RICHIE KOTZEN On Whether He Would Sing For SOUNDGARDEN As CHRIS CORNELL's Replacement: 'I'm Not Looking To Join Anybody Else's Band'

In a recent interview with Chris Akin Presents, guitarist, singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Richie Kotzen was once again asked if he would ever consider joining SOUNDGARDEN or AUDIOSLAVE if he was approached to step in as the replacement for those two bands' late frontman Chris Cornell. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't know, because I don't think that's something that would ever happen — I don't. I think that my pedigree, regardless of what you think I sound like, my roots are so deep in soul and R&B, and that's why I sing the way I sing. I look at myself as more of a soul singer that sings rock as opposed to a hard rock, grunge singer. I know people hear it the way they hear it, which is fine. And by the way, the comparison [to Cornell], I take it as a compliment because, obviously, I view him as one of the greatest of all time. But they say, never step in a great man's shoes."

He continued: "I feel like I am my own thing. I'm not looking to join anybody else's band. But the one thing that does strike me — I remember when [INXS singer] Michael Hutchence died, I saw a video of Terence Trent D'Arby with INXS, and they did a tribute, and it was really powerful. So, those kinds of things are really wonderful to participate in.

"I've sung with [AUDIOSLAVE guitarist] Tom Morello and THE WINERY DOGS — Mike [Portnoy] and Billy [Sheehan] — we performed, years ago, an AUDIOSLAVE song. And that's out there on YouTube. So anybody that wants to hear that, actually, it's there — you can hear me singing a Chris Cornell song. But to actually go out and join someone's band — I don't even know how to answer that because I don't perceive that as something that would ever [happen]."

Richie, who has been singing since the age of 17, has often been compared to Cornell due to his ability to deliver "full-throated roars one minute and croon with husky empathy the next." (Stereoboard, 2013)

Nearly five years ago, Kotzen was asked in an interview with Izzy Presley of "Another FN Podcast" if he would accept an offer to play with SOUNDGARDEN if the band came to him with "the right number." Kotzen responded: "It doesn't have anything to do with numbers; it would not be a numbers game. I think that it would be an honor for anyone to have that opportunity. And again, it goes back to the sentence I said earlier: 'Never step into a great man's shoes.' But I think that that phone call, whether it was me or anyone else, would be a complete honor, and I think someone would have to be a bit of a fool to say 'no.'"

During the same chat, Kotzen acknowledged similarities between his voice and that of Cornell, but denied that he was ever directly inspired by the late SOUNDGARDEN and AUDIOSLAVE singer.

"Well, I think it is a compliment," Richie said of the comparisons. "He's one of the greatest rock singers of our generation, so it's definitely a compliment. And I think people draw comparisons, because that's what they do — they hear things that resonate that are familiar. Now, the comparison, I think, is coincidence. I think I'm a little too old and I've been doing it a little too long to say that his work was a direct influence on what I do. But I could say that we probably had similar influences. And I can say that I think he's a fantastic and amazing artist. And it's an honor to be compared to anyone that's great.

"My biggest influence as a singer is Terence Trent D'Arby," Kotzen explained. "And that is where that sound comes from. So the sound that caused the rock people to mention Chris, I got that sound, and I will admit I lifted it from Terence Trent D'Arby. So the rock people, many of them, aren't gonna get that, 'cause they don't listen to that kind of music. So they say Chris. If they did their research, they'd know that I listened to Terence, I listened to [David] Coverdale and Glenn Hughes and Ronnie Dio and Paul Rodgers. So, it's a coincidence, but it is a very nice compliment. And being compared to someone that is that great is always a good thing."

Kotzen performed the AUDIOSLAVE classic "Cochise" — which was originally co-written and sung by Cornell — at a "Soundcheck Live" event in January 2017 at Lucky Strike Live in Los Angeles, California. Joining him for the rendition was Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, AUDIOSLAVE, PROPHETS OF RAGE),Nuno Bettencourt (EXTREME),Marty O'Brien (LITA FORD) and Glen Sobel (ALICE COOPER). Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

Cornell died in May 2017 after being found unresponsive in his Detroit hotel room. SOUNDGARDEN had played a show earlier that evening. The 52-year-old had sedatives and an anxiety drug in his system, but died as a result of hanging himself.