I grew up on Rock n’ Roll (classic, metal, grunge, industrial) and have always loved the energy of that music. I’m also someone who likes the texture of good vocals. A deep sustained growl. And over the past twenty years, I’ve seen a couple of singers – with that vocal quality – create new bands and amazing music. Both are my style. Both are now dead.
- On December 3, 2015, Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, overdosed.
- On May 18, 2017, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Audioslave hanged himself.
For years, I’d been following these bands. I saw STP the first time they came to Denver and played the Mercury Cafe with about 13 other people. I saw Soundgarden at Red Rocks on July 7th, 1994. Both bands/singers were amazing performers and both sounded better live.
As they moved on from their first bands, I was amazed at how good they sounded with their new bandmates. Audioslave happened about the same time my daughter was born. So . . . I missed that one initially but caught up as soon as I could. (Cornell is an amazing lyricist.) Velvet Revolver wasn’t around for very long but with GnR as the band, it was hard to go wrong. Some incredible music from these “Super Groups”.
Some time around 2010, I started to wonder what it would be like to have Weiland and Cornell tour together: with both of their bands in tow. I would have called it the Unification Tour. Have Velvet Revolver open, Audioslave next and then finish with STP and Soundgarden. I’m sure it would have been hard on the vocal cords but I would have paid a metric ton of money to see that show. I’m now disappointed that this concert will never happen and sad to know these men are gone. I’m a GenXer and we’ve lost a lot of our musicians, but the loss of Cornell hit me really hard. Must move on . . .
I still have a shot at one last dream tour. A tour would be called the Yin and Yang Tour. It would feature Peter Gabriel and Nine Inch Nails with Peter and Trent closing out the set with a song together. (A man can dream, can’t he.)
