Seattle may have been the grunge capital of the world back in the ‘90s, but this Tuesday morning, Rockford, Illinois resident Carl Prather will be attempting the unthinkable feat of handling both Eddie Vedder’s and Chris Cornell’s vocal duties on “Hunger Strike” during his morning commute to work.
For years, the 1991 anthem has served as the perfect singalong for men bonding during a camping trip or a friend’s funeral, the varied vocal melodies and countermelodies serving an embarrassment of riches for a chorus of beer-drunk voices to fumble, hum, and vamp their way through the emotionally raw paeans to partially chewed bread. Attempting the duet solo would surely require months of training with a ponytailed vocal coach and, at the very least, a few tallboys to gather the necessary courage. Prather will not have the luxury of either, explaining that he can’t really drink before work anymore due to an ongoing custody battle and that he doesn’t know what a vocal coach is.
Critics fear the local refrigerator repairman may be punching above his weight, considering it took two Seattle grunge rock legends to record the original, and Prather only knows roughly 20% of the lyrics. Adding insult to injury, the only formal training Prather has is 7th-grade chorus, which he received a C- in. It’s hard to imagine how he could possibly capture the throaty baritone of Eddie Vedder and the four-octave range of Chris Cornell all in one single breath, but Prather remains unconcerned, telling us, “Who gives a shit, I’m just driving to work. No one else will even be in the car. Just let me do this, ok?”
As if the level of difficulty wasn’t staggering enough, Prather is already working on vocalizing the guitar breakdown and a few of the more memorable drum fills, which he will literally play with his fingers on the steering wheel! Prather has also not ruled out the possibility of eating a breakfast sandwich throughout the performance, which could really make things interesting! So if you happen to be on I-39 this upcoming Tuesday morning, keep your eyes peeled for a silver Toyota Camry with a caterwauling 41-year-old man inside and know that grunge rock history is probably being made.
