Saturday, June 30, 2012

Happy 20th to the Singles Soundtrack

Stereogum reminds us, that twenty years ago, the soundtrack that opened Seattle up to the masses graced us with its presence.  Thank you, Mr. Crowe.
“State Of Love And Trust” is PJ at their absolute best — roaring on all cylinders, with a ferocious vocal from Eddie Vedder and a monster chorus. It’s been a fan favorite for two decades, with good reason. It was written by Vedder, Ament and Mike McCready (where most PJ songs at that stage featured Gossard among the credits) and recorded during the same sessions as “Breath.”

June 30: Pearl Jam in Arras

Friday, June 29, 2012

Given To Cast: 6-29-12

The latest episode of Given to Cast is now available.




The latest podcast is up and chock full of awesome songs from Amsterdam I and II... Now, with 60% less talking and 60% more Jamin'!!! Enjoy!! Special thanks to its211me for all the awesome audio!!!

Manchester Prints Available via Ames Bros

If you were a fan of the Shawn Wolfe/Ames Bros. poster concept for Manchester, Night Two (and seriously, who wasn't), you have an opportunity today and tomorrow to own a piece of Pearl Jam history.  The official poster will be available at the Ames Bros. website today (June 29) at 11am PST.  While you're there, Amsterdam, Night Two, is still available.


Then, tomorrow, a very limited number of the five other prints will be on sale.
As part of the process of creating the final artwork with Shawn Wolfe for the Pearl Jam Manchester poster, we created 5 individual prints. These prints were created to not only be a part of the final piece, but to stand on their own. 
A total of 50 limited edition prints of each of the 5 pieces were created. A handful of each were sent on to the venue to be mixed in with the rest of the run. Most of the remaining prints will go into the archives. 
Tomorrow we will have a very, very limited amount of signed and numbered prints available, numbered out of an edition of 50(total copies).

June 29: Pearl Jam in Werchter

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Matt's Drum Tech Tours the Kit

For the aspiring drummers among us, Neil Hundt, Matt Cameron's drum tech walks Rhythm Magazine through what it takes to bring the drive to Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Fat Kid Rules The World ... Coming to a Theater Near You

... but only if you want it badly enough.




Fat Kid Rules the World, featuring original music by Mike McCready, will be showing in cities selected by the amount of buzz coming from the citizens.  Visit TuggtheFatKid.com, to find out how you can earn a showing for your town.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Pearl Jam Vs. ... the Series

Are you a poster fan?

Then you'll be glad to know that Pearl Jam is going to collaborating with several different artists as they move across Europe.  They're calling it the Pearl Jam Vs. Series (such as Pearl Jam Vs. Ames Bros. but with other people).  The Manchester poster was designed by Jeff Soto Art & Tara McPherson.


Look for more by Ames BrosMUNK ONEChuck Sperry - Rock Art IllustrationTodd McFarlane, Klausen and more.  You can see each day's reveal by following Pearl Jam on Facebook or Twitter.

Given To Cast: 6-22-2012

The June 22nd episode of Given To Cast is available a little early.
Show Notes:

  • Week in Review - 2012 Euro Tour
  • Song(s) of the Week - "Better Things" (Ray Davies) and "Devil Doll" (X with Eddie Vedder)
  • GTC Extra - "Fell on Black Days" by Soundgarden from Rock Am Ring 2012 show
  • Live Rarites - "Paralyzed" 08-04-2000
  • Extra song - "Rusty Cage" Soundgarden from Rock Am Ring 2012 show

Live Chat with Kelly Curtis


Pearl Jam Buenos Aires, Argentina 11-13-11

OK, so if you watched the Pearl Jam website closely yesterday you were able to make it into the chat room to talk with Kelly Curtis from 4 to 5pm ET.  Because time was short, Curtis asked that topics be limited to the following items:
  • New Website - navigation + functionality
  • Store
  • Membership
  • Merchandise
  • DEEP Magazine
  • Ten Club Single
  • Tour
You can review the transcript here, but really, we weren't treated to any whoppers.  Curtis asked for patience as they work on the new website.  The only mention of the store and merchandise was that female Ten Club employees would like more women's clothing choices.  Curtis confirmed that the Ten Club Single and DEEP Magazine are being worked on.  He also confirmed that there will not be any more 2012 shows, but there will most likely be more shows in 2013 ("touring in 13... lots of us shows promise").  He also confirmed that Ed was feeling much better, but then again, we assumed as much since, at the time of the chat, Ed was 24 hours from taking the stage in Manchester, and no one had cancelled the show.

