Kim Thayil Says It’s ‘Very Likely’ He’ll Play Again With Matt Cameron + Ben Shepherd
The death of Chris Cornell in 2017 seemingly halted Soundgarden's second act, but in a new interview, guitarist Kim Thayil says fans may not have seen the last of him playing alongside Soundgarden bandmates Matt Cameron and Ben Shepherd.
While speaking with Lifeminute TV (as seen below), Thayil offered, "I think it's very likely that Matt and Ben and I will play together. I think we know that the songs that we love, that we did for decades with Soundgarden, if we're gonna play those songs again or hear those songs when we wanna hear them, at best it'll be with at least the three of us; that's the closest we're gonna get at this point."
He continued, "So I think we'd wanna re-explore that and do that at some time in the future. And I think the three of us have an interest in doing new things. We certainly like working together."
The three musicians have performed together sparingly since Cornell's death, turning up at the 2019 "I Am the Highway: A Tribute to Chris Cornell" benefit show in Los Angeles. They also joined one of the artists from that show, Brandi Carlile, onstage during her concert last August in George, Washington for a couple of Soundgarden covers.
Having collaborated with the surviving Soundgarden members onstage and on record for 2020's A Rooster Says Record Store Day offering, Carlile has expressed her desire to continue singing with the three musicians. “I would make the time," stated Carlile last year, adding that she'd take her frequent collaborators Phil and Tim Hanseroth with her.
While it was not revealed what form any pairing of Thayil, Cameron and Shepherd would take in the future, drummer Matt Cameron also reiterated in 2020 that he felt that they weren't finished playing together either. "I think most people assume the three of us over and done with since Chris passed away, but that’s not the case," stated Cameron at the time. "It’s nice to know that people still want to hear us play together.”