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FIBM: But there was not a specific point that Malfunkshun officially broke up?
Kevin Wood: No, no one ever said that...it never really was over...we just couldn't do it while Andy was doing his thing.
FIBM: In Andrew's last interview, which was just after Mother Love Bone cut Apple, he comments that when he gets some downtime he wanted to
work with you again and said that he felt bad about leaving you.
Kevin Wood: Yeah, we were working on some stuff actually, before he died, we were doing some preproduction recordings for some songs that he was
writing...I was playing guitar, it was coming along pretty well too; we were having a good time....coming up with some pretty good stuff.
Actually Me, Andy and Regan met on the street, by chance, on the street, on the 3rd of March, when I was coming back from one of our sessions, where
me & Andy had been working on that stuff....it was 3-3-3 day. You know, that was Malfunkshun's number. The 3 power of Malfunkshun.
You see that all over the place from the Malfunkshun days. So the three of us meet, by chance, on the street on the date 3 / 3, then us 3.
That was the last time I saw Andy alive, it was the last time we were ever together.
FIBM: Describe a typical day in the life of Kevin Wood at the height of Malfunkshun.
Kevin Wood: A typical day, I go to work at a chinese restaurant and cut up chickens all day. Drink a half case of beer and
jam some rock n roll, until 2 in the morning.
FIBM: Describe Andrew Wood, as a child, as an adult.
Kevin Wood:
Always making people laugh and trying to entertain people. He was always on, he was always, always entertaining.
FIBM: Even as a child?
Kevin Wood:
Yes, even as a child...as far back as I can remember.
FIBM: Was he your younger brother?
Kevin Wood:
Yes, I was four year older than him.
FIBM: What was the songwriting process like between you & Andy.
Kevin Wood:
Well, I would play some riffs on guitar and he would make up some words for them, or he would make up the whole thing on bass and I would
just add guitar. Most of the time we were doing his material, because he would make up songs complete with lyrics and bass lines. That's the
way it worked for Malfunkshun for the most part...although I did write a lot of material in Malfunkshun, but most of it was Andy.
FIBM: When did Andrew start playing piano?
Kevin Wood:
Oh, he was really young, probably seven or so.
FIBM: But he didn't play much piano in Malfunkshun, right?
Kevin Wood:
No, he didn't have one (laugh) that was the big problem. But he got one at the end of the run there, he got a Fender Rhodes and used that
on stage the last couple of years....that was a bitch to haul around.
FIBM: What was the Seattle scene like in the late 80's and early 90's? What was it like to be a part of at that time?
Kevin Wood:
It's hard to say because, there was a lot of excitement going on and a lot of people clammering for a deal. Especially after it
popped open and Nirvana got signed and Mother Love Bone...actually it got started with Soundgarden, then Mother Love Bone and then
Nirvana, and of course Pearl Jam...and then every band was poised to get a deal.
FIBM: Like the music scene in Hollywood during the 80's.
Kevin Wood:
Oh yeah, I had a friend who moved from Michigan, he was originally from here, but moved back to try and get a deal.
A lot of that was going on. A lot of bands who had no reason signing to a label. A lot of wannabe's, a lot of copycat's.
But I was right in there, but of course my whole take on things is if everyone is doing it this way, I am doing it the other way.
I would go out on stage, when everyone was wearing the long hair and the shorts...I would go out there in some nice pointed shoes and
slacks, looking like Jimmy Page. (laughs) I could never stand to follow the trend. Even when we were playing the punk days in the early
eighties, we would go out there dressed up like clowns, you know a glitter-glam thing. Kind of a KISS thing. We were definitely going a different
way the whole time. I don't think I could break free of that. It's just part of who I am.
Chris Cornell & Andrew Wood
FIBM: Weren't Andrew and Chris Cornell roommates for awhile?
Kevin Wood:
Yea, they did room together for awhile. They shared a house together in Seattle.
FIBM: Was Soundgarden signed when they lived together?
Kevin Wood:
No, when they first started living together Soundgarden had not been signed yet. It was early on....but they did live together
for enough time where I think Soundgarden did get signed. Then Andy moved on and started to do Mother Love Bone and then he got signed.
FIBM: Do you have any memories of Chris Cornell at that time?
Kevin Wood:
Yeah, we hung out for a bit...because we practiced at the same place. He was a really soft spoken guy.
I don't know too much about him. He never really opened up to me...we never got into a long conversation..we had
a few words here and there. He was always kind of quiet and shy...and that's kind of the way I am, for the most part.
I know Andy really revered the guy.
FIBM: Did they ever write or work together?
