List of Soundgarden band members

Infobox musical artist
Name = Soundgarden


Landscape = yes
Background = group_or_band
Alias =
Origin = Seattle, Washington, USA
Years_active = 1984–1997
Current_members = Chris Cornell
Kim Thayil
Matt Cameron
Ben Shepherd
Past_members = Hiro Yamamoto
Scott Sundquist
Jason Everman

Soundgarden was an American alternative rock band formed in Seattle, Washington in 1984 by lead singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto.cite book | last = Anderson | first = Kyle | title = Accidental Revolution | publisher = St. Martin's Griffin | location = New York | year = 2007 | isbn = 0312358199 |pages=p.112–116] The drummer position was originally filled by Cornell, who played drums while singing, but in 1985 the band enlisted Scott Sundquist to allow Cornell to concentrate on vocals. [George-Warren, Holly, Patricia Romanowski, and Jon Pareles. "The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll". Rolling Stone Press. 2001. ISBN 0-671-43457-8.] The band's first recordings were three songs that appeared on a compilation for C/Z Records called "Deep Six".

In 1986, Sundquist, who by that point had a wife and a child, decided to leave the band and spend time with his family. He was replaced by Matt Cameron, the drummer for Skin Yard, who became Soundgarden's permanent drummer. This line-up released the extended plays "Screaming Life" in 1987 and "Fopp" in 1988, and the studio albums "Ultramega OK" in 1988 and "Louder Than Love" in 1989. Following the release of "Louder Than Love", Yamamoto left the band to finish his Master's degree in Physical Chemistry at Western Washington University. He was replaced by former Nirvana guitarist Jason Everman. Everman was fired following Soundgarden's tour supporting "Louder Than Love". His only contribution for Soundgarden was the band's cover of The Beatles song "Come Together".

In 1990, the band was joined by a new bassist, Ben Shepherd. With the addition of Shepherd, Soundgarden's line-up would not change for the remainder of its existence. Soundgarden subsequently released "Badmotorfinger" in 1991, "Superunknown" in 1994, and "Down on the Upside" in 1996. Tensions within the group arose during the "Down on the Upside" sessions, with Thayil and Cornell reportedly clashing over Cornell's desire to shift away from the heavy guitar riffing that had become the band's trademark. [Colopino, John. "Soundgarden Split". "Rolling Stone". May 29, 1997.] In 1997, the band broke up due to internal strife over its creative direction. In a 1998 interview, Thayil said, "It was pretty obvious from everybody's general attitude over the course of the previous half year that there was some dissatisfaction." [Gilbert, Jeff. "Sound of Silence". "Guitar World". February 1998.]

Members prior to break-up

;Chris Cornell:Active: 1984–1997:Instruments: vocals, guitar:Release contributions: all Soundgarden releases:Chris Cornell was a member of the original band formed in 1984.Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:4z0qoawabijx~T0 "Soundgarden"] . Allmusic. Retrieved on 2008-09-18.]

;Kim Thayil:Active: 1984–1997:Instruments: guitar:Release contributions: all Soundgarden releases:Kim Thayil was a member of the original band formed in 1984.

;Matt Cameron:Active: 1986–1997:Instruments: drums:Release contributions: all Soundgarden releases from "Screaming Life" (1987) to "A-Sides" (1997):By September 1986, Matt Cameron had gained so much notoriety in the local Seattle music scene that he was chosen to play for Soundgarden, replacing drummer Scott Sundquist. Cornell said, "When I first met Matt, he was already the best drummer in town...He just seemed very confident and well-adjusted." ["Soundgarden". "Kerrang!". May 29, 1996.]

