According to Jack Endino, who produced most of the early Seattle records, and even played in Skin Yard himself, Cameron left the band in March 1986 because the members just didn't get along. In September 1986, he joined Soundgarden, who were looking for a new drummer since Scott Sundquist had decided to quit (he had a wife and children, and was interested in finding a steadier job). The band welcomed him with open arms, since although Cameron's specialty is drumming, he can also sing, play bass and guitar, and has songwriting talent.

Cameron somehow finds the time to be involved in several projects outside of Soundgarden. In 1990, he and Chris Cornell, along with some friends, recorded the Temple of the Dog tribute to Andrew Wood, who died on March 16 of an overdose. In February 1993, he teamed up with bassist Ben Shepherd to form Hater; they've played as recently as March 1996, opening for a local Seattle band at the OK Hotel. Cameron and Cornell formed half of M.A.C.C., which recorded one track for the Stone Free tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Finally, Cameron has another band, called Tone Dogs, an avant-garde jazz outfit that has so far released one record for C/Z Records.

For a look at Cameron's cymbal setup, please take a look at Zildjian's hompage.

Matt Cameron speaks...

on the "Seattle scene":
"It's just the way that people are perceiving the whole scene right now that gets kind of annoying. They don't understand the history of it or the importance of it. There's this blind acceptance for any band from Seattle."

on people who document the "scene":
"The only time I get real miffed is when people think of all the Seattle bands out of chronological order. We were one of the first ones to sign a major-label deal to come out of that amazingly fertile scene that peaked around '86, '87. And we were kind of the guinea pigs for what was going to happen with a lot of the other bands. And here we are -- we're still doing it. But they think that Nirvana's the first band from Seattle."

on Soundgarden's early days:
"Those were the days when we all piled in a van and slept on the soundman's floor from any given club. It was so hand-to-mouth. We just had to survive however we could. It was really fun, though. It was an adventure."

on the music industry:
"I see the whole music industry as this crusty old dude trying to take a shit and it can't come out."