Chris Cornell
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Euro Tour 2009
Just a few words about my European tour that is already under way. Played Pinkpop and Bochum already, both great shows. Tomorrow is Groningen! Here is a link to the rest of the dates.
Follow me on Twitter to win tickets to the non festival events. I will pick 5 winners per show starting with Brussels. If you twitter me song requests I've been known to add them to the set. Just remind me and I will check in. I'm playing 2 plus hours - everything from early days through Scream and everything in between. Sorry that I missed last summer's dates but I promise it will be worth the wait.
See you at the shows!!
CC
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Cops and the E.R.
The other day running back, Ryan Moats was detained by a police officer just outside the hospital entrance where his mother was dying.
I saw Heraldo Rivera ( Jerry Rivers) on a cable news talk show calling the incident "racial profiling" which it may very well have been. Having said that though, the very same thing once happened to me.
12 noon midsummer day wake boarding in Garbage Bay Lake Washington just off the U.W. Huskies football stadium. I jump the wake and when I land my left foot popped out and the ass end of the Board flew up and hit me in the side of the head on impact with the water. Next thing I remember I am having a nice conversation with friends somewhere far away in a nice place that is drowned out by the sound of a motor boat prop, which wakes me up, and I realize where I am and have been knocked out in the water.
I was wearing gloves. I put my hand to my head and then looked to see tons of blood mixed with the nice brownish green water of Garbage Bay.
Somehow I convinced my buddies that I was fine to drive myself to the E.R. alone and that they should continue to enjoy their sunny day of boarding. That was a mistake.
I got lost on the way to the hospital cause I had a concussion and drove around bleeding for a while, when finally I saw a big blue H sign. I came to a red light, stopped and waited. And waited. And waited. (And bled some more) I looked around, saw no fucking cars anywhere, took my fucking left turn against red.
If you have seen the footage of Ryan Moats then you know exactly what the next scene looked liked. Car parked to the left of the E.R. entrance, police car pulls up behind me.
The next thing that happens is a Police Man threatening a man with blood all over his face to return to the back of the car or I will be forcibly detained. He told me I had run a red light and was under suspicion of being a driver under the influence (at noon). I pleaded my case that it was likely I was under the influence of a bad head injury. He didn't like that response. He started to threaten me and try to get me to do a sobriety test. I decided in a daze to start wandering off into the E.R. thinking maybe a doctor could talk some sense into him. My limited medical knowledge did include that there was a possibility of internal hemmoraging which could kill me.
Next thing, Police Man puts his hand on his gun and starts making intense threats that I don't really remember, but I wasn't able to make it inside. I was however doing my best to say the alphabet backwards with blood in my eyes when I was finally rescued by guess who????? A different Police Man who rode up on a bike to see what was going on. He must have had seniority or something, cause he took one look at me and picked me up and ran me inside where they then started asking me what year it was and who was the pres. of the United States.
I have always thought of myself as a patient person, but remember my mother wasn't dying.
Ryan Moats is a gentleman and when put to the test showed the world that he is a asset to society, to his team, and most of all, a credit to his mother and family.
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Rory
Thought I should say something about my friend Rory and his amazing poem.
I have had a friendship with him by telephone and email for a while now. I was made aware of his story and that he wanted to talk to me because my music had been important to him and his family through what I think of as an unimaginably hard time. After speaking to him I knew we would stay in touch. I think he is an extremely brave man and has been nothing but a gentleman in every conversation we have had, never once complaining even when I know he may be having a bad day. To the contrary, he has sent me messages that have lifted my spirit at times when I was down and without knowing, reminded me how trivial my few troubles really are.
What he did to lift my spirits the most was to send me his poem. What I read gave me such a sense of relief that Rory had an insight. A strength and hope that was inspiring beyond measure.
It was a pleasure to put it to music and an honor that he ask if I would ever consider it.
It was with his permission that I posted it for people to listen to.
If you want to know more about his story it is best told by a close friend of his on the news page HERE on my site.
Thank you all. C
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I am starting to. I want to but I haven't set it up right. I will though.
Just watching Flight Of The Conchords which is on HBO. If you don't have it where you live you can buy it in iTunes.
The shows are great. The Monkees meets Extras.
Peace out! C
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Guitar
Hi people. Here is an open question. Since I got my guitars back I have been considering playing guitar live again. Who thinks I should pick it up again?
