ALAIN JOHANNES Pays Tribute To CHRIS CORNELL With 'Can't Change Me' Cover (Video)

ALAIN JOHANNES TRIO, led by Alain Johannes, co-creator of the highly influential '90s alternative rock band ELEVEN as well as a key contributor on releases from QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, THEM CROOKED VULTURES and Chris Cornell, has released a cover of Cornell's "Can't Change Me". The song was the first single off Chris Cornell's 1999 solo debut, "Euphoria Mourning", an album which included Johannes and his partner in ELEVEN, Natasha Shneider, as co-producers and also co-writers on several songs. Both Cornell and Shneider passed away, and Johannes is the lone survivor that gave life to the record. The song comes just two weeks after the third anniversary of Cornell's death and a little more than a week after what would have been Shneider's 64th birthday.

"It's really meaningful for me to present this tribute,", says Johannes from Santiago, Chile, where he is spending his days in quarantine. "I lived 'Euphoria Mourning' with Chris and Natasha and now with my musical brothers in Chile, the country where I was born, so we are excited to revisit this music 21 years later. I feel very proud of what we've accomplished."

Remembering the days of the making of the album, Johannes says: "It was a very special time. The three of us locked ourselves up in the studio and invited some friends, like Josh Freese and Matt Cameron. We had all the time in the world, no rush, so we created those atmospheres for each song. Those are definitely some of the happiest days of my life as a musician, the fact that with my family — as Natasha and Chris were — we ended up with such a beautiful record."

ALAIN JOHANNES TRIO is the current touring band for Johannes in South America and includes the Chilean musicians Felo Foncea on keyboards and Cote Foncea on drums. For the cover of "Can't Change Me" the TRIO added two special guests, both also Chilean: Cristobal Aedo on vocals and acoustic guitar and Ignacio Ibarra on electric guitar.

ALAIN JOHANNES TRIO's first single was "Luna A Sol", available via Ipecac Recordings. A full-length album is in the works.

"Can't Change Me" credits:

* Alain Johannes: Vocals and electric guitar
* Felo Foncea: Vocals, Moog Bass, Wurlitzer and Hammond
* Cote Foncea: Vocals and percussion
* Cristóbal Aedo: Lead vocal and acoustic guitar
* Ignacio Ibarra: Electric guitar
* Mixed by Chris Cuevas
* Video edited by Ignacio Ibarra

ELEVEN released five albums between 1991 and 2003. Johannes and Shneider became sought-out contributors, having also lent their talents to QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE's chart-topping 2005 "Lullabies To Paralyze" and the subsequent two-year touring cycle that followed its release. Along the way, Alain either wrote, produced, or engineered projects for NO DOUBT, Mark Lanegan, JIMMY EAT WORLD, Brody Dalle and ARCTIC MONKEYS, to name a few. Not to mention, he performed in PJ Harvey's live band as well as THEM CROOKED VULTURES where he shared stages worldwide with Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones. A sought-after composer for film, television, and video games, he has penned music for HBO's "Eagles Of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends)" as well as Tom Clancy's "Ghost Recon: Wildlands" and "Breakpoint". Plus, Grohl enlisted him as part of the Sound City Players, co-writing and performing various cuts on the soundtrack for "Sound City". Following Natasha's passing, he unveiled his first solo effort, "Spark", in 2010 before delivering the follow-up "Fragments And Wholes, Vol. 1" three years later.

Johannes will release "Hum", his third solo album, on July 31 via Ipecac Recordings.

Photo credit: Tom Bronowski