Red Mosquito

Did you have to think about it for a while? You'd just stepped out of a big thing and had some good reasons to stick around Seattle.

"I looked at the whole Pearl Jam thing as a really fun opportunity to do another big tour. I mean, if you're gonna do a tour, the big-money ones are the way to go. I've slept next to too many catboxes in my day to wanna go back to that. Pearl Jam is really well-organized and it turned out to be one of the most enjoyable tours I've ever been on. The mood was more upbeat, and those guys really enjoy playing live, which was a new experience for me.

Soundgarden didn't like playing live at all, except in the early days. Once things started exploding for us, we were never really able to catch up with our emotions, in a way. We never sat down and worked on the things we needed to, to keep the band healthy. We'd look at a tour sheet with six or eight months of dates on there, and if your band isn't healthy to begin with, that makes it that much worse. I think some bands just aren't totally comfortable when they take it to the stage, and I think Soundgarden was one of those bands.

Initially, when we were doing our van tour, we were pretty kick-ass. But Chris [Cornell, singer] was really, really scared - well, not scared, but he had some comfort issues about going on stage. Towards the end, I thought he really found himself on stage and became a really good performer. But with Pearl Jam, it was really fun to be in that environment. It was a huge arena rock tour - every arena was sold out. They had jet. I got to use Jack's wardrobe case. Now, Soundgarden got to a pretty high level, but it was nothing compared to how Pearl Jam does things. They're just a hugely popular band, and it was really interesting to see how low-key they kept it, but still do great shows and make everyone happy."

How was the musical mix between you and Pearl Jam?

"It was great in the sense that they didn't try to tone me down at all. I'm kind of known for playing weird, crazy fills and sometimes playing things I shouldn't be playing, but they loved it - at least that's what they told me. They just wanted me to do what I do. But musically, Pearl Jam is one of those bands where everyone supports the vocal. The vocal is the main instrument and everything else takes a back seat.

It's not something I'm unable to do, but coming from Soundgarden and now with Wellwater, I like my drum parts to be integral to the song - hugely integral. Pearl Jam is just a different animal, but it was good for me to work in that realm because it forced me to re-approach and re-examine the way I play."

Were you happy with the live record?

"Yeah. I think the song selection on the disc is a little sleepy at times, because there were definitely more rockers on that tour, but they probably chose those songs because of the sound or some reasons I'm not sure of. I know some of my tempos were a bit faster than they were used to, and maybe that has something to do with it. But overall, I think it came out great."

What are the chances of joining Pearl Jam on a permanent basis?

"As of right now, I can't really envision joining a major band like that, especially an established band. It just doesn't seem completely right for me, for what I want to do. I'm trying to get my own thing going, as a person and as a musician. That's why Wellwater fits so perfectly for me."

Matt Cameron wrote: I was fortunate to be in a band like Soundgarden, which had such interesting takes on rock songs. A lot of times, my drum parts added to that whole weird dimension we were working in. Bands like KISS and AC/DC and even Pearl Jam require different things from a drummer.

evenslow wrote: "Yeah. I think the song selection on the disc is a little sleepy at times, because there were definitely more rockers on that tour, but they probably chose those songs because of the sound or some reasons I'm not sure of. I know some of my tempos were a bit faster than they were used to, and maybe that has something to do with it. But overall, I think it came out great."

mikejasond wrote:

evenslow wrote: "Yeah. I think the song selection on the disc is a little sleepy at times, because there were definitely more rockers on that tour, but they probably chose those songs because of the sound or some reasons I'm not sure of. I know some of my tempos were a bit faster than they were used to, and maybe that has something to do with it. But overall, I think it came out great."

I RM knew it

darth_vedder wrote:

mikejasond wrote:

evenslow wrote: "Yeah. I think the song selection on the disc is a little sleepy at times, because there were definitely more rockers on that tour, but they probably chose those songs because of the sound or some reasons I'm not sure of. I know some of my tempos were a bit faster than they were used to, and maybe that has something to do with it. But overall, I think it came out great."

I RM knew it

FTFY

http://archive.theskyiscrape.com/viewto ... 2fdd3b6bc0

Birds in Hell wrote:How about this low-key diss:

Matt Cameron wrote: I was fortunate to be in a band like Soundgarden, which had such interesting takes on rock songs. A lot of times, my drum parts added to that whole weird dimension we were working in. Bands like KISS and AC/DC and even Pearl Jam require different things from a drummer.

Matt Cameron wrote:
"It was great in the sense that they didn't try to tone me down at all. I'm kind of known for playing weird, crazy fills and sometimes playing things I shouldn't be playing, but they loved it - at least that's what they told me. They just wanted me to do what I do. But musically, Pearl Jam is one of those bands where everyone supports the vocal. The vocal is the main instrument and everything else takes a back seat.

Mine wrote:
On a different note the whole interview makes one wonder how come Matt stuck with the band eventually.

Matt Cameron wrote:
"It was great in the sense that they didn't try to tone me down at all. I'm kind of known for playing weird, crazy fills and sometimes playing things I shouldn't be playing, but they loved it - at least that's what they told me. They just wanted me to do what I do. But musically, Pearl Jam is one of those bands where everyone supports the vocal. The vocal is the main instrument and everything else takes a back seat.

darth_vedder wrote: Post Soundgarden Money Grab. Who knew?

CopperTom wrote:

Mine wrote:
On a different note the whole interview makes one wonder how come Matt stuck with the band eventually.

Big money tours.

VinylGuy wrote:Yeah, to the point where he doesnt have a song in LB.

I love matt´s songs in PJ.

Mine wrote:

VinylGuy wrote:Yeah, to the point where he doesnt have a song in LB.

I love matt´s songs in PJ.

Matt has written very little in his career in general so maybe he isn't much into writing.

E.H. Ruddock wrote:

Mine wrote:

VinylGuy wrote:Yeah, to the point where he doesnt have a song in LB.

I love matt´s songs in PJ.

Matt has written very little in his career in general so maybe he isn't much into writing.

um, what?