Soundgarden electric guitar titan Kim Thayil recently participated as a guest instructor – along with Stone Temple Pilots guitarist Dean DeLeo and bass guitar player Robert DeLeo – at a hard rock-themed edition of the Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp held in Los Angeles.
The camp ran from March 16 through March 19 and – like all Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camps – gave participants the opportunity to learn from, pick the brains of, and even jam with, some top-tier musicians.
When the time came for the campers to jam with their heroes at the legendary Whisky a Go Go, naturally, some Zeppelin was in order.
To that end, you can see Thayil – armed with one of his trademark Guild S-100s – tear through Communication Breakdown with some lucky campers below.
Cognizant of his role as an instructor, Thayil doesn't hog too much of the spotlight, but does take a quick-fire solo at one point, much to the audience's delight.
Thayil seems right at home taking on the proto-punk classic, something you can probably chalk up to his long history with the song.
Before Soundgarden rode the grunge wave to superstardom, Communication Breakdown featured semi-regularly in the band's setlists.
Some Soundgarden, of course, also crept into the campers' setlist as well. With the help of Thayil and another star instructor – Whitesnake axe-slinger (and Guitar World contributor) Joel Hoekstra – another group of campers gamely tackled Soundgarden's Let Me Drown.
It's not the first time the Soundgarden legend has jammed with fans at a Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp, either. Last year, he and Alice in Chains' Jerry Cantrell served as the lead all-star instructors at a grunge-themed "Sounds of Seattle" gathering.
For info on the upcoming editions of the Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp – which, among many other guest instructors, are set to feature the likes of John 5, Richard Fortus and Rolling Stones bassist Darryl Jones – visit Rock Camp.
