Jeff Talks Rock and Basketball with Kenny Mayne

ESPN the Magazine's Kenny Mayne recently shot hoops with Jeff and discussed the combination of rock 'n roll and basketball.  The video above contains snippets, but the full transcript is here.  There's just so much good info there (athleticism in musicians, Jeff's early sports, Rock 'N Jock, Sweet Lew, the Sonics), I don't know what to quote.  You'll have to check it out for yourself!

RNDM to Play Bottle Rock Festival in May

Bottle Rock Festival in Napa Valley is an expo featuring great wines, beer, food, and music.  This year, it will be featuring RNDM.  They'll be taking the stage, Saturday, May 11th.

Tickets go on sale February 3rd at 10am (PST?).

New Ed Song Coming Soon

It looks like we're expecting at least one new Eddie Vedder song reasonably soon.  The Los Angeles Times reports that Ed is contributing a song to the movie "Out of the Furnace" which is expected to release this year.

The Pearl Jam frontman will pen and record a new track for “Out of the Furnace,” the dark thriller starring Christian Bale that will hit theaters this year. Several previously recorded Vedder songs also probably will be featured in the film, according to a person familiar with the production who was not authorized to talk about it publicly.

No word yet on a release date for either the film or the soundtrack.

Pre-Pearl Jam Eddie Vedder Demos..or Much Ado About Nothing

The rumor mill was churning yesterday. as Antiquiet Magazine tweeted that they have something to share with Pearl Jam fans. Antiquiet is no stranger to breaking Pearl Jam news. They were all over Backspacer news in the summer of 2009, giving us a first glimpse of the track list and even managed to smuggle a recording of The Fixer from the Target commercial shoot.

In typical fashion, the speculation was rampant. Pearl Jam recently announced two shows in July, one at Chicago's Wrigley Field. They've also been "half-way done" with the follow up to Backspacer for what seems like forever.  Keyboard warriors around the globe became like little kids in the weeks before Christmas. Could it be a new song? Perhaps the lead single to the new album? Maybe an actual tour announcement to go with the shows booked in July? Someone even suggested it could be a recording of Eddie Vedder's techno experiments from the early aughts. 

But we were all so very wrong. Here's what Antiquiet had to say today.

It’s been a long time since anything “new” has surfaced, but Antiquiet recently came into possession of a direct copy of a tape that Eddie dubbed for a co-worker at his old job at San Diego Petroleum, somewhere in range of late 1989 or early 1990. On it we found thirteen tracks, including a couple entirely “new” recordings (to the PJ fanbase at least), a few familiar ones, and most substantially, far more listenable dubs of both 1989 Bad Radio demos.

Check out the demos. If you're interested enough to listen to these then you've probably heard most of them. But the quality is an upgrade and there are a few cuts that will be new to your ears.  Maybe it'll help kill some time before we hear something that's actually new.

OK, Twitter ... Now What?

We didn't think much when Jonathan Cohen made this tweet on Saturday:

Just had my head blown off by long-awaited new music from one of the most legendary bands in rock. Stay tuned...

But given this new teaser by music site, AntiQuiet,

Hey @PearlJam fans… we've got something awesome to share with you tomorrow morning.

...we're starting to wonder if some new music is headed our way.

#staytuned

PJ to McGinn: Bring Back the Sonics

In an open later to the Mayor and Seattle City Council, Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament joined several other musicians in expressing support for a new development that would include a Sonics Arena and would pave the way for professional basketball to return to the Emerald City.

By opening the door for the possible return of professional basketball to Seattle, and by offering a home for other sports franchises, as well as concerts, events, and exhibitions, the Hansen development energize

You can find out more about the project and how you can also support the project at SonicsArena.com.

Ontario and Chicago in 2013

Pearl Jam has announced two dates in July and confirmed that more dates are coming this fall!

We are excited to announce two special Pearl Jam live performances to take place in London, Ontario and at Chicago’s Wrigley Field in July 2013. Both evenings will be An Evening with Pearl Jam; there will not be an opening band for either performance date. 

The two show dates are: 

Tues, July 16 - London, Ontario Budweiser Gardens 

Fri, July 19 - Chicago, Illinois at Wrigley Field 

*Fall Tour dates in the US will be announced in the coming months.

Info on Ten Club tickets is in your inbox, or head to PearlJam.com for details on public ticket sales.

Wrigley Field?

For those keeping score ...

Jan 22: 7:01am PT: @Cubs "Ten. #StayTuned"

Jan 22: 9:01am PT: @Pearl Jam "Retweet if you were at this show!#StayTuned"

Jan 22: 10:59am PT: @PearlJam "Looking good! #StayTuned"

Jan 22: 11:00am PT: @Cubs "Our diamond, our jewel."

Jan 22: 3:00pm PT: @PearlJam "The fans are the best part of any show. #StayTuned"

Jan 22: 3:12pm PT: @Cubs "We're like brothers in arms in the streets and the stands… #StayTuned"

Jan 22: 5:00pm PT: @PearlJam "#StayTuned"

Jan 22: 7:00pm PT: @Cubs "Don't let anyone say that it's just a game."

