In a new profile in The New York Times, the members of Temple of the Dog spoke for one of the first times about their decision to embark on their first ever tour, which kicked off this weekend in Philadelphia, PA and will continued tonight at Madison Square Garden.

Much of the conversation focused on Andy Wood, the Mother Love Bone frontman who passed away, ultimately inspiring Chris Cornell, Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, Jeff Ament and Matt Cameron to team up as Temple of the Dog for one record, some of which also featured then-new Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder.

“I thought, well, this is one thing I can do to remind myself and maybe other people of who this guy is and was and keep is history and in a way his life with us,” Cornell said of the project and subsequent album.

Jeff Ament added, “I always think about where Andy would want these songs to be played. The Garden and The Forum were like the two places he probably wanted to play more than anywhere, so from that standpoint its awesome.”

Cameron summed up Wood’s influence on the band members and their respective projects, saying, “He wasn’t a footnote in our history. He was a real big influence for us all.”

Temple of the Dog take the stage tonight at Madison Square Garden.