The Seattle Times was present at the Lightning Bolt listening party at Studio X in Seattle which will air this coming Friday on SiriusXM. They've brought us a previous of some of the questions and answers that we can expect. Here are some excerpts.
ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "LIGHTNING BOLT" AND BACKSPACER":“This record felt more confident,” McCready said. “We had a lot more ideas. We were more focused.”Ament noted that “Lightning Bolt” was recorded in two sessions, two years apart.“The record benefitted from that time,” he said, when he the members were working on side projects. (Ament on RNDM; Gossard with Brad; McCready with soundtrack work and Cameron with Soundgarden.)“There’s nothing that makes you appreciate this band more than being in another situation,” he added.“The arrangements are stronger,” Gossard said. “”We’re just wiser.”[...]ON THE PROCESS THAT PULLS THEM BACK TOGETHER AFTER THEY'VE BEEN APART:“There is no break,” said Ament. “There is day-to-day business that we do every day. We’re our own thing. We’ve created this stuff and the stuff that you see (albums, merchandise), that all comes from us. It doesn’t ever feel like I’m not in the band.”Cracked Vedder: “At the warehouse (where the band is headquartered), we don’t have landscapers or gardeners. It’s all us.”“We live for picking up our guitar,” said Gossard. “We love that.”[...]ON THEIR FAVORITE PLACE TO PLAY:“Easy Street in West Seattle,” said Vedder.“I have great memories of starting out and playing locally,” said Cameron. “Anywhere our audience is, is a blessing. But we came from the Ditto Tavern. I don’t think that’s lost on any of us.”“You can never predict when those nights are going to happen,” said Gossard.“It’s kind of crazy,” said Vedder, “but every night feels like a…winner. It’s amazing. We’re not lying when we say, ‘This is one of the best crowds we’ve ever played for.’ If you were there, it was.”“All of them,” said Gaspar, at which point someone mentioned Bondi Beach, a topless stretch of sand in Australia. He moaned like a wookie and put his head in his hands, while Vedder nearly fell off his chair laughing.[...]ON HOW VEDDER CREATES A SETLIST:“This year, I’ve been calling 1-800-SET-LIST, which is 50 cents a call,” he joked. “This tour, it will be interesting, because I have a bunch of new material to work on. For a while, it depending on what the shows were. It was what people know. In an arena, I am trying to get to the people in the back row, so I want to play the hits. But then I am also trying to gauge how open people are to experimenting with us, and reach through the ether.”He paused.“Better to try and fail than not to have done it at all.”
