Soundgarden's Kim Thayil Says Rock Hall Nomination Bittersweet

Bruce Henne | 10-16-2019

(hennemusic) Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil says the band's newly-announced nomination for entry into the 2020 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is important to the legacy of the group and its late singer Chris Cornell.

The Seattle outfit was named Tuesday among 16 artists on the short list for possible entry into the Cleveland, OH-based institution, with the nomination including Soundgarden's final lineup of Cornell, Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd and drummer Matt Cameron noted alongside founding bassist Hiro Yamamoto.

"I took some time and wrapped my head around it, and I felt good," Thayil tells Billboard. "I thought this is important, especially for the legacy of Soundgarden, and for Chris' legacy. It's really important now to understand this from the perspective of the fans and to understand Soundgarden as both a current enterprise as well as a posthumous exercise.

"It is very bittersweet. Chris would be pleased with it. That's certainly different from where we were maybe in the '80s and early '90s, but I know from Chris attending one or two (induction ceremonies) and inducting Heart that he saw the significance of it and saw how important it was to the fans and to the bands being inducted, and he said, 'Yes, this is very important and it's cool,' so he would be very excited."

The guitarist is pleased that Yamamoto's contribution is being recognized by the Rock Hall. "I definitely want Hiro to attend and participate in this," says Thayil. "He was a founding member and very significant in crafting and establishing our sound and our style."

The 2020 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees will be announced in December; the ceremony will take place at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, OH on May 2, 2020. Read more here.

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