Kevin Wood:
I don't know if they did or not...it would be fun to stumble on to some of that.
FIBM: What was Andrew's songwriting process?
Kevin Wood:
I couldn't tell you...he would just come out of his room with a song...I don't know.
FIBM: What did you think of the Temple of the Dog release?
Kevin Wood:
I don't know...some of the songs are pretty good.
FIBM: Why weren't you a part of it?
Kevin Wood:
That is why I have mixed feelings about it. Me and my brother Brian had been playing forever....they didn't even think to ask us to play on it.
I'm sure it was partly us not being in Seattle all the time. I always thought that it would have been a pretty cool thing to do, but it's all
said and done.
FIBM: Any memories come to mind when Andrew was recording Apple? I know you already said that you did not hang out with him much, but did he ever
call you and tell you how things were going?
Kevin Wood:
Yeah, we didn't talk much. I know he was in Sausalito doing the Apple cd, he was there during the earthquake. He told me that we was hanging
out with Carlos Santana a little bit. But we didn't talk too much about it. For me, Mother Love Bone was a bit of a sore spot...the whole idea
when Green River broke up was to have Jeff & Stoney join Malfunkshun, but it turned out the other way around and I got kind of left on the
sidelines. I didn't really feel too cheery and I didn't really want to hear about it. (laughs) My mom would come over and tell me all of
his stories and news about Andy and what he was doing...and I said, you know what mom, I don't want to hear about it..she got all pissed off
at me, "you should be happy for your brother, blah, blah, blah" and I'm thinking, yea he fucked me over and left me out in nowhere land, just kind
of ruined my whole plan. But that was then, it's all water under the bridge. Kurt Cobain asked me to join Nirvana at one time and I
didn't do that....I didn't even consider it for a minute...I mean he didn't actually ask me to join the band, but he asked me to
come and jam, because they were looking for another guitar player. But I passed up on it. At the time, I was listening to their demo
tapes and they sounded really raunchy, it's not really my style at all. But they did ask me...who knows.
FIBM: What was Kurt like?
Kevin Wood:
Just a regular guy; kind of quiet kid. I didn't really hang out with him though. Actually Chad Channing and Kurt hooked up at
Malfunkshun's last show. Then a couple of weeks later, Chad came up to me and told me that Kurt had invited me to jam. But I didn't think
it would tie in with what Kurt was doing...so I passed up on it.
FIBM: Any regrets about that?
Kevin Wood:
(LAUGHS) Yeah, of course. But who's to know, you know.
FIBM: If it's any consolation, It seemed like he tortured everyone in the band.
Kevin Wood:
Yeah, I was not privy to that kind of exposure to what was going on. I do know that Chad, before his PAY DAY came in, was beside himself with
remorse about losing that job, right in the early 90's when Nirvana really took off....oh man, it was just unthinkable. But you know, he
is still getting paid for that now, then he started to get money coming in...and lots of it. He won't ever have to work
again, you know, he's set up.
FIBM: Now did he quit?
Kevin Wood:
I had heard he got kicked out. But can you imagine being kicked out of a band right before the band
made it super, mega-platinum. Devastating.
FIBM: What was that following year like for you, after your brother passed away?
Kevin Wood:
Andrew died in 1990 and by 1991 I was in the Fire Ants playing gigs, but it definitely took a long time to get able to function normally, after
a tragedy like that, of course. I mean, to this day I still can get choked up, when I think about it. It's still hard to take, but time kind of
smooths things out...But yea, it doesn't take much to sit yourself back there....that film man, that was torture to have to sit through that
thing twice. I was hanging on for dear life; it brought out so many emotions...yea, you know my mom and my brother...it was too
much to take.
FIBM: Kevin Wood is transported back to the year 1987, is there anything you would do differently?
Kevin Wood:
Yeah. I probably would have spoke my mind about getting Jeff and Stone in Malfunkshun...I just kind of let that thing happen. I would of screamed
and hollered. I would have taken Andy's arm or something when I saw that he was going overboard with the drugs.
Kevin and Andrew Wood
THE FAST 5
FIBM: What is your most disgusting habit?
Kevin Wood: pulling my nose hair
FIBM: What is the most feminine thing you do?
Kevin Wood: I fuss around with my hair a lot
FIBM: If there is a God, what is the first question you would ask God when you arrive?
Kevin Wood: Is there really a devil?
FIBM: Greatest Rock band of all time?
Kevin Wood: Led Zeppelin
FIBM: What were you doing 40 minutes before you sat down to do this interview?
Kevin Wood: cooking burritos for my kids.
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