I followed Chris from middle school (1992 when I first heard Outshined) to the present. I remember that when Superunknown came out, that was it. No one else would ever be better. Superunknown was the soundtrack to my teen years.

It tore me up when Soundgarden broke up, but I followed Chris’s career through a fan site. I was standing in line to be the first person to buy Euphoria Morning when it was released. Then I heard rumors of what eould be Audioslave. The first Audioslave album was the background to my time deployed in the Army. It was beautiful. More albums would follow but not quite with that same impact.

When Soundgarden reformed, it felt like a part of me was reborn. In 2014, I learned that a long term effect from a disease I had as a kid was causing major heart problems. As I went in for a heart catheterization to find out how bad it was, I was singing Mailman. For the next two weeks, as I anxiously awaited open heart surgery, I played “Live to Rise” over and over. I went into open heart surgery nervous about all of the unknowns, worried that a complication that could not be foreseen would end me. My favorite song, Like Suicide, brought me comfort, as I listened to it and sang it to myself just before the doctors knocked me out. I remember thinking these may be my last conscious moments of life, and that song was what I wanted to hear. I pulled through, and was excited to hear later about Chris’s last solo album.

I was fortunate to finally see Soundgarden live in Memphis on May 7th. I made the comment to my brother that this was a bucket list item for me. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to see Chris live.

Though we are all still in shock, and I still don’t accept he’s gone, I offer my deepest condolences to his family- blood, relatives, fellow musicians and fans alike.

Loud Love… RIP to the GREATEST musician of our lifetime!

Sam