A PART OF MY CITY HAS DIED

Early this morning, as I was listening to Coast To Coast AM on my GE Superadio III, George Noory suddenly played a piece of the Soundgarden hit "Black Hole Sun".

Wow, I thought, they're adding Soundgarden to their bumper music. Cool.

Then he announced that they had just heard that Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell was dead.

He apparently died after a Soundgarden show in Detroit. The latest news, however is even sadder: it appears he may have taken his own life.

I remember when Soundgarden was just a local band. It was 1988, and I had just gotten involved with college radio, and the station where I was volunteering was an alternative rock station, KCMU.

A lot of the people there not only were really into the new alternative music, they were very much into the local scene, which -- at the time -- was turning from a punk scene into something else: grunge.

Soundgarden was the first grunge band I ever heard. I still remember when DJ Maggie (a cute, punked up blonde who was dating one of the other DJ's, who played drums in another local band) held up the new Soundgarden EP, Screaming Life, and held it in the DJ booth window for everyone in the station to see.

Then she played a track off of it called "Nothing To Say." The music was thrilling, to say the least: Soundgarden had a way of taking the classic rock guitar and vocal sound and updating it with punk and alternative twists, with odd timings and strange chord sequences thrown in for good measure.

It would be cool if I could say my life had changed -- but it didn't. I was heavily into Australian rock and pub rock music at the time -- Midnight Oil, Rose Tattoo, and bands like them. Heavy hitting, Oz talking punch rock bands. It took a while for me to get into grunge.

But I'll never forget hearing Soundgarden for the first time. I wasn't sure about some of the other bands of the Seattle scene, but I knew I really liked Soundgarden's music.

A couple years went by and I was working at a company that delivered weekly music to radio stations all over the United States. No sooner than I started working there, Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger album hit. I remember putting the CD on the CD player and hearing "Rusty Cage".

I was blown away.

In early 1994, Soundgarden were recording Superunknown at Bad Animals Studio, which was across the alley from where I worked. The company I worked for shared the parking garage with the studio. I remember going out to my car one afternoon and several dudes that looked familiar strode in -- it was the band, along with some other guy, perhaps the producer. I could recognise Mr. Cornell immediately, from his hair (he hadn't cut it yet). They got inside a Jeep Wrangler or similar SUV vehicle, and within seconds I heard the opening chords to "My Wave", which they apparently had just recorded. I guess they wanted to hear how their new album would sound on a car stereo system.

A month or so later in 1994, I had a chance to meet Chris Cornell, if only for a few moments. I had heard that Soundgarden were doing an interview at Sit and Spin, which was a club on north 4th Avenue with a laundromat included.... Inside it was a very artsy place, where they served alcohol drinks and fruit smoothies.

I managed to catch Mr. Cornell out front, just as the band were leaving, and just before they boarded the tour bus to start the Superunknown tour. I had my copy of Superunknown in hand -- which I"d already been playing to death. I still think it's one of the best albums ever made.

I handed him my CD, which was in the plastic wrapper I used to keep the jewel case from getting marred, and asked him if he did autographs.

"We thrive on it!" he said, half pulling my leg. He grabbed the CD, and gingerly pulled it out of the plastic wrapper, and opened it up, and I handed him the Sharpie pen, and he very politely autographed the back of the booklet.

I told him how much I liked the entire album -- every single song.

He thanked me for my comments on their music, and soon enough, the band were on their way.

A couple months later, Soundgarden did a video for "Fell On Black Days". They were rehearsing it in the Bad Animals soundstage, and they kept the back doors wide open for a half hour or so, as they tuned up, and ran through the track a couple times. I guess they were filming at the same time, so they could use the footage in the video.

Soon enough, a small crowd of people -- maybe eight or nine -- stood in the alley, listening.

After a bit, they closed the doors. It was a hot night in August or early September, if I remember correctly. It was so long ago I can't really remember exactly the month or the date.

Just last Thursday night I went to karaoke with my mom at a local pub. I sang Soundgarden's Rusty Cage. I did a good job on it for once. The off-beat part in the middle is always tricky. I love singing that song, and a couple other Soundgarden songs, Pretty Noose and Outshined. I don't sound like Chris Cornell, but I can hit the notes. I always have been amazed at the way he could sing.

Now Chris Cornell is gone. I feel like in some way, a small part of my life has been ripped away.

It's sad to hear that he may have taken his own life. They say Mr. Cornell was in good spirits overall, but the police are investigating it as a possible suicide -- just like Michael Hutchence, of the Oz band INXS; the band thought he was O.K. -- but it turned out he really wasn't.

One day they are looking happy, then they leave this Earth.

Anybody remember CD's? I guess they're now a 90's thing.

It's always a tragedy when someone who has touched your life dies. My thoughts and prayers go to Chris Cornell's family.

He was a part of this City we call Seattle. The scenes and streets and waterways of the City are mentioned in many of Chris Cornell's songs. His band was the first Seattle band to be taken seriously in years. And they hit it big in the early 1990's when Seattle was the thing going.

Now a part of my City has died along with him.

Rest In Peace, Mr. Cornell, and may God bless your soul.