A sound engineer for the late Chris Cornell's band Soundgarden has revealed the singer was "out of character" during his final show, performed just hours before he tragically ended his own life.
Ted Keedick, who had worked with Cornell for 10 years before his passing, said the 'Spoonman' hitmaker seemed so unlike himself that he had called someone backstage to ask whether something was wrong with him.
"Chris was out of character from note one of the show. I've never heard or seen him that way before, at least if we did not cancel a show," he told TMZ.
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Keedick added that Chris seemed "f**ked up" and "high", but not depressed - an assessment consistent with what Cornell's wife Vicky said she'd noticed in the moments leading up to his death.
"I noticed he was slurring his words; he was different. He told me he may have taken an extra Ativan or two," she said in a statement.
"What happened is inexplicable, and I am hopeful that further medical reports will provide additional details. I know that he loved our children, and he would not hurt them by intentionally taking his own life."
Cornell, 52, was found dead in the bathroom of his Detroit hotel on Wednesday night (local time) after the grunge band had played a concert in the city.
Kirk Pasich, the Cornell family's lawyer, said they believed "that drugs or other substances may have affected his actions".
Ativan, the prescription medication Vicky Cornell alleges her husband may have taken too much of, is used to treat anxiety and sleeping disorders. Side effects of the drug include impaired judgement and heightened depression.
Keedick's comments come as US singer-songwriter Norah Jones performed the first concert at Detroit's Fox Theater since Soundgarden played their final show there last Wednesday (local time).
She sang a touching rendition of famous Soundgarden track 'Black Hole Sun' in memory of the grunge rock icon.
Newshub.
