Thursday, May 31, 2012

New PearlJam.com Coming Soon!



Pearl Jam announced some upcoming changes to their website via an e-mail to Ten Club members today.  We were promised these changes nearly a year ago, so fans will be super excited to dig in.  Although a lot of the artwork looks unchanged, the functionality is clearly new.  The site will go down on Sunday, June 3rd and return, revamped sometime in the next week.


Here's what to expect:
It’s been a long road, but we’ve finally arrived thanks to the creative input from the band, a stellar team of site developers new and old, the band’s archivist and recording engineers, and Ten Club member feedback.

Your favorite Pearl Jam website features will remain, including:
-      Forums
-      Streaming Pearl Jam radio
-      Members only merchandise

A bunch of new advanced features have been added, including:
-      Enhanced discography
-      Enhanced show archive, including memorabilia from the show
-      Expanded live photo slide shows, including some never seen before
-      Guest check-out in the store section of the site
-      Simpler store design and navigation
-      Select bootleg revival
-      Informative and interactive activism pages

New members-only features have also been added, including:
-      Easier to navigate site and member management settings
-      Automatic membership renewals
-      Member-to-member live chat


In order to prep the new site, pearljam.com will be taken offline from Sunday, June 3rd until the site launch scheduled within a week.  Our team is working hard to make the transition as smooth as possible.  However, with any new site launch there can be some unexpected growing pains. Your patience is appreciated in advance.

To expedite getting answers to your questions about the new site, we’ve set up a page called Answers to Frequently Asked Questions, which we will update continually. You can find that page at the following link: www.pearljam.com/faq
If you don’t see an answer to your question there, please email info@tenclub.net

As always, we want your feedback. Once the new site goes live in early June let us know what you think and what we can improve by filling out this feedback formhttps://pjguest.wufoo.com/forms/z7p9z7/

May 31: Soundgarden in Berlin

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Fall Down by Mike McCready and Friends

It's been a while since we've had a new and truly eyebrow melting Mike McCready, so you'll be happy to know that Mike and some friends have contributed a track to a benefit album for the Compound Studio, S.O.S. Save Our Studio.  The song, Fall Down, features Mike on guitars with Robbie Allen, Lexi, Antoine Arvizu, and Mike Malone.

A battle cry, and these warriors stepped forward. Like so many studios, The Compound Studio has been digging deep into debt for a few years now and we had considered closing the doors for good. Until word got around and we brainstormed the idea of creating a compilation record to raise funds and raise awareness. The response has been overwhelming, leaving us truly humbled.
You can check out the song here, or download the whole album here for $11.99.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Better Man: A Jazz Interpretation by Brandon Wright

Jazz artist, Brandon Wright, has just released his second album which includes several interpretations of popular songs.  Among them, Better Man.
At 30, Wright is from a generation not very familiar with jazz, generally speaking. That’s one reason he chose to include the Pearl Jam staple “Better Man” on the recording. Sounding similar to the late Michael Brecker, Wright evokes the rising intensity of the original in his melodic interpretation and solo.
You can buy the album or at least preview a snippet on Amazon.

May 27: Soundgarden in Landgraaf

Friday, May 25, 2012

Tremor Christ: 2012 Pearl Jam Song Champion!

The heavily under-rated Vitalogy gem just finished its 3-month-long destruction of 189 other Pearl Jam songs to become the 2012 Red Mosquito March-ish Madness Bracket Champion.  Congratulations to all the fans of this oft forgotten rocker.




Winded is the sailor...drifting by the storm...
Wounded is the organ, he left all...bloodied on the shore...
Gorgeous was his savior, sees her...drowning in his wake...
Daily taste the salt of her tears, but...a chance blamed fate...
Little secrets, tremors...turned to quake...
The smallest oceans still get...big, big waves...

Ransom paid the devil...he whispers pleasing words...
Triumphant are the angels if they can... get there first...
Little secrets, tremors...turned to quake...
The smallest oceans still get...big, big waves...

I'll decide...take the dive...
Take my time...not my life...
Wait for signs...believe in lies...
To get by...it's divine...whoa...
Oh, you know what it's like...

Turns the bow back, tows and...drops the line...
Puts his faith in love and tremor christ...

May 25: Soundgarden in Madrid

Thursday, May 24, 2012

May 24: Brad in New York

I'm probably not giving you enough notice on this, but check out Stone and the rest of Brad on Jimmy Fallon tonight at 12:35am ET!


