Soundgarden laid the groundwork for the grunge movement of the 1990s. They may have been the last of the "Big 4" grunge bands to break through commercially, but they predate the likes of Nirvana and Pearl Jam by several years. Years which included the musical contributions of Hiro Yamamoto.
Yamamoto was a founding member of Soundgarden in 1984. He formed part of the band's core songwriting trio alongside singer (and former drummer) Chris Cornell and guitarist Kim Thayil. He played bass on Soundgarden's first six releases, including their debut album, Ultramega OK (1988). Yamaoto decided to quit the band in 1989, however.
Hiro Yamamoto quit Soundgarden in 1989
Yamamoto has been forthright about his reasons for leaving the band before they achieved peak critical and commercial success. He'd grown tired of Soundgarden's endless touring schedule, and was hesitant to promote and push the band the way that major labels wanted.
"They call it the music industry because it is an industry and the music you play is a product," Yamamoto told King 5 News in 2022. "If you play grunge, or whatever, that’s kind of like having gasoline versus jet fuel and they market that. You’re really a genre instead of an individual, in a way." Yamamoto quickly realized that he did not want to partake in the promotional side of the industry.
"This isn’t just about music, this is about an industry that sells things and I guess I wasn’t comfortable with that at the time," the bassist added. Yamamoto's departure was not something that was taken as a slight speedbump. Thayil told Spin Magazine that he considered the bassist to be a core member, and worried the band would not be able to go on without his presence. Thayil also told Rolling Stone that he found Yamamoto's decision to leave "devastating."
Yamamoto co-founded the bands Truly and Stereo Donkey
Fortunately, Soundgarden weathered the storm. Yamamoto was replaced by Jason Everman in the short term, and Ben Shepherd in the long term. A few years after leaving Soundgarden, the bassist founded the band Truly alongside Robert Roth from the Storybook Kinks and Mark Pickerel from the Screaming Trees. Truly has released four albums, and remains active to this day.
Yamamoto also co-founded the band Stereo Donkey in 2016, which resulted in a 2018 EP. The bassist has not missed a beat since leaving the band that made him famous, and he been able to do things his way ever since.