Dublin tribute band play tribute to grunge greats

Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – tribunegroove@live.ie

Coming to Monroe’s Live on Friday, July 7, The Seattle Grunge Experience play songs from an era when bands like Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Pearl Jam and Nirvana blared from millions of stereos. The genre’s continued popularity was clear from Eddie Vedder’s recent shows in the 3 Arena and The Marquee, Cork – tickets to see the Pearl Jam singer were like gold dust. But grunge also made the headlines recently when Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell died tragically while on tour.

“At first, I couldn’t believe it,” says Dave Horan, lead singer with the Dublin-based Seattle Grunge Experience. “We were talking about it in the band – Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder were the two guys who made it out of the grunge scene. The kind of beacons that said it didn’t have to go the way of Kurt Cobain and [Alice in Chains singer] Layne Staley.”

Like Vedder, Chris Cornell’s career was blossoming in his early 50s.  He had sung a James Bond theme song, been hugely successful with Audioslave and had reunited with Soundgarden. And one thing defined all these projects – Cornell’s inimitable voice.

“He was up there with Freddie Mercury as just an untouchable singer,” Dave says. “His vocal range was fantastic, but it was his ability to control notes that was just phenomenal. He had such technique.”

Dave is therefore asking a lot of his own singing range – but he has been living with these songs for quite a while.

“I grew up listening to grunge, that’s where I learned to sing – from Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell,” Dave says. “So, I’ve spent however long it’s been since grunge – let’s say 25 years – learning how to sing that way. When I was a kid I was sitting in a field with my friends, singing Chris Cornell and Eddie Vedder songs. So, I’ve been practising since then!”

If you do see The Seattle Grunge Experience live, you may notice Dave clicking a pedal with his foot. What’s going on there?

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.