first impression already, the chemistry between her and Chris is impeccable.

Married, just shy of a year, the couple have maintained an extremely low profile. The news of their marriage broke last year through MTV's Headbangers Ball and since then, they have remained close and practically inseparable. You can clearly see that they are made for each other.

Soundgarden has fought its way from the humble halls of Sub Pop all the way to big label (A&M) gold. With this new visibility comes the scrutiny of the metal and mainstream masses, who now hunger for this exceptional rock band. They want to hear their take on the world and its wonders. I've got my own agenda for this interview though. I've chosen to focus on something considerably less glamorous than MTV rotation and screaming arena crowds, but profoundly heavy in its relation to the torrent of amazing music that's poured down from the great Northwest over the past year.

Four incredible songs put Seattle on the modern hard-rock map; Alice In Chains' "Man in the Box," Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Pearl Jam's "Alive" and Soundgarden's "Outshined." Each awesome track, in its own way, tells of psychological struggle and youthful angst, yet each bears the personal stamp of the band that created it. Fabulous success has come to those who penned and marketed these songs and the LPs to which they're attached. Nirvana's Nevermind alone has eclipsed four million in domestic sales and shows no signs of slowing down. The Seattle scene is the focus of the rock world and, as we speak, countless "grungy" clone bands are being signed with hopes that others can capitalize on this movement. (I don't call it a fad or trend, because this music is too real, too heavy, to be a commercially motivated creation) and while all eyes are on Seattle, one band sits back and observes the phenomenon that they are not only a part of now, but were also instigators of in the beginning.

Chris Cornell engages me in a brief history lesson, His brow furrowing while he tells the tale.

"The Seattle scene, if you want to call it that, started with four bands, Green River, the Melvins, Malfunkshun and Soundgarden. The Melvins are still together in San Francisco. They began in, like, '83. Their bass player ended up in Mudhoney. Green River ended up being Mudhoney, Mother Love Bone and Pearl Jam. Andy Wood, from Mother Love Bone, was originally in Malfunkshun. The first record released by a Seattle band was 'Come on Down' by Green River, on Homestead Records and Slash Records was trying to pursue Green River at the same time we had a Homestead and a Sub Pop record coming out. A&M got a copy of this compilation of 12 bands sent out by a local radio station, KCMU. They liked the song we had on it and started coming up to check out the scene, seeing us play and stuff. We put out an EP and, well, that's it in a nutshell."