Pearl Jam Toronto, Canada  9-11-2011

Jeff Ament's Latest Skate Park

You may have been wondering what Jeff was up to while all of his bandmates are touring with their various side projects.  It turns out he's been working on his humanitarian efforts of building skate parks in rural and economically challenged communities.


His latest park on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota was featured on Vans' Pass The Bucket series, spotlighting good works by athletes, musicians, and artists.  Check out the latest episode directed by Lukas Korver.



Matt Cameron on Balancing Pearl Jam and Soundgarden



PJ20 - 9.4.2011 - Alpine Valley, East Troy WI
Matt Cameron was recently interviewed by Rockol.com on the difficulties of juggling to juggernauts of rock.
Matt Cameron mans the drum kit for both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam — two of the biggest bands in rock today. In a new interview with the busy stickman, he reveals why the Soundgarden album was pushed back, when the new Pearl Jam album will be done and how he keeps it all together.
Don't get too excited ... the "news" about the Pearl Jam album is that it's half done, they're still writing, and it'll be out next year. Nothing we didn't already know. 


But regardless, check out the article.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Mike McCready on the Cover of Crohn's Advocate Magazine


Mike McCready's story of suffering with Crohn's is the cover story of this quarter's Crohn's Advocate magazine, Band Together for Crohn's.
The life of a rock star means nonstop travel, countless trips around the globe, and a front seat in the public's spotlight–something Mike McCready, lead guitarist of Pearl Jam, was uneasy about for some time before publicly coming out about his struggle with Crohn's. 
"Crohn's was very much something I'd hidden for many years," said McCready. "It was painful, embarrassing and I was ashamed. I just wanted to deny that it was there and, as a result, I didn't take that great care of myself."
You can scroll through the issue below.





March-ish Madness: The Championship

 VS.  

This is it.  It's down to the wire.  One song will demonstrate it's Immortality and one will Tremor.  Christ, I can't wait to see how this turns out!  Our month-and-a-half long tournament has come to this.  The battle of Vitalogy.  Can Tremor Christ topple 2008 Champion, Immortality?  

Only your votes can decide the victor.  Don't miss this chance to vote in the final vote of our March-ish Madness tournament!

May 22: Brad in Washington DC


May 22: Flight to Mars in Portland

Monday, May 21, 2012

Made In America! It's Official!

Well, the rumors have panned out!

The Ten Club made it official:
We are pleased We are pleased to announce that Pearl Jam is headlining Made in America Music Festival curated by Jay-Z. Made in America takes place Labor Day Weekend (Saturday, September 1st - Sunday, September 2nd) at Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park. 
PLEASE NOTE: Made In America Festival will announce Pearl Jam's exact performance date and time in the coming weeks. 
In addition to Pearl Jam, this 2-day music festival will include performances from fellow artists like Jay-Z, Passion Pit, Dirty Projectors, D’Angelo and much more. 
TICKETS: Made In America Festival two-day passes go on sale this Wednesday, May 23rd at 10am ET / 7am PT at: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/020048B179F82901?crosssite=LN_US:1736018:16959 
Sorry, Pearl Jam travel packages are not available for Made In America Festival. 
Official website: http://www.madeinamericafest.com/ 
Tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/020048B179F82901?crosssite=LN_US:1736018:16959 
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MadeInAmericaFest 
Twitter: #MadeInAmerica

Five-Song Ed Set in Chicago

Nevermind, you already missed it.

Ed apparently drowned his sorrows at karaoke night with some friends at Stanley's Kitchen and Tap in Chicago last night following the White Sox's drubbing of his beloved Cubs.
The Pearl Jam rocker partied with former Blackhawk Chris Chelios and the now retired Kerry Wood at Stanley’s Kitchen & Tap in Lincoln Park Sunday after attending the game at Wrigley Field and turned the bar’s famous live band karaoke into an impromptu performance. 

It all began when one bar patron opted to sing Pearl Jam’s “Alive.” Vedder joined him on stage and turned the song into the duet, much to the delight of half the bar. I hear the other half of the bar was too in the bag to realize what was happening. 

The Evanston native sang around five songs, including The Band's "The Weight" and The Who’s "Baba O'Riley" (aka “Teenage Wasteland”). He took a break afterward but would return to join another patron who was struggling through his respective song.

