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The Cast
Pearl Jam: formed in Seattle, 1990. Best songs: âTremor Christ,â âIn My Tree,â âHard to Imagine,â âGo,â âRelease,â âHail, Hail,â âParting Ways,â âInsignificance,â âCome Back,â âUnthought Known,â âSave You,â âGrievance,â âDown,â âBlood,â âLeash.â Worst song: âCanât Deny Me.â
Eddie Vedder: the front man. Born in 1964. Raised in Chicago and San Diego. Best songs: âOff He Goes,â âLong Road,â âBetter Man,â âCorduroy,â âRearviewmirror,â âImmortality,â âLukin,â âPorch,â âAround the Bend,â âGreen Disease,â âSleeping by Myself.â Worst song: âWorld Wide Suicide.â Typical quote: âIf youâve ever tried to order a pizza with five people, itâs difficult.â
Stone Gossard: the founder. Born in 1966. Raised in Seattle. Best songs: âBreath,â âDaughter,â âBlack,â âEven Flow,â âAll Those Yesterdays,â âOf the Girl,â âParachutes,â âRival,â âNo Way,â âAlive.â Worst song: âThin Air.â Typical quote: âWeâve got a great drummer and a great singer. Those are the key positions. Mike and I, weâre not terrible. But within a mile of here, there are probably a hundred great guitar players.â
Mike McCready: the flash. Born in 1966, in Pensacola. Raised in Seattle. Best songs: âFaithfull,â âBrain of J,â âPresent Tense,â âLet Me Sleep (Itâs Christmastime),â âYellow Ledbetter.â Worst song: âMarker in the Sand.â Typical quote: âWhat [song of ours] do I not like? Maybe some odd song that we donât ever play called âBugs.â I get a little tired of playing âCorduroy,â but donât tell Eddie that because heâll get pissed.â
Jeff Ament: the foundation. Born in 1963. Raised in Big Sandy, Montana. Best songs: âWhy Go,â âPilate,â âLow Light,â âSmile,â âJeremy,â âRats.â Worst song: âSweet Lew.â Typical quote: âThereâs actually a lot of similarities [with basketball]. Youâre playing with four other guys. When things are working really well, itâs like a team with good chemistry. With Pearl Jam, itâs like playing with the â88 Lakers.â
Matt Cameron: the virtuoso. Born in 1962. Raised in San Diego. Best songs: âThe Fixer,â âYou Are.â Worst song: âEvacuation.â Typical quote: ââLimo Wreckâ [Soundgarden] is just your average 15/8 dirge.â
June 1987
The next few years will see the ultra-heavy rock of Seattle rival the Motor City scene of the early â70s. I believe that bands like Green River and Soundgarden are every bit as great as the Stooges and the MC5. To prove my point, Iâve borrowed $2,000 from my Dad to help Green River put out their latest EP, Dry as a Bone (Sub Pop). For me, songs like âThis Townâ and âPCCâ are as hard and heavy as anything Iâve ever heard. Please buy this record so I can pay my Dad back!*
April 1989
The post-Guns Nâ Roses era is upon us. In the wake of the astounding success the group has had with its brutal, take-no-prisoners rock, others are choosing to follow the same path. Case in point: Mother Love Bone. There are similarities between the bands, but the main difference is the one that separates the innovator from the imitator.
There are a few decent ideas scattered about the LP, and lead singer Andrew Wood is certainly rough enough. But this is mostly filled with the kind of angry lyrics and jagged-edge guitars on which the Gunners hold the current patent. GRADE: C.
December 1990
Heavy metal, the past decade, has become a genre of music given over to spandex-clad clowns spewing forth mile-a-minute guitar solos ⌠Seattleâs Alice in Chains, at a homecoming concert Saturday night at the Moore Theater, look to be one of several eye-catching exceptions to the conventions of wretched excess. Although they share some elements with established hard-rock acts, the group has more in common with Seattleâs alternative rock âgrungeâ movement than it does with conventional heavy metal.
Ironically enough, Alice in Chains gave a better representation of the Seattle Sound than those that should have: opening band Mookie Blaylock. It features Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament, who were in another seminal grunge band, Green River ⌠However, the music leaned more toward bad â70s country rock (Bad Company comes to mind) than the punk-metal angst of Green River or the flamboyant grooves of Mother Love Bone. Not even a cameo appearance by Soundgardenâs Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron made Blaylock interesting.
