Eleven Gets New Lease On Life With A&M, Chris Cornell Collaborations

                 

Los Angeles- based rockers Eleven have recently been handed a new lease on life -- well, their musical life, at least. The trio has recently signed with yet another new label (their third), A&M Records, and has been getting a bit more attention due to their collaborations with ex-Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell.
   "We've been dying to be on A&M for years and years and years," says Eleven singer/ guitarist Alain Johannes. "There's a certain vibe about them -- they stick with [bands] and allow you creative freedom when it's reasonable."
   The band, which also includes Natasha Shneider on organ/ bass/ vocals and Greg Upchurch on drums, was previously on Hollywood Records, which released their 1993 self- titled album and 1995's Thunk. Before that, they were signed to the now- defunct Morgan Creek label, which released their 1991 debut, Awake in a Dream, earning them opening slots with Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. In fact, the Pearl Jam and Soundgarden connections run a bit deeper: Eleven's original drummer was Jack Irons, who later joined Pearl Jam, and when Irons left, Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron performed on four tracks on Thunk. And Johannes also led a high school band that included ex- and- current Red Hot Chili Peppers members Hillel Slovak, Flea, and Anthony Kiedis.
   It was the touring with Soundgarden that led to Eleven's recent collaborations with Cornell, which include a cover of "Ave Maria" on A Very Special Christmas 3 (allstar, Sept. 10); a song called "Someone to Die For," which was intended for the soundtrack to A Life Less Ordinary; and a song called "Sunshower," which Cornell wrote for the Great Expectations soundtrack.
   "When musicians hang out, they tend to make noise," says Johannes. "Chris stayed with us [at Eleven's home studio 11 AD in L.A.] after Soundgarden broke up. It was time to put vocals on 'Someone to Die For' and we were deciding who was going to sing it. I was tired, so we asked Chris. It didn't make it to the [A Life Less Ordinary] soundtrack for political or timing reasons. They said they wanted it to be featured more, but they had all these other songs. We're looking for a place to put the song. Then Chris did a song for Great Expectations and recorded it at our place -- it's Chris singing and us playing on it."
   As for Eleven's next record and A&M debut, due in the spring, Johannes says it will be "more experimental because we're completely autonomous for a change. We're even engineering ourselves."

Thanks to:  Rocktropolis   Allstar