May 21: Brad in Philadelphia


Saturday, May 19, 2012

Band as Business

Pearl Jam Santiago, Chile 11-16-11

Pearl Jam made news this week when the joined eleven businesses in working with the environmental nonprofit Fronterra which helps businesses calculate their carbon output and then minimize or mitigate it.  As Pearl Jam fans, we know it's nothing new for Pearl Jam to pick up the torch of environmentalism, but a seemingly innocuous statement struck some fans the wrong way and spurred an entirely unrelated debate.

Gossard said he thinks of Pearl Jam as a business, and being able to let their fans know they’re taking steps to be environmentally responsible only enhances the brand.
Pearl Jam as a business?  What happened to Pearl Jam as a rock band?  Surely, Pearl Jam makes music that they enjoy making and are proud of the albums that they release, but between that statement, and a 2009 quote from Mike McCready in Spin Magazine:
But now that we're putting out a record on our own, we're taking on the responsibility of sinking or swimming ourselves. If that means writing a song that sounds like a mainstream radio hit, we're going to do that.
... a debate has raged on.  Does thinking of your band as a business take away the soul of the band?  More importantly, does it affect the music?  Some of that depends on what you think about Rock and Roll, and some of it depends on which Pearl Jam album happens to be your favorite.


The debate will continue.  Come by our forum and join in.  Thanks to Stone and the guys, at least you'll have cleaner air to breathe you do.

Thursday, May 17, 2012

March-ish Madness: The Final Four



Well, we're down to four songs and two albums.  Can In My Tree shake loose from Tremor Christ?  Will Last Exit send Immortality out the door in the battle of the Vitalogy bookends?  It is time for you to vote and determine which song will reign supreme.


IN MY TREE vs. TREMOR CHRIST

LAST EXIT vs. IMMORTALITY

May 17: Flight to Mars in Los Angeles

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Skin Yard Catalog Remastered



Skin Yard has just remastered [nearly] it's full catalog.  The albums are available in digital format only via Amazon's Mp3 Store, Google Play, and iTunes.  Though Inside The Eye was left off of the list, the band is presumably making up for it by releasing a previously unavailable live compilation, The Perfect Lawn: Live 1991-1995.

Mike on the Promo Circuit & a McCready 7"

Mike is apparently talking up a storm about his Flight to Mars shows.
For me, fun entails getting together and playing with friends of mine in a cover band. That's came to mind. UFO is a band no one had really done which I knew about. Michael Schenker and that band were very important to me growing up as a guitar player. When we were kids, Stone Gossard and I were so into them we used to trade pictures of Michael Schenker.
He's also chatting a bit about his other band, Pearl Jam.  ARTISTdirect.com editor in chief, Rick Florino, sat down with Mike and got him to spill his favorite Pearl Jam songs (Alive, Black, Off He Goes, Inside Job, and The Who's Baba O'Reilly) and a couple of [not so new] details about the new Pearl Jam album, due out next year.
Right now, we're in the middle of it. We've got eleven or twelve songs in their infant stages. We're working on making them a little bit tighter and making them the best they can possibly be. [ ... ] It's not going to be out this year. We're about halfway done, so it'll probably be out next year.
Mike also took a moment out of his work to record this message for Matthew Lillard's Kickstarter project, Fat Kid Rules the World, a movie directed by Lillard for which Mike has contributed some score work.

UPDATE! If you're not sold on the movie, maybe you'll be sold on this:
PLEDGE $50 OR MORE We'll send you a 7" Vinyl Record custom pressed for SXSW featuring original recordings of "Disconnect" and "Sock Hop" written for the film and performed by Mike McCready of Pearl Jam. Exquisitely pressed in clear vinyl featuring special sleeve art from the film. This is an awesome collector's item. You'll also get the bumper sticker, download and thank you!

May 16: Flight to Mars in Las Vegas

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Willie Nelson's Just Breathe

Today marks the release of Willie Nelson's cover album, Heroes, featuring a cover of Pearl Jam's Just Breathe.  As part of the publicity push, Nelson performed the song with Lukas Nelson on SiriusXM.  You can watch the video here:




Just prior to the performance, a certain Eddie Vedder called in to say how much he enjoyed the song and the new album.  Eddie said hearing Willie Nelson play Just Breathe was like "smoking a great joint without all the coughing or smoke."  Have a listen to the conversation between Vedder and Nelson:

May 15: Flight to Mars in San Diego

Monday, May 14, 2012

March-ish Madness: The Elite Eight



The Cinderella song, Rival, has fallen, but there is still fierce competition for your votes in our March-ish Madness Song Tournament.  It's down to 3 albums: Ten (1 song), Vitalogy (5 songs), and No Code (2 songs).   Are any of our previous champions even in the running?  If they are, only you can keep them Alive (which is not ...).


