Hunger Strike – Temple Of The Dog

I suggest we build a moat around Eddie Vedder. We keep him on an island where we go to him and he never needs take a plane or walk against traffic. We should send him good food and quality wine and take turns to check up on the guy. We need to make sure that Grunge voices don’t all lose their gifts to their demons. Not that I see that in him. But I never saw it in Chris either.

I first heard Hunger Strike thanks to my old school buddy the previously mentioned little Stevie Webster. This boy had an ear for the singers. He loved his heavy rock. But he honed in on the bands where the voice was THE thing. He was a competent guitar player (way better than me) and we used to sit in each others rooms strumming away on our cheap guitars trying to come up with something as brilliant as Temple Of The Dog.

Stevie loved Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, Screaming Trees and he loved sharing these records with me, Wilde, Fizz and the gang.

This band was a huge part of our friendship. We’d all go out to the indie nights and to gigs our own route. We were scattered all over town. Some in jobs and some in college. So we usually met at the bar. But we walked back as a gang.

As we crossed the dual carriage ways and headed through the underpasses in various states of ‘various states’ inevitably one of the crew would pipe up…

“I don’t mind stealing bread from the mouths of decadence but I can’t feed on the powerless when my cups already over filled”

The next guy would sing it back. We’d do the first verse. We’d hum the guitar parts. We’d get shouted at by people trying to sleep in the flats by the school yard. By the time we got to the Eddie and Chris Screamy bit we’re either on our backs in a park at 2am howling at the moon or Little Stevie Webster is singing it note perfect for the rest of us.

“I’m going Hungry”

‘Steve’s goin’ Ungreeeehh’

“I’m going Hungry”

‘Steve’s goin’ Ungreheheheeeehh’

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