Kim Thayil Says Soundgarden Are Happy to Share Matt Cameron with Pearl Jam

2014-08-12

Soundgarden Down on the Upside Album Art

Story by Anne Erickson

Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil discusses sharing drummer Matt Cameron with Pearl Jam

Soundgarden are currently touring North American with Nine Inch Nails, but fans who head to the shows will find a different drummer in place of longtime band member Matt Cameron: Matt Chamberlain. Cameron is busy with his other band, Pearl Jam, but when Audio Ink was at a recent Detroit show, it was obvious Chamberlain has the chops to fill Cameron’s void.

Ask Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil if it’s difficult to share Cameron with Pearl Jam, and he’ll say it’s not at all a chore. “No, because it was under the auspices of Pearl Jam and Matt Cameron that really Soundgarden got going again,” Thayil told the Boston Globe. “Everything from the rehearsal facilities to a lot of the crew guys we started working with — a lot of that came during Pearl Jam’s downtime and a lot of support from their management team. They’ve been very helpful, so without that camp, it might’ve been more difficult for us to facilitate what we’re doing now.”

So, would Soundgarden and Pearl Jam ever go on tour together and share Cameron? He says maybe, but they would likely share Chamberlain, too, since otherwise, Cameron would have to work all night long. “I suppose we could do it and Matt Cameron and Matt Chamberlain could split duties because Matt Chamberlain has played with Pearl Jam, too,” he said. “We’ll look at that down the road.”

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Anne Erickson

Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based music reporter and radio host. She has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, Loudwire.com and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne at anne@audioinkradio.com.