Matt Cameron

Matt Cameron is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the drummer for the Seattle Grunge Rock bands Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. Matt first played drums for Seattle band Skin Yard, but did not acquire international fame until he joined 'Soundgarden' with Chris Cornell, Kim Thayil, and Hiro Yamamoto in 1986. He remained with 'Soundgarden' for roughly ten years until the band split up in 1997. The band were one of the biggest alternative rock acts of the 1990s, along with Alice in Chains, Mudhoney, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and the Screaming Trees. By 1994 'Soundgarden' were an international success, their albums 'Superunknown' (1994) and 'Down on the Upside' (1996) topping the album charts. Matt is credited as writer - and co-writer - of many of the band's songs. In 1991 Matt appeared on the 'Temple of the Dog' album with Jeff Ament, Chris Cornell, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. The album was a side-project, a tribute to Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood who had died of an overdose. In 1992 he featured on the soundtrack to - and made an appearance in - the film Singles (1992) starring Matt Dillon and based upon the Seattle 'Grunge' scene. Following the Soundgarden split, Matt temporarily played drums for the bands The Smashing Pumpkins and Queens of the Stone Age, before finally replacing Jack Irons as drummer for Pearl Jam during the 1998 'Yield Tour' where he has remained since. Matt has supported Guns N' Roses on their 1991 tour and played the 1992 Lollapalooza tour with Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ministry. He can be found on many movie soundtracks including John Schlesinger's Pacific Heights (1990), Pump Up the Volume (1990), _Wayne's World_qv) (1992), Quentin Tarantino's _True Rommance_ (1993), Tim Burton's Big Fish (2003), and Reign Over Me (2007). He has further collaborated with Tony Iommi and Peter Frampton. Matt lives outside Seattle with his wife April Acevez and their two children Ray and Josie. He recently (2010) reformed with 'Soundgarden' and continues to play drums for 'Pearl Jam', dividing his time between both bands, whilst still concentrating on solo projects. He features in the Pearl Jam Twenty (2011) documentary.