As a key figure in the 1990s Seattle music scene, Artis the Spoonman had up close and personal contact with death, addiction and mental illness. But the passing of Soundgarden front man Chris Cornell still leaves Artis speechless.

"I was stunned," Artis said. "This came totally out of left field. Someone called me at 5 a.m., and I was shocked, wondering, 'What kind of news is this?' It makes me so angry, I just want to scream."

Cornell, 52, died on May 18 from what was determined to be self-inflicted wounds. His family has blamed the apparent suicide on an unfavorable interaction of prescription drugs.

Artis, 68, is a visible part of the Port Townsend landscape. Artis feels at home in the local culture and atmosphere, but said he could not afford to live here without disability support from the Veterans Administration.

He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War era. When asked what that was like, he discloses that he also tried to hang himself. He was cut down and sent to a mental hospital for evaluation prior to his discharge. So, he can feel Cornell's pain.

Artis was the subject of one of Soundgarden's best-known songs, the 1994 hard-rocking "Spoonman," and appeared in the accompanying video.

Some sample lyrics: "Spoonman, come together with your hands. Save me, I'm together with your plan."

In the early 1990s, Artis was invited to perform as a "tweener" at a Soundgarden performance, but interacted only briefly with Cornell. Shortly afterward, a band rep asked if it would be OK for Cornell to write a song about Artis.

CALLED INTO THE STUDIO

"I said yes, but it was like 'Hey, let go of my arm,'" he recalled. "A year and a half later, they called me into the studio at the last minute to play on the song, which I really liked. It has a great, driving beat."

Artis was amused by the song's repetition of the "save me" phrase, responding with a "Save Yourself" T-shirt that he wore during the video's filming. He was also taken aback by the line "All my friends are Indians, all my friends are brown and red."

"My best friend when I was growing up in Alaska was indigenous," he said. "Chris had no way of knowing that."

"Chris wrote about meaningful stuff; there wasn't any bullshit, la-de-dah and 'I love you,'" Artis said. "He wrote in a kind of code. He wrote a song called 'Like Suicide' that was about a bird flying into a window."

In a 2014 Rolling Stone interview, Cornell called Artis "an inspiration," saying, "I've sold millions of records and toured the world, but I can't do what he can. I can't just walk into a room and pick up an instrument and perform and entertain everyone and their jaws drop."

Cornell and Artis last saw each other several years ago at a concert in Everett, where Artis went onstage and was introduced as "a dropout graduate" of Everett High School, "where I attended for a few months," he said.

As a child, Artis had one ambition - to be a rock star - imagining himself as a guitarist or a singer. It was a surprise, then, to discover and nurture his aptitude with spoons.

The driver wasn't fame, but acceptance.

"I've always been insecure," he said. "I always wanted to impress people and be accepted; if I didn't do something that was outwardly impressive, I'd be bullied or rejected, sexually. I didn't think of myself as a looker or very talented, who had anything going on to impress the gals. But this changed after I played spoons."

Currently, he seeks to complete a biographical multimedia project, "creating a package as a way to aggregate my story." He said it will include stories, songs, video and mementos - along with a set of spoons. He intends to solicit contributions through crowdfunding, as well as someone who can help to channel his scattered demeanor.

"I'm looking for a way to wrap this up," he said. "After this, it'll be all you'll get. I won't have to be Artis the Spoonman, but if you ask me to play, I'll play."