Thank you to guest blogger and photographer, Travis Hay of Guerrilla Candy!
If you're looking to get your hands on some sweet merch or rare vinyl you might want to make a trip to Easy Street Records in West Seattle. The Northwest institution recently set up a Pearl Jam pop-up shop to commemorate the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.The shop, which had a soft launch on this year's Record Store Day (April 22), features shirts, jerseys, hats, hard-to-find vinyl and other goodies. Some highlights include sealed Valut vinyl sets, sealed Lightning Bolt Sevens sets, autographed Hockeytalker 7" records, an assortment of holiday singles, Patagonia backpacks and messenger bags, and jerseys, hats, patches, flags and pennants from last year's Wrigley Field and Fenway Park concerts.Most of the pricing is roughly in line with what you will pay on Pearl Jam's website with a few exceptions. One those exceptions being items that were made available exclusively to Ten Club members such as the Vaults, which range in cost from $100 to $200, and Sevens, which is priced at $200. Holiday singles and the Hockeytalkter singles cost $10 each. Some of the Hockeytalkter releases are signed by Mike McCready and range in cost from $40 to $50.
Of course Easy Street Records has a long history with the band and the pop-up shop is the latest display of their friendship. In 2005 the band performed a surprise show at the shop in support of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores. Shadow, Brad and RNDM have all played in-store sets at the shop. And in 1995, at arguable the height of the band's popularity, Eddie Vedder once helped out at the shop and worked as a clerk behind the counter. Those are just some of the many connections between the band and the revered record store.
