Malfunkshun (May 2014)

Malfunkshun, yeah… They should call that band Disfunkshun. (LAUGHS) Mike Starr from Alice in Chains was a good friend of mine. When he died I played a tribute gig in L.A. for him by doing a set of Mother Love Bone songs, and a set of Alice In Chains songs. Kevin Wood, who is Andrew Wood’s brother, ended up getting a tape from the show. Through a series of circumstances, I ended up singing in Malfunkshun, which is my hero’s band.

I almost did a record with Malfunkshun. That would have been cool. I did a bunch of shows… We got to play in Hollywood, Vegas, Seattle… I got to sing those songs in front of his mother in Seattle, and her face was one of astonishment. I remember her face was luminous in the crowd in Seattle. All the camps were there. Soundgarden, NIrvana, Alice In Chains. It was really cool singing those songs. They mean so much to me, and I think that came across. There’s lots of live stuff out on YouTube.

I sang the Mother Love Bone songs, and people would cry in the audience. I learned everything I know from Andrew Wood. There was a time in my life when all I had was a bag of shit, a Mother Love Bone tape, and dream. That shit kept me alive. I ended up singing in Andrew Wood’s band, and to me that’s the Holy Grail of Rock N’ Roll.

Kevin Wood actually told me, “You sound so much like my brother it’s bone-chilling.” The one problem with Malfunkshun is they have a Yoko Ono manager that’s fucking out of control and sadly that band won’t do anything ever again. I ended up quitting my hero’s band because I have more respect for him than some of his inner circle.

It was a lot of fun while it lasted, it was an honor to sing in Andrew Wood’s band.