I play guitar all day every day as I am always working on new songs. Let me know if you think I should hit it live. The king is dead.
God save the king.
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Canada
Just finished a Canadian tour. Very cool. I introduced my wife to Kamloops and other somewhat remote places that even I hadn't been to in years.
In Montreal I found out a friend of mine Denis D'Amour (Piggy) from the band Voivod died of cancer. It made me sad. He was a fantastic guitar player and a wonderful person. Gentle and very talented. I was so moved by his playing that I gave him a brand new Les Paul which his best friend told me is still with his sister all these years later.
Speaking of guitars, I was just dusting off the 15 or so guitars that I recently had returned to me after the end of a very long law suit where someone had decided that maybe the tools of my trade and guitars I played on my entire catalogue should be in their possession forever. It seems to me that some strangely desperate people involved in the music business forget that they are not the ones that write these songs, spill their guts and expose themselves to the public on the most personal level. We invent this shit and fucking own it and no matter what, nothing will change that.
Back to Canada. I like their money. It's colorful and on the backs of the different notes are little picture postcards or travel brochures for the country. One bill has people playing hockey! Why can't we have football? They have the Queen on the 20, which they may not like, but it could be much worse. She was never a slave owner. We have those on some of our notes. Overall we have cool guys, though.
Lincoln ended slavery and saved the union. Washington was the first pres. And was part of a war of independence that could have easily resulted in his death. Franklin was a true genius. He invented an instrument, charted the gulf stream, discovered electricity, co-founded a republic, and did a bunch of other amazing shit I don't remember. We loved J.F.K. So much that they came up with a new, somewhat useless half dollar coin so he would have something. I think Obama should get a coin for being the first African American pres. What an amazing accomplishment in the history of American politics and social reform! My vote would be for a 2 dollar coin. We will need one soon since the dollar bill is worth less every day. There is a 2 € coin. The U.K. Has a 2 £ coin. I also feel there is and should be a place to recognise George W. Bush for his efforts. My idea would start with a stamp. It would cost a lot and could only be used to send out bills or return them. In fact I would propose a system where no bills could be mailed out or returned with any other stamp. The next option which I think should be added is to have the feds create a uniform billing statement format that has his ugly face on it, whether it is a mailed paper form or an online page. All tax forms except refunds should have his ridiculous grin on it. In fact anytime, and in any case that requires an individual to part with their hard earned money, his wretched likeness should be visible!
I'm off to the White House. It's my son's birthday. God bless America! C
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Blog: Tues
I feel a huge sense of relief
I feel lucky to be alive to witness what has happened in the U.S. over the last several months.
To witness what happened today. Historical.
We needed this. I needed this.
I need hope.
I feel hope when I see good in human nature.
I have seen it a lot lately.
Out on tour doing in store visits with Timbaland signing posters. Taking pictures. Playing live with his band to fans who were open to a collaboration that is truly unique.
I don't care what anyone says. What we did together is different than anything that has been done before, and I saw goodness in the people that came to the events with the willingness to be open to something different than what they are used to.
Great people. Great fans.
The best fans!
Thank you! C
Blog: Essence of Dreams
The essence of a dream can follow you all day long. Sometimes two or three days. I have had dreams as a little kid that I remember like they were yesterday, though as time goes on these dream are sometimes hard to tell from actual events as they survive in my memory.
I am fascinated with the essence factor of dreams, period. They are as real as the essence felt from the ambience of an actual place, like a house you grew up in. Your favourite bar, or your school. The first Christmas tree you see every year, the smell of it, and especially songs. Some feelings these environments evoke are awful, some magical. All of them completely real.
Real enough that numerous cultures throughout history have believed that the dream world is every bit as important and substantial and a vital part of human life as the conscious state. Some mysticisms actually look at the world of dreams as being the "true and only world" and everything else an illusion. For my money, if you put an ice pick through your hand, I think it will prove to be a pretty fucking good illusion.
Last night I had a dream that has been following me all day like a sick dog. I was in a hotel near the house I grew up in. I was in a cafe that happened to be the lunch court of my elementary school. Various friends from my past were walking up and talking to me. In the middle of this scene walks Layne Staley. He looked much like he did the first time I met him. Shoulder length hair, clean shaved. Clear eyed and looking about 20 years old. I was so happy. Confused a little, but in a dream like this, I just wanted to accept the idea that there was some mistake and he was alive and well. He seemed happy and said was working on some new music project.
