TAD DOYLE Comments On SOUNDGARDEN Near-Reunion Performance

April 8, 2009

SOUNDGARDEN guitarist Kim Thayil, bassist Ben Shepherd, and drummer Matt Cameron performed together onstage for the first time in more than a decade on March 24, 209 at Seattle's Crocodile Cafe. The trio came out for a show on RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello's recent Justice Tour, for which he invited musician friends in each city to perform. Singing in place of frontman Chris Cornell was Tad Doyle, former leader of Seattle cult band TAD. The foursome's three-song "TADGARDEN" set included what Ear Candy described as a "powerful" rendition of early SOUNDGARDEN song "Nothing To Say" as well as the band's 1994 hit "Spoonman".

MetalSucks contributor Gary Suarez recently spoke with Tad Doyle about his performance with Thayil, Cameron and Shepherd, as well as his current activities with BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH. An excerpt from the interview follows below.

MetalSucks: So how did the whole TADGARDEN thing come about? It took a lot of people by surprise.

Tad Doyle: Well it took me by surprise too, because I got a call that Sunday evening from Susan [Silver], their manager. And she said, "Hey, Kim and Matt and Ben wanted to know if you'd be interested in playing a few SOUNDGARDEN songs at the Crocodile." I'm like, "Are you shittin' me? I'd love to!" So that's how it came about, and then we got together that Monday to rehearse for a couple hours. Then we just went up Tuesday and did it.

MetalSucks: When you guys were rehearsing, were you rehearsing other tracks as well as the ones you played?

Tad Doyle: No, just the ones we were gonna play. It worked out pretty good; I'm pretty happy with it. It was more fun just hanging out with them again, you know?

MetalSucks: You see all that stuff is now up on YouTube and it looked like you guys were having a blast up there.

Tad Doyle: Yeah we were having a great time. It was fun as hell. I wont lie to you.

MetalSucks: From conversations I've had with people, it seems like they liked what you guys were doing up there a whole lot better than what the one guy who was missing has been doing lately.

Tad Doyle: Well, I don't know about that. Chris is a friend. He's an amazing musician and singer-songwriter. I was just glad to be a part of it, you know? That's what I was in it for: to have fun.

MetalSucks: So was that like a one-off thing? You guys thinking about doing that again some time?

Tad Doyle: As far as I know, it's just a one-off thing. Cool things happen that way. I was just telling the rest of the guys that "How blessed am I that I get to get up with some of my old friends?" And not just some of my old friends but SOUND-FUCKING-GARDEN? My life is damn good, I tell you. It was really fun getting up with those guys because I've always respected and loved what they've done. Especially their earlier stuff, which is what I was able to do. That first single ["Hunted Down" b/w "Nothing To Say"] was just mind-boggling to me and it was really cool for me to be onstage with them and doing those songs with them. Twenty-five, twenty-six years later.

Read the entire interview at www.metalsucks.net.

Ex-SOUNDGARDEN singer Chris Cornell commented to the Washington Post's "Post Rock" column about the "TADGARDEN" performance. Cornell said, "I thought it was cool that they'd actually get together and rehearse some songs. I was kind of surprised by it, to be honest (laughs). And I love Tad. We toured with Tad; I've always felt he was a really amazing person and a really talented guy. So I just really thought it was a cool thing for them to do. They were just getting up there and doing it for fun, and I think that's great. The only thing I didn't like is that I wasn't there to see it. If I was there, I probably would've gotten up on stage."

Asked whether a true SOUNDGARDEN reunion could be in the works, Cornell said, "You never know."

SOUNDGARDEN broke up in 1997 after 12 years together and five studio albums. Along with NIRVANA, PEARL JAM and ALICE IN CHAINS, the band led the way for the Seattle "grunge" sound and alternative music revolution of the 1990s.

Check out fan-filmed video footage of the "TADGARDEN" performance below.

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