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| PEARL JAM |
| Pearl Jam is credited with having revised the Grunge genre from it's punk roots, to a more accessable melodic form of music which now dominates the "modern alternative rock" scene. This new, altered form of Grunge helped bring other loud abrasive rock bands to the mainstream. The band's history is a long and complex one which goes back to 1986, 5 years before the name Pearl Jam was ever mentioned. After three years the band Green River, which had defined Grunge rock and given Sub Pop Records it's name, was splintering into two distinct parts. Bassist Jeff Ament and Guitarist Stone Gossard (especialy Ament) had arena sized ambitions for the Grunge sound. |
| Due to the unfortunate death of frontman Andy Wood, Mother Love Bone decided to call it quits. Gossard and Ament were out looking for another band. Gossard's school friend Mike McCready joined as another guitarist. They still needed a vocalist however. Ex-Bad Radio vocalist Eddie Vedder |
| was soon added after moving to Seattle after being passed a tape of demos recorded by Ament, Gossard, and McCready. They then hooked up with drummer Dave Krusen...and thus Pearl Jam was born. They signed to major lable Epic Records in 1991, debuting the following year with the grunge rock classic, TEN. By this time drummer Krusen had left the band (he was eventually replaced by Dave Abbruzzese and then he was replaced by ex-Hot Chillie Peppers Jack Irons). TEN was not only important for the development of the scene, it used influences from established bands such as The Doors and The Stooges. This unique combination gave them a slightly commercial sound that selled more records than they would probably care to admit. This "commercial" sound may have established them as a hit band above and below ground, but already critics of the band (such as Kurt Cobain) accused them of "jumping on the alternative bandwagon". In 1992 Eddie Vedder fronted a reunited Doors for their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, performing classic hits like, "Light My Fire", "Break On Through", and "Roadhouse Blues". Other projects include Pearl Jam's collaboration with Neil Young and Mike McCready's side-band Mad Season. |
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| Pearl Jam's hard rocking "Yeild" was hailed as a return to their roots but did not recieve great commercial success partly due to Pearl Jam's continuing conflicts with Ticketmaster prices, citing they were cutting into their fanbase. Drummer Irons was later replaced by drummer Matt Cameron (a great drummer) from Soundgarden. |
| The bands apparent slump ended in the summer of 1999 when they released there best selling single to date, "Last Kiss", a cover written by Wayne Cochran. In 2000, not only did Pearl Jam release their new studio album, Binaural, but they released 25 seperat double albums of live concerts from their recent European Tour. |
| QUESTION: "How many members of Pearl Jam does it take to change a light bulb?" ANSWER:"Change?! Change? Were Not gonna change for anyone! Do you hear me? Not for anyone." This joke comming from Eddie Vedder (which I found at Artist Direct) illustrates several points about him and his band. They are known for taking themselves too seriously, fighting huge corporations, and refusing to follow the "Rock and Roll Handbook". |
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