It is not really clear why Pearl Jam decided to have Curtis chat with the fans.  There was really no new news, and to be honest, Curtis takes on a very defensive tone when facing an onslaught of fan questions ("touring is hard for this band.. we average 36 shows a year" or "if the band played many more than they do... then you would not get a unique show" or "jay z asked.. we said yes").  We could forgive that since, he recently found out that an employee had relieved him of over $500,000.  

In this format, it's also unclear which questions he's answering.  For example, he promised a future "blue ray deluxe package sometime soon," but what will be on that blu-ray?  One would hope he was talking about the PJ20 Festival, but he also said, "no bootleg plan for pj 20 yet."  Is Curtis really filming for Undercover Boss?  Is Ed?

We really appreciate the band's efforts to say in touch with fans, but we can't help thinking that fans might feel heard more if the forum moderators compiled a short list of common or interesting questions for Curtis to answer with carefully drafted answers.  Or maybe we're just bitter because we still miss the All Encompassing Trip.  

Whichever it is, we're glad that the band is trying something.  Thanks.  Please don't stop.  In the meantime, we'll see you on the road.


P.S. - Say "hi" to Bently.

June 20: Pearl Jam in Manchester

Monday, June 18, 2012

Stone at Forterra's Conservation Awards Breakfast

We recently mentioned Pearl Jam's partnership with Forterra to limit the amount of carbon released when the band tours.  Forterra recently uploaded a video of Stone's speech at that May 17th Conservation Awards Breakfast announcing that partnership.  Give a listen if you've been wondering what corporate conservation can look like.


Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard announced the launch of the Carbon Capturing Companies Program at Forterra's 2012 Conservation Awards Breakfast. Forterra's Carbon Capturing Companies Program provides an opportunity for Washington-based companies and residents to partner with local non-profit organizations and community service groups to plant native conifer trees in parks, right of ways, transportation corridors and natural areas in an effort to voluntarily reduce our impact on the climate.

Free Brad Show in Seattle This August

The Seattle Times has released the line-up for KEXP's Concerts at the Mural, a free music series in August that will feature one of our favorite guitarists in the world.
Local radio station KEXP is teaming up with Seattle Center again for the fourth annual "Concerts at the Mural," a free, outdoor, picnic-friendly concert series at the Mural Amphitheatre on the Seattle Center Campus. It happens on four Fridays in August.


Musically, the ghost of grunge will be present with local rock bands Love Battery and Brad — the former was a peer of Nirvana, Mudhoney and Soundgarden in the late '80s/early '90s; the latter features guitarist Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam.
Brad will be performing with The Young Evils and Posse on August 10th. Check here for the full series line-up.

Friday, June 15, 2012

Jeff & Senator Tester on The Big J Show


Yesterday, Jeff Ament and Senator Jon Tester called into The Big J Show in Billings, MT to talk about September's Montana Show and deny Pearl Jam's semi-retirement.  You can check out the interview on YouTube.

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Better Things/Devil Doll: The 2011 Ten Club Single

If you're a member of the Ten Club, and you look under "My Subscriptions" under the "My Account" section, you'll find some goodies that you can download.  In particular, the 2011 Fan Club Single.  The A-side is a studio cover of The Kinks song, Better Things, with Ed on piano.  The B-side is Ed performing Devil Doll with the band X from the soundcheck at last year's show in Curitaba, Brasil.

No word yet on when Analog members can expect to receive their copies in the mail, but surely it won't be a full year late this time!



Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Pearl Jam Coming to Montana in 2012

Pearl Jam Buenos Aires, Argentina 11-13-11

The Ten Club has just announced a fourth (and only non-festival) U.S. Pearl Jam date for 2012.
We are happy to announce that Pearl Jam will perform in Missoula, MT at the Adams Center on Sunday, September 30th marking the band's only scheduled U.S. non-festival date for 2012. 
Special guests Mudhoney will open the show. 
September 30 – Missoula, Montana at University of Montana Adams Center
Ticketing information is available here, including information about the John Tester "Best Seats in the World" Raffle.
Fans are also encouraged to participate in a first ever “Best Seats in the World” raffle to benefit Tester’s re-election effort. $10 or any other amount to be automatically entered to win an unprecedented opportunity to watch Pearl Jam’s show from a seat on stage, along with travel, hotel accommodations and meals, backstage passes to the show and admission to pre-show events with Tester and Pearl Jam. Full details are available online at jontester.com.

