Randy Johnson, left; Chris Cornell, right, just in case a few of you really have been living under a rock for 20 years.
From SPIN Magazine:
"BIG UNIT, BIG SHOW"
"Photographers working the pit for Soundgarden's comeback set at the recent Lollapalooza festival in Chicago were joined by a very special, if unexpected guest: Baseball legend Randy Johnson, aka "the Big Unit," a veteran of 22 seasons in the big leagues, with 302 career victories, five Cy Young Awards as the game's best pitcher, and a World Series ring with the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2001.
"Soundgarden, old pals of Johnson's from his days pitching for the Seattle Mariners in the late-'80s and '90s, invited the 6'10" hurler to hang out with them at Lollapalooza, and Johnson brought along his camera gear to document the band's big night.
"Here, Johnson shares his favorite shots from the gig, and tells SPIN.com about how he met Soundgarden—SPIN's current cover stars—back in 1989 and ended up in their Lolla entourage this year."
Interview by Peter Gaston
The 46 year-old catches some air...
Chris Cornell. Yes, he's singing "Jesus Christ Pose"
[Nancy:]
Kim Thayil
BACK IN 1989...
"... Randy Johnson got traded from the Montreal Expos to the Seattle Mariners, right around the time the Emerald City was giving birth to some of the '90s biggest bands, including Soundgarden.
"'I listened to all types of music, and obviously when I got to Seattle I was very much aware of the music scene there,' Johnson recalls. 'And Kim [Thayil, Soundgarden's guitarist, pictured above] is a very familiar face with the black beard. I saw him on the big screen in the KingDome where we were playing a baseball game that night, so I figured he must be a baseball fan.'"
"REUNITED"
"After retiring from baseball in 2009, just after notching his 300th career win as a pitcher—a milestone only 23 other players have achieved—Johnson returned to Seattle at the start of the 2010 season to be honored by his former team. It just so happened that Soundgarden was about to end their retirement at the exact same time.
"'Kim had asked me to come down to a studio where they were rehearsing,' says Johnson. 'And this was several days before they did that unannounced first show of theirs at the Showbox in Seattle. Unfortunately, the day before they played that show, I had to leave to go to Japan, so I wasn't able to make it, but I watched them rehearse one night in Seattle and got caught up with all them, told them all good luck.'
"'Kim told me shortly after that visit that they were going to be doing Lollapalooza and headlining, and I told him that I'd like to come,' Johnson says. 'My schedule worked out great—I flew from Baltimore to Chicago the morning of the Lollapalooza show, hooked up with Kim and his girlfriend, put my suitcase down, and drove over to the venue with those guys and hung out, said hi to a lot of people, and then took pictures.'"
Bravo, Baseball Legend!!
[Nancy:]
I've been dying to see what Randy's pics looked like. He filmed the Vic show, partly in front of us--while I was thinking, "They couldn't have hired a shorter videographer?" and one of my companions was saying, "Hey, that guy looks just like Randy Johnson!" to which we rolled our eyes. Oops. Sorry, Arthur. Randy also took some GREAT shots at Lolla for Spin Magazine. My favorite is actually one of Matt:
My personal drumming inspiration, Matt Cameron, last seen signing my Lolla Mag in 1996 at a gas station outside of the Gorge at George in WA. The pen he used had a pic of a little Siamese cat taped to it. Luckily, he didn't notice.
SPIN: "Johnson was stoked to share his photos with the band, after Lollapalooza. "Everybody in the Soundgarden camp has liked them," Johnson says. "I sent them to Kim, and he sent them to [drummer] Matt [Cameron] and [bassist] Ben [Shepherd]. And they all liked the shots. I think it was maybe something more than what they expected, which is a compliment to me."
Cameron might even use some of the shots for an upcoming drum endorsement, Johnson said."
Cameron might even use some of the shots for an upcoming drum endorsement, Johnson said."
Kim ThayilBACK IN 1989...
"... Randy Johnson got traded from the Montreal Expos to the Seattle Mariners, right around the time the Emerald City was giving birth to some of the '90s biggest bands, including Soundgarden.
"'I listened to all types of music, and obviously when I got to Seattle I was very much aware of the music scene there,' Johnson recalls. 'And Kim [Thayil, Soundgarden's guitarist, pictured above] is a very familiar face with the black beard. I saw him on the big screen in the KingDome where we were playing a baseball game that night, so I figured he must be a baseball fan.'"
Kim Thayil on left, Ben Shepherd on right. Our "team" was down in front of Ben and had a blast with him!
"'I made my way to a Soundgarden concert that year while the baseball season was still going. And I met their manager at the time, whoever that was [This is a hysterical pot-shot if you know the history of Chris or the band--Nancy], and I just explained who I was,' Johnson says.
"'My name's Randy Johnson and I play for the Seattle Mariners. I saw Kim Thayil on the Jumbotron and I'd like to invite him to come down to the ballpark and take some batting practice if he wants.'
"'I left my number, and within a couple of days he got back to me and I arranged him and, actually he brought Ben Shepherd, the bass player, down with him to the dome, and they took batting practice and had a good time.'"
"'I made my way to a Soundgarden concert that year while the baseball season was still going. And I met their manager at the time, whoever that was [This is a hysterical pot-shot if you know the history of Chris or the band--Nancy], and I just explained who I was,' Johnson says.
"'My name's Randy Johnson and I play for the Seattle Mariners. I saw Kim Thayil on the Jumbotron and I'd like to invite him to come down to the ballpark and take some batting practice if he wants.'
"'I left my number, and within a couple of days he got back to me and I arranged him and, actually he brought Ben Shepherd, the bass player, down with him to the dome, and they took batting practice and had a good time.'"
"REUNITED"
"After retiring from baseball in 2009, just after notching his 300th career win as a pitcher—a milestone only 23 other players have achieved—Johnson returned to Seattle at the start of the 2010 season to be honored by his former team. It just so happened that Soundgarden was about to end their retirement at the exact same time.
"'Kim had asked me to come down to a studio where they were rehearsing,' says Johnson. 'And this was several days before they did that unannounced first show of theirs at the Showbox in Seattle. Unfortunately, the day before they played that show, I had to leave to go to Japan, so I wasn't able to make it, but I watched them rehearse one night in Seattle and got caught up with all them, told them all good luck.'
"'Kim told me shortly after that visit that they were going to be doing Lollapalooza and headlining, and I told him that I'd like to come,' Johnson says. 'My schedule worked out great—I flew from Baltimore to Chicago the morning of the Lollapalooza show, hooked up with Kim and his girlfriend, put my suitcase down, and drove over to the venue with those guys and hung out, said hi to a lot of people, and then took pictures.'"
Bravo, Baseball Legend!!
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