Courtesy of Wayne Karamer; Michael LavineIn June, Soundgarden‘s Kim Thayil and Matt Cameron played together on stage for the first time since Chris Cornell‘s death last year. The two performed as part of the lineup for MC50, a band organized to celebrate the 50th anniversary of legendary proto-punk band MC5.
Speaking with ABC Radio, MC5 co-founder and lead guitarst Wayne Kramer, who put MC50 together, describes what it was like to see the two Soundgarden band mates reunite.
“It was a heartfelt thing to see them play together and enjoy playing and…incorporate who they are and what their feelings were, and know that it’s gonna be OK,” Kramer says.
Having been involved with rock music for half a century, Kramer knows how it feels when a band mate dies.
“It’s a terrible thing to lose a band mate, especially in the prime of their life,” he says. “I know I’ve lost a few of them now, and it’s tough. It’s the reality, the ultimate reality, for all of us. It’s part of the deal, and as painful as it is, it’s something that we’re all gonna experience.”
Thayil will return to the MC50 lineup for the band’s upcoming U.S. tour, which begins September 5 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Kramer feels Thayil is a great fit for the group, especially due to his ability learn the “principles” and “concepts” of the songs.
“A lot of things that the MC5 does and the MC50 does is improvisational, where we have a structure, the song has a structure, but there are whole sections that are unstructured, and they have to be different every night,” Kramer says.
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