February 1991
Mookie Blaylock has a concert tonight in Los Angeles. Huh? Mookie Blaylockâs sound is often compared to the rock band, U2. Double huh? The Netsâ unassuming point guard is a rock star? Not quite. Believe it or not, there are two Mookie Blaylocks. One plays for New Jersey and the other is the name of a new Seattle band. But why did they choose Mookie Blaylock?
âWe needed a name to tour and it sounded cool,â said Jeff Ament, the bassist for Mookie Blaylock and a former all-state point guard in high school. âWe tried being different by going for the underdog. If we were Magic Johnson, it would be too typical.â
Bad news. Mookie Blaylock is an interim name. The band has an album due out in June and is deciding on a new name. Ament said it wonât be Daron OâShea Blaylock. Thatâs Mookieâs real name and itâs not cool enough.
December 1991
It doesnât take a genius to realize that the most-awaited show this week is a three-tiered offering that brings the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, and Pearl Jam to the Del Mar Fairgrounds on Saturday. Keyed by the manic mayhem of bassist Flea, the Peppers do not so much perform as assault. The bandâs indelicate balance of visual and musical outrageousness sometimes threatens to teeter-totter out of control, but skill and sincerity lend purpose to what otherwise is the sensual equivalent of a curbside mugging.
Meanwhile, Nirvanaâs punky riff-rocking has made it a rave of the alternative netherworld, and Pearl Jamâone of the most hyped bands of the yearâhas a local connection in vocalist Eddie Vedder, a former San Diegan. The fun starts at 7 p.m.
February 1992
It can be mind-boggling to try to put into words how you suddenly feel about a band who you know are going to have a radical effect on your life, or at least alter your perception of the power of music. If music is a big part of your life, itâs the same difference. Itâs Big and Important, and both your head and your heart want each other to sort it out. But watching Vedder sing those songs, the way his eyeballs roll back into his skull, his lips stretched across his face in a rictus grin, his teeth clenched like theyâre going to shatter ⌠how can he feel such hurt and hate, and still make such soulful, uplifting music? Thereâs the mystery. Thatâs Pearl Jam. Love this band.
April 1992
His favorite target is Pearl Jam, also from Seattle, which he accused of âcorporate, alternative and cock-rock fusionâ in a recent Musician magazine interview. âEvery article I see written about them, they mention us, and theyâre baiting that fact,â says Cobain, sitting up cross-legged on the bed. âI would love to be erased from my association with that band and other corporate bands like the Nymphs and a few other felons. I do feel a duty to warn the kids of false music thatâs claiming to be underground or alternative. Theyâre jumping on the alternative bandwagon.â
May 1993
From Marc Jacobsâ laughable âsomething grungy, something newâ vibe ⌠to J. Crewâs mail-order weekend grunge uniform, what these pretenders donât get is that the most uncool thing in rock right now is Pearl Jam. Now that the mall rats have been invited in, thereâs a huge grunge backlash brewing; and for those caught in the crossfire, itâll be harsher than a stage-diving combat boot to the head.
October 1993
They havenât built that Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, yet, but when they do, theyâd better save a room for Vedder. Heâs got all the rock-idol moves down. Does he have a painful, shadowy past? Check. Does he have an air of danger and sensuality reminiscent of Jim Morrison? You bet. Does he refuse to adopt the trappings of a rock star, thus demonstrating that heâs such a genuine article he doesnât need stardom? Absolutely. Is he happy to be on the cover of TIME? No way.
February 1994
Eddie Vedder, yep, heâs Mr. Torture, Mr. Misery; heâs so corny you want to put butter and salt on him. But you know what? Heâs new not because heâs doing something thatâs never been done before, but because itâs so absolutely clear to so many people that heâs doing something heâs never done before. And he doesnât know how itâs going to turn outâhe doesnât know how the song is going to end. And do you know how that translates? This way: heâs new because people recognize heâs someone they havenât seen before and might not see again. Itâs a little scary, you understand? Liz Phair youâve seen all your life, in every commercial on TV. She leaves, sheâll still be there. But you get the feeling Eddie Vedder could disappear at any time, and if he did, heâd just be really gone.
June 1994
A Ticketmaster spokesman dismisses Pearl Jamâs move as a âbrilliant marketing ployâ to sell records and says the firm âoperates fully within the parameters of all applicable laws.â Ticketmasterâs practices were reviewed in 1991 when the Justice Departmentâs antitrust division allowed the firm to buy certain assets from a competitor.