;Ben Shepherd:Active: 1990–1997:Instruments: bass:Release contributions: all Soundgarden releases from "Badmotorfinger" (1991) to "A-Sides" (1997):Ben Shepherd first auditioned for the role of bassist in Soundgarden in 1989, immediately after Hiro Yamamoto left, but was turned down because he could not play the songs well enough. Following the firing of Jason Everman, Shepherd was then hired. Cornell said that Shepherd brought a "fresh and creative" approach to the "Badmotorfinger" recording sessions,"'Garden of Eden". "Kerrang!". August 31, 1991.] and the band as a whole said that his knowledge of music and writing skills redefined the band.Neely, Kim. "Soundgarden: The Veteran Band from Seattle Proves There's Life After Nirvana". "Rolling Stone". July 9, 1992.] Before joining, Soundgarden had been Shepherd's favorite band. [Myers, Caren. "Garden of Earthly Delights". "Details". April 1994.]

Former members

;Hiro Yamamoto:Active: 1984–1989:Instruments: bass:Release contributions: "Deep Six" (1986), "Screaming Life" (1987), "Fopp" (1988), "Ultramega OK" (1988), "Louder Than Love" (1989):Hiro Yamamoto was a member of the original band formed in 1984. In 1989, he left the band following the completion of the "Louder Than Love" recording sessions."How Does Your Garden Grow?". "Sounds". October 21, 1989.] Regarding the sessions, Cornell said, "At the time Hiro [Yamamoto] had excommunicated himself from the band and there wasn't a free-flowing system as far as music went, so I ended up writing a lot of it.""Colour Me Badmotorfinger!". "Raw". October 30, 1991.] Yamamoto was becoming frustrated that he wasn't contributing much, and opted to go back to college. Cornell stated, "It seems an odd time to quit. We're doing real well. We've got a touring budget now. We don't haul amps or do such long van rides any more."

;Scott Sundquist:Active: 1985–1986:Instruments: drums:Release contributions: "Deep Six" (1986):Scott Sundquist, who prior to joining the band had been friends with Cornell,Blush, Steven. "Soundgarden". "Seconds". 1996.] was asked to join the band so that Cornell could focus on singing.Neely, Kim. " [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/soundgarden/articles/story/5924586/cover_story_into_the_unknown Into the Superunknown"] . "Rolling Stone". June 16, 1994. Retrieved on May 3, 2008.] Sundquist left the band to spend time with his family, and remainined on friendly terms with Cornell and Thayil following his departure.

;Jason Everman:Active: 1989–1990:Instruments: bass:Release contributions: "Come Together", from "Loudest Love" (1990):Jason Everman replaced Hiro Yamamoto before the band embarked on its promotional tour for "Louder Than Love". Everman was fired immediately after Soundgarden completed the tour in mid-1990. Thayil said that "Jason just "didn't" work out," and that the band "didn't need to go find someone better than him; we needed to find a kindred spirit that we'd hang out with anyway."

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:30PlotArea = left:100 bottom:60 top:0 right:50Alignbars = justifyDateFormat = dd/mm/yyyyPeriod = from:1984 till:01/05/1997TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

Colors = id:Vocals value:gray(0.5)

ScaleMajor = increment:1 start:1984

LineData = at:31/10/1988 color:black layer:back at:05/09/1989 color:black layer:back at:08/10/1991 color:black layer:back at:07/03/1994 color:black layer:back at:21/05/1996 color:black layer:back

BarData =

bar:Cornell text:"Chris Cornell" bar:Thayil text:"Kim Thayil" bar:Yamamoto text:"Hiro Yamamoto" bar:Sundquist text:"Scott Sundquist" bar:Cameron text:"Matt Cameron" bar:Everman text:"Jason Everman" bar:Ben text:"Ben Shepherd"

PlotData=

width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4) bar:Cornell from:01/01/1984 till:end color:Vocals bar:Thayil from:01/01/1984 till:end color:Guitar bar:Yamamoto from:01/01/1984 till:02/08/1989 color:Bass bar:Sundquist from:01/01/1985 till:01/07/1986 color:Drums bar:Cameron from:02/09/1986 till:end color:Drums bar:Everman from:03/08/1989 till:01/05/1990 color:Bass bar:Ben from:01/06/1990 till:end color:Bass

References