Soundgarden’s Matt Cameron: Looking Forward (Interview)

Matt Cameron will be in Auckland in March drumming for Soundgarden when they perform at Westfest. The last time Cameron was here, he was holding down drumming duties for Pearl Jam at 2014’s Big Day Out. He’s a busy guy, so when The 13th Floor’s Marty Duda got the chance to speak to Cameron, he grabbed it. Listen in, or read along as Soundgarden’s Matt Cameron discusses his role in the band and what thew future holds for both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

Click here to listen to the interview with Soundgarden’s Matt Cameron:

Or, read a transcription of the interview here:

MD: So you were here in Auckland last January, weren’t you playing at The Big Day Out?

MC: I certainly was!

MD: Have any memories of The Big Day Out last year that stand out?

MC: Yeah. I think the first show was in Auckland and it was good, it was a good tour. I remember we had a couple of shows, there was a massive heatwave going on, I think one was Adelaide and a couple of the shows were really hard to get through but no, it’s always a good time playing down there.

MD: I imagine as a drummer you do have to kind of keep an eye on the weather and the heat and all that.

MC: There was one time in particular that was just like insanely hot and normally I could pull it off, but when you have to play 2 and a half, 3 hours, even at a festival, so I was huffing and puffing through one of those shows.

MD: Yeah. I remember you guys played, I think a couple of hours at The Big Day Out here in Auckland so it was a full blown set, it wasn’t on 45 minutes then off again. So yeah it’s going to take a bit out of you. Is there

anything that you do to prepare for when you think you’re going to come up to a show like that?

MC: Normally for an outdoors show you just got to sort of drink enough liquid before you hit the stage basically and no alcohol or anything like that until afterwards.

MD: Right. I believe on this particular thing that you’re playing at with Soundgarden it’ll be indoors, so it will be a little easier on you. I think it’s called Westfest. Are you familiar with the show at all and who’s on the bill?

MC: With the festival?

MD: Yeah, with Judas Priest and Faith No More and those guys.

MC: Yeah man, totally.

MD: Sounds like you’re excited about playing it.

MC: Yeah, it’s going to be awesome man. Yeah, I mean, I love Faith No More and I love Judas Priest. It’s going to be a hard rock experience.

MD: Yes it will. So I think the last time I saw Soundgarden was the Big Day Out back in 99’ or 97’ or something when you guys, before you split up originally,  so I just wanted to do a little catch up on what’s been going on with the band. I know you’ve been here and released an album but there are rumours kind of swirling around that you might be working on something new but then I saw the Chris Cornell was possibly working on a solo album. So maybe you could fill in the gaps a little bit.

MC: Chris is working on something new at the moment. So yeah we don’t really have any concrete plans. We just sort of talked about it and I think we have a few songs kind of floating around, it could definitely get the ball rolling. So we’ll just have to see what happens.

MD: Right. Yeah because I think that they were some mentions being made on the internet last year that there were some Soundgarden songs possibly being written but now it seems to have kind of faded away and this solo thing has come up instead.

MC: Yeah we had…

MD: Sorry go ahead.

MC: I’m sorry. Yeah we had a couple of really good left over ones from the last one and then we just talked amongst ourselves. I’ve definitely got a few in the bank so to speak but it might work. I know the band’s got a bunch of songs. So if we do decide to do it again, there’s always material it seems like with these four guys.

MD: Right, what is the…

MC: There never seems to be a problem.

MD: What is the vibe of the band like now compared to the first time around? Is there a different kind of feel about being in the band or is it pretty much picking up where you left off?

MC: Yeah well I think it’s completely, you know, I guess for me, I’m a lot more settled in my home life than I was when I first joined the band at age, I guess 23 or something.

MD: Right, yeah.

MC: So I’m kind of a different person but I’m still a musician and I still like making music that excites me and that’s been the thing the band has always been able to do. I think the material’s always been interesting for me as a drummer and we all like writing together, we all like collaborating together. So that part of it feels the same but touring is really hard work and it definitely takes me away from things I like to do at home more than I used to like to do when I was 25 years old. It’s just different priorities I guess.

MD: I gotcha, yeah. Now I know you guys released Echo of Miles kind of a box set thing of B sides and unreleased things last year and I believe there is a documentary, a film documentary kind of in the works about the band. So there’s a bit of looking back and kind of accessing your legacy. How involved in those projects were you and are you?

MC: Let’s see. I guess more so in the music side of it. Yeah the documentary thing, I don’t really know where that’s… I think that was just an idea, that’s just in the idea stage right now.

