Formed in the 1990s, Pearl Jam is considered one of the most popular bands in the United States that came from that era of music. Throughout their time in the spotlight, the band sold over 85 million albums, landed a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and found themselves on Rolling Stone’s Top Ten Live Acts of All Time. With the band recently releasing their twelfth studio album, Dark Matter, Eddie Vedder, Mike McCready, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, and Matt Cameron discussed their lives on stage, their new album, and the time Cameron found himself in legal trouble with Kiss.
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Waiting On Stevie Wonder Is Worth The Wait
Appearing on The Howard Stern Show, Pearl Jam seemed right at home when it came to talking about their rich past in the music industry. With their new album, Dark Matter, gaining praise from fans and critics, Vedder pointed to one of his favorite songs “Waiting on Stevie”. Getting the chance to work with Stevie Wonder, Vedder explained how mesmerizing it was to watch the icon in action. “That was an incredible experience, just watching him become the music. It was like he wasn’t even there anymore as a person. He was just music, flowing through this … big chromatic [harmonica] he was playing.”
As for the name of the song, apparently, it came from the musician being late. Vedder added, “We were supposed to play at 4 p.m. and I think maybe he got there at 11 at night. But that’s okay.”
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Needing 100 Takes To Find That “Even Flow”
While taking a trip into the past, Gossard harped on the song “Even Flow” and how it took around 100 takes to get it just right. Putting the blame on himself, Gossard said, “I think the main problem is that I wrote a song that the two parts kind of want to run at different tempos, so the chorus is one tempo, and the verse is another. It was overthinking.” He continued, “You’re working on something that you’re in love with and then you think, ‘Well, it’s not quite there yet,’ and then you look back on it and go, ‘Any one of those first five takes would have been fine.’”
Given their years of experience, Gossard noted, “We’ve learned our lesson. I don’t think we’ve played anything more than three takes on the new record — you get older and wiser.”
Pearl Jam Drummer Receives Cease And Desist Courtesy of KISS
Before becoming a drummer for Pearl Jam, Cameron found himself in a KISS cover band when he was a teenager. Completely enthralled by the rock band, Cameron and his former bandmates received the chance to meet KISS. “I brought the two guys that were in the KISS band with me … and we brought our photo album from our stupid KISS cover band.”
With his mother helping fashion their costume, Cameron eventually stood beside Paul Stanley. And with his photo album in hand, he said, “We were sort of like, ‘Hey man, We’re in a KISS cover band! Here’s our [photo] album!’ Cut to [several] months later, we get a cease-and-desist letter from [their] management [company].” Not taking the letter to heart, he joked, “I think [it was because] we just called our band KISS. We didn’t really think ahead there. So, after that we added [‘imitation’] in parenthesis.”
While their new album continues to gain praise, Pearl Jam prepares to kick off their Dark Matter World Tour in May as they celebrate over 30 years in music.
(Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images)