More to come ... ?

123GO! Return to Sundance

In 2011, a super [cover] group was formed consisting of Mike McCready, Stefan Lessard (Dave Matthews Band), and Brett Scallions (Fuel) and Ken Schalk (Fuel) to perform a few covers songs at the House of Blues in Park City, UT for the Sundance Film Festival.  This year, they have returned, adding pianist Robbie Gennet to cover the Sex Pistol's Pretty Vacant.

Glen Hansard and Eddie Vedder Collaboration Coming Soon?

Time Out from Sydney has a great article about the friendship formed between Eddie Vedder and Glen Hansard.  Buried down there in the last paragraph is a very juicy tidbit about a future release.

By 2012, Hansard and Vedder had become close. The elder rocker invited Hansard to open his solo American tour – right in time for the release of Hansard’s own solo debut, 2012’s Rhythm and Repose, an album of achingly intimate, all-but-hushed ballads. He cites their Austin tour-stop as a major highlight, not because of the gig so much as the downtime. “We spent three nights there, which was really exctin’ for someone like me or Eddie who travels all the time, to just be still for a bit.” He and Vedder even found time to record a few tunes together which they’ll polish and release later this year.

Ed at Sean Penn's Haiti Benefit

Last night was the Second Annual Sean Penn and Friends Help Haiti Home Gala at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills, and Sean's good friend Eddie Vedder made an appearance playing three songs: a Springsteen cover, My City in Ruins, Rise, and another, unconfirmed, Into the Wild song.  We don't hold out much hope for video or audio given that the attendees do not know all of Ed's songs.

If you'd like to donate to the cause, you can do that here.

Test Pearl Jam's Ticketing System = Win Stuff

In what may possibly be a huge hint of a 2013, the Ten Club has upgraded the system for determining which members get tickets to shows to include integration into PearlJam.com, a "My Tickets" section to view the status of the drawing, and the ability to edit your choices prior to the deadline.

As a test, Pearl Jam has created two shows, the Pearl Jam Interplanetary Tour and the Eddie Vedder Tour to Nowhere.  By signing up for shows, you have a chance to win cool merchandise.  The rules state that one winner from each show (4 shows from both tours) will win one of the items listed below.  By our estimation, that means you should "buy" a ticket to all 8 shows so you can have the best chance of winning, so follow the instructions in this video, and buy some tickets.  Deadline to enter is Monday, January 14th at 10am PT.


Here are the prizes!

• Mad Season re-issue 10" on purple vinyl (1 winner)
• PJ20 12" on colored vinyl (2 winners)
• Patagonia Refugio Backpack (2 winners)
• Benaroya Hall Boxed Set (2 winners)
• Backspacer 12" on white vinyl (1 winner)

Full Details About Mad Season's Above Reissue

It's 2013, and as promised, we have received some details about the contents of the Mad Season Deluxe Reissue of Above.  

CD1: The original album [presumably remastered], an unreleased acoustic instrumental titled Interlude, 3 new songs from the band's unfinished second album (Locomotive, Black Book of Fear, and Slip Away, with newly recorded vocals and lyrics by Mark Lanegan), and a remixed version of the band's John Lennon cover I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier.

CD2: The remastered, stereo audio recording of the band's performance at Moore Theater in Seattle on April 29, 1995 (featuring an appearance by Mark Lanegan).

DVD: Live at The Moore, remixed and remastered and newly edited by director Duncan Sharp, a full concert of the band's performance from New Years Eve 1995 at RKCNDY in Seattle, and both performances from Self-Pollution Radio (one newly edited).

There will also be a 12" vinyl release this coming April 20th in honor of Record Store Day!  For more details or to pre-order, visit PearlJam.com.

Ed to Honor The Boss on February 8th

Eddie Vedder will join Elton John, Neil Young, Mumford & Sons, Alabama Shakes, Sting, and several other artists in Los Angeles next month to honor Bruce Springsteen the musician/philanthropist.

Jon Stewart, the comedian, will host the event, which will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 8, two nights before the Grammy Awards ceremony. Mr. Springsteen is being feted as the MusiCares “Person of the Year,” an honor given to performers who stand out not only for their music but also for their philanthropy. The concert’s proceeds go to programs run by the MusiCares Foundation, a charity established in 1989 by the Recording Academy that helps musicians facing drug addiction, health problems and financial troubles.

Welcome To Our New Board

When you visit our forum, you may notice that you have to re-register.  No reason to panic!  After years of being patched and hacked, our board had gotten a little buggy.  You probably noticed that you've had to log in with each visit for the last several months.

Repair got to be too tall of an order for our volunteer staff, so to celebrate 2013, we locked the whole forum, archived it and started fresh.  Your bookmarks still work, and there is now an archive link at the bottom of the forum if you need to get to all your old posts.

If you have any questions, let a moderator know, and we'll try to get you fixed up.  Please enjoy, and have a great New Year!

TheSkyIScrape.com