Mike McCready: Symphony and Score

Following the various members of Pearl Jam when they scatter to the wind between albums is sometimes harder than the media blitz that surrounds a tour or a new release.  Many thanks to TwoFeetThick for keeping me up on stuff.  Even though Jeff's solo album hit the airwaves today, Mike's had a busy week too.
Photo credit: Patti Payne
Mike took the stage with a host of other Seattle Rockers and the Seattle Symphony Maestro "Ludo" Morlot to raise money for the Seattle Symphony Orchestra and widen the appeal of symphony music in general.  Puget Sound Business Journal reporter, Patti Payne, was in attendance:
But when McCready stepped up and played his guitar and sang his songs, people stopped chatting. And they listened to the stunning, sometimes plaintive sounds he coaxed from the guitar and from his gut.


When McCready called the maestro up to play his violin in accompaniment, after one false start to change the key for McCready, their rendition of the Rolling Stone’s “No Expectations” was intense.


“Take me to the station and put me on a train,” the rocker rasped, with the violin playing all around his melody. “I've got no expectations to pass through here again. Once I was a rich man and now I am so poor. But never in my sweet, short life have I felt like this before …”
Then, today, Mike sat down with Fat Kid Rules the World director, Matthew Lillard, to talk about his 7" single featuring two songs from the movie, Disconnect and Sock Hop, that you can get by donating $50 to the Fat Kid Kickstarter Campaign.

Mike and Matt talk "Disconnect" - http://tinyurl.com/FatKidRules from Fat Kid on Vimeo.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Jeff Ament - While My Heart Beats



Just as we were thinking that Jeff Ament would be the only member of Pearl Jam not touring alone in 2012, it looks like the promise of a second solo album will be coming true. 


There has been no word out of the Pearl Jam website, but Amazon and iTunes list the album, While My Heart Beats, with a release date of June 12th.  The previews at Amazon certainly confirm that this is new Jeff Ament material.  

UPDATE! You can now purchase the CD ($12 +S&H) or Vinyl ($20+S&H) from the Ten Club.


Tracklisting:

  1. Ulcers & the Apocalypse
  2. When the Fire Comes
  3. War in Your Eyes
  4. While My Heart Beats
  5. Shout and Repeat
  6. Give It a Name
  7. The Answers
  8. Time to Pay
  9. Take My Hand
  10. Down to Sleep
  11. Never Forget 

Both places have digital albums only, so maybe we'll be hearing about a physical sale soon.

Rock Meets Jock on 710 ESPN Radio

Pearl Jam - 5.18.10 - Newark

Tomorrow night, you can listen to Mike McCready sit down with Duff McKagan, and former Supersonic, Shawn Kemp, to discuss the overlapping worlds of musicians and athletes at the Seattle Hard Rock Cafe.

While the event is not open to the public, you can listen to the show on 710 ESPN Seattle or watch the live webcast on 710Sports.com beginning [June 11] at 7 p.m. For more information about the event, visit MyNorthwest.com/RockJock

June 10: Soundgarden in Leicestershire

Friday, June 8, 2012

Pearl Jam Honors Their Oldest Fans

Today the Ten Club posted profiles of ten fans that have been members since the beginning.



Pearl Jam Lima, Peru 11-18-11


From their ranks, the Ten Club will be selecting two for a two-night Pearl Jam binge in Amsterdam.
The Ten Club recognizes 10 "Charter Members". We've dug through the ancient scrolls of the Ten Club history books and identified who we think are 10 of the first (and still active) members of this club. We wanted to get to know these folks a little better and thought you might too.


One of these Charter Members will be selected to be hosted by the Ten Club in Amsterdam for the two PJ shows there this month. We'll be announcing the lucky member next week and sharing their adventure with you here on pearljam.com.
Geez ... lucky much?

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Willie & Lukas Nelson Release "Just Breathe" Video



Willie and Lukas Neson have released a video for their cover of Just Breathe.  In doing so, they seem to have put a new spin on the message in the song, making it a heartfelt message just in time for Father's Day.

June 7: Soundgarden in Norje

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Welcome Back, PearlJam.com

The wait is over ...



PearlJam.com returned to the worldwide web today with a couple of kinks and a couple of really nice additions.  As of today, you can now order Vault Release #2, a show at the Vic Theater in Chicago from 2007 in digital download or physical disc from Kufala.  There are several new products available:

They've also dug into Lance Mercer's closet to trick out the Media section with great pictures from the past 20 years.

We'll all be spending the next few days digging through the new website, and it's officially a Beta, so we're hoping more comes soon.  It looks like we're still missing a lot of setlists and members are complaining about log in/log out issues with the store.  We're hoping we see those issues resolved soon when this goes to production.

Olé!