Pearl jam lyrics and Pearl jam guitar tabs, Pearl jam pictures and biography

This revisionist
(or, depending on your viewpoint, visionary) rock quintet was formed in Seattle, USA, in the early 90s, by Jeff Ament
(b. 10 March 1963, Big Sandy, Montana, USA; bass) and Stone Gossard
(b. 20 July 1966, Seattle, Washington, USA; rhythm guitar). Gossard had played with Steve Turner in the Ducky Boys, the latter going on to perform with Ament in Green River. Gossard became a member when Mark Arm
(like Turner, later to join Mudhoney ) switched from guitar to vocals. Gossard and Ament, however, elected to continue working together when Green River washed up, and moved on to Mother Love Bone, fronted by local 'celebrity' Andrew Wood. However, that ill-fated group collapsed when, four weeks after the release of their debut album, Apple, Wood was found dead from a heroin overdose. Both Gossard and Ament subsequently participated in Seattle's tribute to Wood, Temple Of The Dog, alongside Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, who instigated the project, Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron, plus Gossard's schoolfriend Mike McCready
(b. 5 April 1965, Seattle, Washington, USA; guitar) and ex-Bad Radio vocalist Eddie Vedder
(b. 23 December 1966, Evanson, Illinois, USA). He had been passed a tape of demos recorded by Ament, Gossard and McCready by Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons. Both Vedder and McCready eventually hooked up permanently with Ament and Gossard to become Pearl Jam, with the addition of drummer Dave Krusen
(having originally dabbled with the name Mookie
Blaylock). The band signed to Epic Records in 1991,
debuting the following year with the powerful, yet melodic,
Ten. A bold diarama, it saw the band successfully
incorporate elements of their native traditions
(Soundgarden,
Mother Love Bone, Nirvana ) with older influences such
as the Doors, Velvet Underground, the Stooges and the
MC5. The self-produced recording
(together with Rick
Parashar) showed great maturity for a debut, particularly
in the full-blooded songwriting, never better demonstrated
than on hit single 'Alive'. Dynamic live performances and a
subtle commercial edge to their material catapulted them
from obscurity to virtual superstars overnight, as the Seattle
scene debate raged and Kurt Cobain accused them of
'jumping the alternative bandwagon'. In the USA Ten was
still in the Top 20 a year and a half after its release, having
sold over 10 million copies by the end of 1996 in that
country alone. The touring commitments that followed,
however, brought Vedder to the verge of nervous collapse.
He struggled back to health in time for the Lollapalooza
II tour, an appearance on MTV Unplugged, and Pearl Jam's
cameo as Matt Dillon's 'band', Citizen Dick, in the Cameron
Crowe film Singles. Vedder also fronted a reunited Doors
on their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in
Los Angeles at the Century Plaza hotel, performing versions
of 'Roadhouse Blues', 'Break On Through' and 'Light My
Fire'. The eagerly awaited 'difficult' follow-up was announced
in October 1993, close on the heels of Nirvana's latest
offering. While reviews were mixed, the advance orders
placed the album on top of charts on both sides of the Atlantic.
Vitalogy seemed overtly concerned with re-establishing the
group's grass-roots credibility, a strong clue to which arrived
in the fact that the album was available for a week on vinyl
before a CD or cassette release
(a theme revisited on 'Spin
The Black Circle'). There were also numerous references,
some oblique, others more immediate, to the death of
Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Ironically, 1994 also saw drummer
Dave Abbruzzese dispensed with, amid unfounded rumours
that former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl would be invited
into the ranks. This turmoil did not affect the quality of No
Code, featuring more melody with grunge guitar replaced
by steely acoustics. Jack Irons became the drummer,
although he left the band temporarily in 1998.