Dream comes true for Seattle Soundgarden fan

Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell is getting big props for making a Seattle teen’s dream come true. (AP file photo)

What an emotional rollercoaster for 18-year-old Spencer
Larson. The Soundgarden fan was on vacation last fall in
Orlando with his family from Seattle, and managed to score
front row seats to see Chris Cornell perform at the Hard
Rock Cafe. It would be the highlight of his young life.
But alas, his dreams were seemingly dashed.

“We showed up there at the venue and the concert was
cancelled just an hour before it was about to start
because Chris had laryngitis caused by flu. Needless to
say I was pretty disappointed,” Spencer told 97.3 KIRO
FM’s Dori Monson.

But the story doesn’t end there. Somehow, Larson
convinced his parents to pay for him to fly back to
Florida this week for the rescheduled show. And he was
going to make sure he made the most of it.

“The day before we flew down to Orlando, I went up to
the grocery store and bought some cardboard, got some red
and black sharpies and I just wrote out a message on my
sign that said ‘Can I sing Hunger Strike with you?’ He
was probably going to turn me down, but I figured ‘I got
nothing to lose.'”

Far from turning him down, the exact opposite happened.
Cornell not only acknowledged the sign, he actually
invited Spencer on stage.

“He goes ‘I’ll let you come up here and sing any song.
Really it’s up to you, but that song is kind of special
and
it’s kind of difficult it’s something I did with Eddie’,”
Spencer said.

But the teen didn’t back down from the challenge. He
told Dori he was pretty nervous before taking the stage,
trying hard to remember all the lyrics to the classic
song. But once he took the stage, instinct took over.

“I was not nervous at all. I loved it. I was just
enjoying the moment. thankfully I think it went pretty
well.”

Did it ever. Spencer more than held his own and got a
rousing endorsement from the sold out crowd and a memory
he says that’s the highlight of his young life.

Listen to
Interview: Seattle teen who shared stage with his hero,
Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell

Check out Spencer’s Hunger Strike duet with Chris
Cornell here: