Watch Soundgarden's Kim Thayil tear through Led Zeppelin's Communication Breakdown at Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp performance
The grunge guitar legend revisited an early Soundgarden setlist standard onstage with some lucky campers at the Whisky a Go Go
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.
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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.
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Jackson is an Associate Editor at GuitarWorld.com. He’s been writing and editing stories about new gear, technique and guitar-driven music both old and new since 2014, and has also written extensively on the same topics for Guitar Player. Elsewhere, his album reviews and essays have appeared in Louder and Unrecorded. Though open to music of all kinds, his greatest love has always been indie, and everything that falls under its massive umbrella. To that end, you can find him on Twitter crowing about whatever great new guitar band you need to drop everything to hear right now.
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