�� Music News Of The World
�� -- July 09, 1997 --
�� Edited by Michael Goldberg

�� Headlines: July 09, 1997 Former Pearl Jam drummer Dave Abbruzzese played on Vs. and Vitalogy. Addicted To Noise Senior Writer Gil Kaufman reports : Former Pearl Jam drummer Dave Abbruzzese took his time wading back into the business of music after being booted from the mega-band in the fall of 1994. But it wasn't easy to get back up after taking such a fall, he said. But get back up he has. "After I got fired, I had to figure out if I still had the same feelings about music that I used to have," Abbruzzese told ATN on the phone from his Seattle home. So, Abbruzzese, who joined the mega-platinum band after their debut, 10 was already recorded and who helmed the drum kit through the recording of 1993's Vs. and 1994's Vitalogy -- after which he was replaced by former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons -- is about to emerge from his self-imposed exile with the debut from his new band, Green Romance Orchestra. "I just wanted to grab some guys that like to play and go into a studio and have some fun," said Abbruzzese about the early sessions for Green Romance Orchestra's debut, Play Parts 1 and 5. The drummer, born in Dallas, Texas, returned to his native soil to jam with a pair of musicians he'd always admired, Daryl Phillips, whom he played with in a funk band called Dr. Tongue before the PJ era and guitarist Doug Niel. As to how he ended up with vocalist J. Paul Slavens, formerly of 10 Hands, a Dallas band that was also one of Abbruzzese's favorites, the drummer said he just got lucky. "The three of us got together to play and I called up a friend at a studio in town and asked if he knew any singers who could come out and jam. Paul happened to be there when I called and we got together and created so much music in three days, I said to them, 'fuck, what do you guys think about doing this for six weeks?'" said Abbruzzese, who described the 13-song debut as a mix of swing, jazz, slinky, funky and freak-out rock. Joining Abbruzzese (who, in addition to drums and percussion, tried his hand at guitar, bass, keyboards, mixing and engineering) for the six-week recording session that took place in Denton, Texas last spring were singer/guitarist Slavens, Gary Muller, also of 10 Hands, on the progressive rocking Chapman Stick and Niel on guitar. Abbruzzese moved his home studio down to a ranch in Denton, turning it into what he calls a "house of music" for more than a year. "I just said, 'it doesn't matter what we come up with as long as we enjoy doing it,' " Abbruzzese said he told his new band mates. As part of his laid-back attitude, Abbruzzese said he told the other musicians that if they didn't feel like coming in one day, that was fine, and if they felt like coming in every day until the album was finished, that was fine too. Luckily for him, the collaboration gelled and the band cranked out 50 hours of material, some of which made the record and some of which is now sitting in a pile of more than 200 hours of multi-tracked music that Abbruzzese is still working on at his Seattle home. On the way to the sonic challenge, Abbruzzese had his gear techs set up different instruments for each session, re-mike the room for each song and use different drum sets and amps each time around, all in the name of bucking the standard rock recording technique. The result is what he describes as "accessible eclecticism that's all over, but still works together." "Every song on the album is sonically and instrumentally different. The only concept was to get into a room and jam, work the jam out and while it was being mixed, tear it all down and set it up again," said Abbruzzese about the making of the album, due out in the fall on Emperor Norton Records. Again bucking tradition, Abbruzzese said he doesn't plan on doing the usual "get-in-a-van-and-make-people-drink-to-see-you-play- perform-at-pizza-parties-for-radio-stations"-type tour, hoping instead to get on the road "when people really want to hear us play."