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Pearl Jam Bio
Pearl Jam rose from the ashes of Mother
Love Bone to become the most popular American rock & roll band of the
'90s. After vocalist Andrew Wood overdosed on heroin in 1990, guitarist
Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament assembled a new band, bringing in
Mike McCready on lead guitar and recording a demo with Soundgarden's
Matt Cameron on drums. Thanks to future Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons,
the demo found its way to a 25-year-old San Diego surfer named Eddie
Vedder, who overdubbed vocals and original lyrics and was subsequently
invited to join the band (then christened Mookie Blaylock after the NBA
player). Dave Krusen was hired as the full-time drummer shortly
thereafter, completing the original lineup. Renaming themselves Pearl
Jam, the band recorded their debut album, Ten, in the beginning of 1991,
although it wasn't released until August; in the meantime, the majority
of the band appeared on the Andrew Wood tribute project Temple of the
Dog. Krusen left the band shortly after the release of Ten; he was
replaced by Dave Abbruzzese.
Ten didn't begin selling in significant numbers until early 1992, after
Nirvana made mainstream rock radio receptive to alternative rock acts.
Soon, Pearl Jam outsold Nirvana, which wasn't surprising -- Pearl Jam
fused the riff-heavy stadium rock of the '70s with the grit and anger of
'80s post-punk, without ever neglecting hooks and choruses; "Jeremy," "Evenflow,"
and "Alive" fit perfectly onto album rock radio stations looking for new
blood. Pearl Jam's audience continued to grow during 1992, thanks to a
series of radio and MTV hits, as well as successful appearances on the
second Lollapalooza tour and the Singles soundtrack (Stone Gossard also
embarked on a side project called Brad, which released the album Shame
in early 1993).
Despite their status as rock & roll superstars, the band refused to
succumb to the accepted conventions of the music industry. The group
refused to release any videos or singles from their second album, 1993's
Vs. Nevertheless, it was another multi-platinum success, debuting at
number one and selling nearly a million copies in its first week of
release. On their spring 1994 American tour, the band decided not to
play the conventional stadiums, choosing to play smaller arenas,
including several shows on college campuses. Pearl Jam cancelled their
1994 summer tour, claiming they could not keep ticket prices below 20
dollars because Ticketmaster was pressuring promoters to charge a higher
price. The band took Ticketmaster to the Justice Department for unfair
business practices; while fighting Ticketmaster, they recorded a new
album during the spring and summer of 1994. After the record was
completed, the group fired Dave Abbruzzese, replacing him with former
Red Hot Chili Peppers and Eleven drummer Jack Irons.
Vitalogy, the band's third album, appeared at the end of 1994. For the
first two weeks, the album was only available as a limited vinyl
release, but the record charted in the Top 60. Once Vitalogy was
available on CD and cassette, the album shot to the top of the charts
and quickly went multi-platinum. Pearl Jam continued to battle
Ticketmaster in 1995, but the Justice Department eventually ruled in
favor of the ticket agency. In early 1995, the band recorded an album
with Neil Young. Meanwhile, Vedder toured with his wife Beth's
experimental band Hovercraft in the spring of 1994 as Stone Gossard
founded an independent record company; Mad Season, Mike McCready's side
project with Layne Staley of Alice in Chains, released their first
album, Above, in the spring of 1995. Comprised entirely of Neil Young
songs, Mirror Ball appeared in the summer under Young's name; although
the individual members of the band were credited, the name Pearl Jam did
not appear on the cover due to legal complications. Pearl Jam released a
single culled from the sessions, titled Merkinball and featuring the
songs "I Got Id" and "Long Road," in the fall of 1995.
In late summer of 1996, Pearl Jam released their fourth album, No Code.
Although the album was greeted with fairly positive reviews and debuted
at number one, its weird amalgam of rock, worldbeat, and experimentalism
dissatisfied a large portion of their fan base, and it quickly fell down
the charts. The record's performance was also hurt by Pearl Jam's
inability to launch a full-scale tour, due both to their battle with
Ticketmaster and a reluctance to spend months on the road. The band
spent most of 1997 out of the spotlight, working on new material;
Gossard also released a second album with his side project Brad, titled
Interiors. By the end of the year, Pearl Jam had completed a new,
harder-rocking record entitled Yield. The album was greeted with
enthusiastic reviews upon its February 1998 release, but its commercial
fortunes weren't quite as clear cut. While their sizable cult embraced
the album, sending it to number two its first week of release, Yield
quickly slipped down the charts. Pearl Jam supported the record with a
full-scale arena tour in the summer of 1998, issuing the concert LP Live
on Two Legs at the end of the year; Jack Irons did not participate due
to poor health, and was replaced by ex-Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron.
Pearl Jam Tickets
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Pearl Jam Tickets
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