âThe White House is impressed by Pearl Jamâs commitment to its fans,â says George Stephanopoulos, senior adviser to the President for policy and strategy. âWe want to make it very clear that we canât judge the merits of the bandâs allegations against Ticketmaster or prejudge the Justice Departmentâs action in any way. But that said, we think the goal of making concert ticket prices affordable is a laudable one. Itâs something we believe in.â
November 1994
Vedder has tried to be that good guy to his fansâsometimes spending hours after a show talking to them or even giving out his home phone number on a radio call-in show so that they can reach him. But some of the fans are unrelenting. They write him or try to catch up to him on the road, asking for money or help with their problems.
âThereâll be fans standing outside the arena screaming and heâs nice to 95 people, but he finally has to leave and the 96th person says, âYouâre an asshole.â It bothers him. He feels he has let someone down.â
February 1995
Eddie Vedderâs home was recently broken into by a crazed Pearl Jam fanâaccording to Mike Watt, whose Ball-Hog or Tugboat? album features a guest appearance from Vedder among many other celebrities.
During his [Melody] Maker interview last week, Watt claimed: âEddie told me that a lady broke into his house a few days agoâburned the front door, raided the refrigerator and wouldnât get out. He had to call the police. Most punk rockers donât have to deal with that! But Eddie got on the phone with her psychiatrist before he called the police. Thatâs the kind of guy Eddie is, but people arenât going to know that unless they meet him. Heâs really a down-to-earth guy who kind of won the lottery. His band got all big, but I think heâd still be the same kind of guy if his band hadnât gotten big.â
However, spokesmen for both Seattle police and Pearl Jamâs label, Epic, denied all knowledge of the incident last week.
June 1995
Neil Young went from guest to fill-in at a Pearl Jam concert when singer Eddie Vedder walked off with the flu. Vedder called it quits after six songs Saturday night at Golden Gate Park. He had been treated at a hospital emergency room a few hours before the show.
âI just went through the worst 24 hours of my life,â he told the crowd of about 50,000.
Young played for one-and-a-half hours, mixing classics with new songs. There was no mistaking the crowdâs disappointment.
âWe want to know where the hell Eddie is,â said Lissa Harrison of Dublin, California. âWe donât care if heâs puking. I didnât go to Neil Young. I came to Pearl Jam.â
Bass player Jeff Ament was booed at the end of the two-hour set when he tried to apologize.
January 1996
âIf This is Seattle Then Whereâs Eddieâs Houseâ is available by writing to: Ann Druffner, 2300 Lincoln Park West, No. 812, Chicago, Illinois 60614, USA ($4 each, $6 for two).
Whether the various band members whose past steps are retraced will receive the fanzine quite as warmly is unlikelyâbut (with the exception of Courtney Love) no present addresses are included for any of them. But this has already caused Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready to comment: âItâs a terrible idea. Do you realize how many psychopaths and deviant, destructive people there are out there? This has to stop for all of our collective existences. Our band will not exist if things like this continue.â
November 1996
Vedder seemed to be a ready-made poster boy for the disaffected grunge generation: a disgruntled rebel whose agonized lyrics and raw-throated, rageful singing sprang from an unhappy childhood and an alienated and lonely adolescence ⌠But according to those who knew Vedder before his fame, the singerâs rise was hardly the result of happenstance. âHe knows what this whole biz is all about,â says a friend from Vedderâs days before he joined Pearl Jam. âHeâs not some kind of little, lost soul who writes great songs.â By many accounts, Vedderâs rise was a concerted effort that was propelled by his flair for self-invention and self-dramatization, his relentless drive to be heard and a steely determination to control his public image. âHe is a master manipulator of the people and situations around him,â says a source at Epic. âAnd heâs a master manipulator of his own image.â
December 1997
Pearl Jam fans wonât be able to buy the rock groupâs new Epic Records album until February 3, but all they needed to sample nearly half the albumâs songs for free this month was a little computer savvy.
The developmentâreportedly the first time such a large portion of an unreleased album by a superstar act has been âpiratedâ on the internetâraises major questions about how record companies will be able to combat bootlegging in the Computer Age.
âThere are a lot of implications here as to whatâs going to happen in the future,â said [Michael] Goldberg. âOnce a large number of people have cable modems, thereâs going to come a point where people could be passing around very high-quality versions of songs in e-mail. Iâm sure record companies are pulling their hair out about this.â
September 1998
When Pearl Jam began the current leg of its tour on a fateful Monday last month, the day President Clinton testified before a gr...