To celebrate this year's release of Lightning Bolt, Artists Direct collected a slew of Pearl Jam stories from actors and musicians about Pearl Jam. Check out some of our favorites.
"I actually saw Pearl Jam when they were called Mookie Blaylock. It was at The OK Hotel in Seattle. That was before they got busted for using the name Mookie Blaylock [Laughs]. I told them they should've just dropped the "Blaylock" part and went with "Mookie". I thought that was a great name for them! I was always brutally honest with those guys about their music, band, and everything. I love them though. Stone Gossard and I were even in a band together once. The drummer quit though [Laughs]." - Ben Shepherd of Soundgarden
"It was on Ten. I've got to say that Ten is their best record to be honest—and not because of the singles. It's because of the songs in between like "Why Go" and "Porch", which is a great fucking jam. Before "Black" became a weird "non-single" single, there's "Black". "Release" is so gorgeous. That song will break me down and make me fucking cry like that. "Garden" is an amazing song. "Once" is incredible. I could basically quote the entire album. That transition of "Oceans" into "Porch" is very cool. However, I will say the best Pearl Jam song is "State of Love and Trust" from the Singles soundtrack. The way those chords play out and the way he plays those chords is so righteous. That's fucking rock 'n' roll." - Corey Taylor of Slipknot
"I'm of the generation of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. I go back to all of that music. Did you see PJ 20? I loved it. It was phenomenal. It's funny Willie Nelson just covered Pearl Jam's "Just Breathe", and it's a great cover." - Ethan Hawke, actor
