What Goes Up Must Come Down

10/08/1997 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Dave DiMartino

		They have now gone their separate ways, but Soundgarden have nonetheless firmly established their place in rock 'n' roll history as one of the most lucrative and enduring success stories to emerge from the infamous Northwest Rock Explosion. Prior to Soundgarden's break-up in 1997, lead singer Chris Cornell spoke to LAUNCH executive editor Dave DiMartino about his satisfaction with the band's first self-produced effort, Down On The Upside, and his feelings about the music scene in his hometown Seattle. LAUNCH: As far as music goes, what do you think was the coolest period in the whole Seattle scene? CORNELL: I guess like between '80 and '85 or '86, probably because there was no music industry or media forced on it. That was kind of the coolest thing that happened to it. I can't think of any one instance, any one thing, one person, just the fact that there was a period in that scene where nobody cared about Seattle, so the musicians and that whole culture were left to their own devices and left to just do what they wanted to do to, which was entertain themselves as opposed to doing it for any other reason you can think of--making money, being famous--because at the time, there seemed to be no chance of that happening. "Pretty Noose" "Blow Up The Outside World" "Applebite" LAUNCH: And now look at you. Did you have any specific goal or direction in mind while you were making Down On The Upside? CORNELL: I don't know, we never really know what the hell we're going to do as far as picking a specific direction to go in, you know? Everybody brings music in, has a different idea. If one guy had an idea of making a specific record, the other three guys probably wouldn't agree with it anyway. We just start arranging songs, and people start bringing in songs and we start working on them, work them over and make our decisions on the songs we like. The record sort of happens by itself. LAUNCH: Were you looking for something different from what you'd done in the past, though? CORNELL: The only thing we agreed on that we wanted to do differently was the self-production thing. And that came from working with a lot of producers, making a lot of records, doing a lot of stuff on our own and knowing there's a certain amount of energy, or spontaneity, that we always liked when we quickly did things ourselves. And we wanted to get that, but we wanted the record to sound really good, as well. I guess at this point, we felt we could do both and do it ourselves and that's what we did. LAUNCH: Have you noticed any changes in the way you guys operate from the early days when you were just local rockers in Seattle? CORNELL: I don't think it ever really changes much. As far as the way we work, we always make records the same way. The only difference is how much time you spend writing. Because when you're on the road, you don't spend that much time writing. When we would sit around Seattle, that's all we did was write songs. LAUNCH: As your band has gotten increasingly more successful, have you seen that success impact the actual recording process? CORNELL: Before, we played our new songs a lot live, and we knew exactly what we were going to do when we went in the studio. Now it's kinda like we have to wait until we're done touring. And then we start the writing process, so it takes longer. Otherwise, we work the same way, sitting in a little rehearsal space. LAUNCH: Would you guys say you play "heavy metal?" CORNELL: There's one time we did "Big Bottom," the cover song from Spinal Tap. I'm not sure if it was This Is Spinal Tap, Smell The Glove or Shark Sandwich. We did that song once and that was heavy metal. We did a really good version, a really good version. LAUNCH: Any albums that you had as a kid that changed your life? CORNELL: I think most of the records that changed my life, I stole. I was at an age where I couldn't afford records. LAUNCH: So which ones did you steal? CORNELL: I think I stole the entire Beatles catalog--and that's a lot of records to steal. That had probably the biggest impact on me as far as totally changing my life. I can't think of one single record that really did that. The whole later Beatles period did that--changed my opinion about music and changed me from a casual music fan to someone who couldn't wait to come home and sit alone in my room and listen to all these records. I did that for years before I even thought about playing it, but I don't know. I think that would be my only example I can think of. LAUNCH: Pick the best 30 seconds on Down On The Upside. CORNELL: The middle of "Apple Bite." That's a good 30 seconds. But I think we sound pretty good in 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, it takes a particular amount of taste. I know that because we get so many requests to do songs for movies. And they only use 30 seconds. And we get tons and tons of them and I always wondered why that is. And then I'd see these movies. It's so impactful in small doses and I think that's why. Which is probably why we don't sell as many albums as Hootie & The Blowfish. Too much of a good thing. LAUNCH: Has your life changed at all with all the popularity of your band? CORNELL: It has. I never answer the phone, never answer the door. I don't go out in public without my disguise, just those kind of things. LAUNCH: Seriously, how do you stay sane in the midst of such phenomenal success? CORNELL: I'm just barely hanging on, man. I could go at any second. I tell myself everyday: "I gotta keep myself together man. Don't go over the deep end." LAUNCH: What would you be doing if you weren't in Soundgarden? CORNELL: I really never had to think about that. That's a good question. Probably digging ditches, just like everyone else. LAUNCH: Are you into the computer age at all? CORNELL: I think it's cool. I think it will get more and more interesting, and you'll have more and more options as time goes on. The thing I hate about it is where you start getting the feeling you get from software companies that if you--the average citizen--don't embrace this and don't start buying this equipment and get well versed at it that you'll be a second-class citizen and left out. Like it's going to be necessary for you to lead a normal life--you'll have to have this stuff. Because I don't believe that. I don't think it will be unless it's made necessary. The citizens of this country or whatever country will be the ones who will either allow that to happen, or not allow that to happen.