I woke up not long after that with the feeling that I had really just talked to him and he was somewhere doing just fine.
My next thought was one that has plagued me for years. Sitting in Kelly Curtis' living room with about 30 people, all sobbing. We had just come from Andy Wood's extra weird funeral-wake thing at the Paramount Theatre. It had these new age overtones that didn't fit Andy's life at all. There was an amazing film of Andy with Mother Love Bone band mates. All of Andy's friends and family were there, mixed with a bunch of fans who I didn't like but knew Andy would have loved. The fans went home. His friends went to Kelly's.
We were crammed in a smallish living room with people sitting on every available surface. Couch arms, end tables, the floor. I was leaning on the back of one of the couches that face away from the rest of the room and toward the front door. I remember Andy's girlfriend looking at everyone and saying "This is just like La Bamba" then suddenly I heard slapping footsteps growing louder and louder as they reached the front door and Layne flew in, completely breaking down and crying so deeply that he looked truly frightened and lost. Very child like. He looked up at everyone at once and I had this sudden urge to run over and grab him and give him a big hug and tell him everything was going to be OK. Kelly has always had a way of making everyone feel like everything will turn out great. That the world isn't ending. That's why we were at his place. I wanted to be that person for Layne, maybe just because he needed it so bad. I wasn't. I didn't get up in front of the room and offer that and I still regret it. No one else did either. I don't know why.
Years later, at Layne's funeral, I was angry. I kept hearing the "twice as bright, half as long" speech and the "he was just too special for this world" nonsense that I had heard at so many other funerals for so many other friends that were so young and talented. I'm not sure why I was that angry. Angry at Layne? Angry at all my other friends for leaving me? Angry at the people running around in circles saying "I knew him best" or "I was the only one he really trusted", angry at all of them for squandering what I thought of as brilliant futures that would make the world feel to me like a place worth living? Or maybe I was just mad at myself because he was dead, and one time I had a chance to pick him up, dust him off and let him know that there was a person who cared about how much pain he was in and I didn't do it.
If I ever run into him in a dream again, I hope I remember to apologise.
Night all. Sweet dreams.
C
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Blog from Chris
A few things.
First, thanks to everyone for the setlist input. Already working on some songs that I haven't played in at least ten years. One song that I haven't played more than one time live in my life, and have a short list that we will be able to get to over the next month of touring. I have to say though, "Scream" is what's up for me.
I have been rehearsing the whole album start to finish and it's insanely fun.
New music rules. Every song you ever loved by anyone was once brand new.
Another thing I keep forgetting to mention. Ben (Soundgarden, Hater) was telling me that someone was selling guitars that they said used to be mine on ebay. I looked it up and they are trying to sell a guitar that they say I played in the Temple of The Dog "Hunger Strike" video. LIES! I have it with me at all times. It is my #1 go to guitar for recording and has been since I bought it in 1990.
So be careful of this kind of shit!
This week has been insane. Things look pretty grim on a lot of fronts and we need a fucking break. I want everyone who reads this that needs a little comic relief to go youtube Billy Squire's "Rock me Tonite" video. Things could be worse. It could be the eighties. C
Blog from Chris
Hi. Wow. What a day. I'm rehearsing a new album front to back without any breaks in the music. No talking. No breathing. The album as it is meant to be heard recorded or live.
This is unlike anything I have ever done, which was the whole point in the first place, and at a time when everyone seems to want to consume one song at a time it seems crazy to try and bring an album that is the most album oriented record I have made.
Thus far it has been a huge challenge for the record biz to figure out how to present it. Makes me long for the old days where people would go to a planetarium and watch lasers chase themselves to entire Pink Floyd or Rush records. Punk music killed that but I can't think of anything more punk rock then bringing a modern version of that back now during a time of sound bites and 20 second itunes auditions.
It was mine and Timbaland's hope that the first time anyone heard this it would be a one hour experience. Well, for some of you the first time you hear it live it will be just that. In addition I have been working on some songs that have not been played for years or maybe never and am going to throw it out there to you guys. Who wants to hear what??? I move forward at such a crazy pace, why don't you point me back to a few dark corners and I will drag out some old friends as well.
I love music. I love writing songs. Making records. Changing my own game. Meeting my old friends and making new ones. My family and this. Nothing else matters. I was gonna talk about the stock market and the debate but fuck it. I don't feel like it anymore.
God help us. X0 C