121. Hail Hail vs. In My Tree
122. Tremor Christ vs. I Got Shit

123. Immortality vs. Release
124. Last Exit vs. Corduroy

May 14: Flight to Mars in Santa Ana

Friday, May 11, 2012

March-ish Madness: Sweet 16



We might just manage to put this tournament into our Rearviewmirror by the end of May, but only if you vote for your choices.  Will your favorite songs stay Alive or will they go Black?  Is Rival due for its Last Exit.  Visit our forum today to register your vote.


113. Alive vs. Hail Hail
114. Animal vs. In My Tree
115. Tremor Christ vs. Rival
116. Who You Are vs. I Got Shit

117. Do the Evolution vs. Immortality
118. Faithful vs. Release
119. Last Exit vs. Rearview Mirror
120. Corduroy vs. Black

Monday, May 7, 2012

March-ish Madness: Round 6



Now, the Long Road is winding down.  Some one's bitter Rival is going to bring the pain.  It's time for you to remain Faithful and vote for the song will leave us all singing Hail Hail.


97. Alive vs. In Hiding
98. Hail Hail vs. Hard to Imagine
99. Animal vs. State of Love and Trust
100. In My Tree vs. Present Tense
101. All Those Yesterdays vs. Tremor Christ
102. World Wide Suicide vs. Rival
103. Yellow Ledbetter vs. Who You Are
104. I Got Shit vs. Brain of J

105. Breath vs. Do the Evolution
106. Indifference vs. Immortality
107. Faithful vs. Even Flow
108. Not for You vs. Release
109. Last Exit vs. Porch
110. Long Road vs. Rearview Mirror
111. Corduory vs. Save You
112. Nothing as it Seems vs. Black

Sunday, May 6, 2012

What's the Story on Pearl Jam's Tenth Album?


There is a lot of news about Pearl Jam's progress on their 10th album, so I thought it was good time to take a moment and recap the progress or lack thereof.

Work started about a year ago when the band got together and started bouncing demos off of each other.  Then, in September, Jeff stepped out to announce that the band was halfway through the new album, leading to a poorly informed TheSkyIScrape.com album prediction of May 22nd, 2012.

Well, now amid statements that we can expect an experimental album that channels Motorhead sometime in before the end of 2012 or maybe by mid-2013 ... you'll have to forgive us if TSIS heads out to a Soundgarden or Vedder show to get us through the four-year gap between albums.

Or maybe we'll get a Stone Gossard solo album or an EP of Backspacer castaways.  That thing is 30 months overdue!

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Given To Cast, Episode 05-04-2012

The latest episode of Given to Cast is now available.


Week in Review Song of the Week: "Live to Rise" Soundgarden 
GTC Extras: Speed of Sound by Pearl Jam and Skipping by Eddie Vedder
Live Rarities: Ball and Chain by Social Distortion w/ Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready
Covered: Just Breathe covered by Willie Nelson

Soundgarden Releases Video for Live to Rise

Yeah, this'll get your amped up for watching Matt Cameron rock Europe ALL summer!


May 3: Brad in L.A.

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

March-ish Madness: Round 5



It's Hard To Imagine a March Madness tournament that is still Alive in May, but here we Go.  There are some great matches Around the Bend, but your votes may be Fatal for some songs, and they'll soon be Parting Ways.


65. Alive vs. Dead Man
66. Leash vs. In Hiding
67. Hail Hail vs. Red Mosquito
68. Hard to Imagine vs. Love Reign O'er Me
69. Spin the Black Circle vs. Animal
70. Parting Ways vs. State of Love and Trust
71. In My Tree vs. Life Wasted
72. Present Tense vs. Marker in the Sand
73. All Those Yesterdays vs. Go
74. Strangest Tribe vs. Tremor Christ
75. Unthought Known vs. World Wide Suicide
76. All or None vs. Rival
77. W.M.A. vs. Yellow Ledbetter
78. Who You Are vs. Around the Bend
79. I Got Shit vs. I Am Mine
80. Brain of J vs. Fatal