Seth and Scott Avett appeared on Lance Armstrong’s podcast The Forward to cover a wide variety of topics including their relationship with the late Chris Cornell, who the two noted had an ongoing project in the works after several collaborations. 

“He had just let Seth know ‘when you guys are ready I’m ready to go,'” Scott said of their potential work with Cornell. “When we worked with Chris, we didn’t anticipate how connected we were. We connected instantly.” 

The Avetts mentioned a 2013 collaboration with Cornell on stage in Charlotte as well as an appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s then-late night show where they covered Pearl Jam’s “Footsteps” in honor of a week celebrating the band’s upcoming album release. Upon hearing the news of Cornell’s suicide, the Avetts spoke with producer Rick Rubin who “thought it was a hoax.” 

“Chris and I were texting about three weeks ago,” Seth said. “In our first conversations with Chris, the sheen of stardom almost completely went away because he took up so much space as a person. The amazing parts about him went so far beyond what we knew of him as a leader of a band.” 

They mentioned that they currently tour with a guitar given to Seth from Chris Cornell (“It has the mojo all over it”) and opened each show the week following his passing with “Black Hole Sun.” 

Listen to the full interview below.