MD: Right.

MC: But I personally would like to just look forward at this stage of the game.

MD: Right.

MC: Definitely the most, that’s the most healthy thing to do for me personally, but I think the other guys wanna maybe pursue that a little bit more than I do. So we’ll see, we’ll figure it out.

MD: Gotcha, yeah and what’s the scene in Seattle? I see there’s a performance that Chris is taking part in called Mad Season with Mike McCready and Duff Mckagan, Barrett Martin and all those guys. Do most of you guys who are from that era, and are still around and playing, mix it up quite a bit musically these days?

MC: Yeah well I’m going to be part of that as well.

MD: Oh you are, great.

MC: Yeah, I’m gonna play, Mike McCready wrote a piece that I’m going to be playing drums on and I think I’m going to do some double drumming with the Mad Season guys. That should be really fun. I got my suit pressed today at the cleaners, we have to show up and look respectable amongst the symphony musicians.

MD: Right.

MC: But yeah it seems like the music that we made a long time ago still resonates with a lot of people. So when you can do projects like this where it involves a kind of different take on the music with the symphony, it’s really fun, it kind of legitimizes it in a certain way.

MD: Right. Well I was going to ask you about that because I mean, let’s face it, when that whole scene broke out in the late 80s it definitely wasn’t looked at as legitimate, it was a bunch of punk rockers and guys who are playing metal, were they hot musicians, well maybe, maybe not and that has changed I guess over the years. Is that something that is important to you that, that image is different?

MC: No, not necessarily. I mean I like the fact that the music was and still is kind of raw and not polished. I think that’s how we sort of naturally played together and most of the bands came from that type of scene. Our music scene in Seattle was definitely influenced by Black Flag and Butthole Surfers, a lot of the really great Punk Rock bands In the 80s.

MD: Yeah.

MC: So I think those were the only types of musicians that we did try to emulate. Yeah I don’t think we ever tried to be…I don’t think we’re ever looking for a mass acceptance, I need to stress the word but the timing of the music scene was such that there was an enormous audience that was ready to hear it.

MD: Yeah.

MC: I guess in that sense that was what we connected with, our underground rock audience.

MD: So how did it affect you when you did find out that you suddenly had this mass audience that was kinda out of the blue, unexpected? Did it kind of turn your head around a little bit?

MC: Yeah, I thought it was great, really. I was pulled  into it.

MD: Yeah.

MC: You know, cause’ our shows got bigger, we didn’t experience it as quickly as Nirvana and Pearl Jam did.

MD: Right.

MC: But when the Nirvana record hit, you know, it was a very exciting time and they made the record that they wanted to make, they didn’t change anything, they…that was a real honest statement. Then that’s how all the bands operated in the late 80s and early 90s. We were trying to stand out but we weren’t necessarily interested in sounding the same.

MD: Right.

MC: I guess there’s certain elements of the music that, they’re all very similar, I guess it’s just like the guitar tone and things like that. So at the time there was some pretty bad Rap music going on.

MD: That’s true.

MC: I think it was nice that we had some really weird Rock bands that became, they infiltrated the mainstream.

MD: Yeah. So when it came time around to record King Animal, did the band have discussions again about what kind of band you wanted to be at this point? Whether you were going to kind of be the same kind of band, that sounding band that you were in say 1994 that you were going to be in 2012 or 2010 or whenever it was.

MC: Yeah, we did what comes natural, basically.

MD: Yeah

MC: And we didn’t try to change that at all. And I think you can kind of hear it in the records. It pretty much sounds like Soundgarden.

MD: It does indeed.

MC: That’s all we were hoping for.

MD: While I gotcha, what’s the status with Pearl Jam? Is there anything going on in that camp since you’re kind of one-leg in each.

MC: No. Stone’s about ready to have another baby, so he’s on maternity leave. So we’re just kind of, you know, just waiting around for that to happen. I think we might have some gigs like at the end of the year…

MD: Right.

MC: …I’m not exactly sure. So we’re just enjoying having some time off basically.

MD: And for you is there, are you a different drummer in each band or do you do what you do and make it work with the musicians that you’re with.

MC: You know, I do what I do and I try to blend in with whatever situation I am in. The Soundgarden role for me is a little more full-throttle than it is in Pearl Jam just because of the nature of the music I think. So I definitely try to bring the same energy to every musical group or recording session that I come to. A lot of my drumming has that kind of energy then I think it’s going to fit.

 Click here for more info about Westfest.