The Punk Meets the Godfather
As you probably remember, Eddie appeared with Pete Townshend recently at a PT solo show in Chicago. The setlist was a dream to any Who/Townshend fan, and Eddie's appearance just made it that much better, as far as we're concerned. The House of Blues was planning a cybercast of this show (!!!!!!!) but it seems to have been postponed for some reason. :((( We'll be keeping an eye on things, or you can take a look yourself, at LiveConcerts.com.
BTW, we are still looking for a tape of this show, so if you have one, please write us!
Mike injured!
June 30, 1997 --
We were sad to learn that one of our favorite guitarist has apparently incurred a sports injury (a broken collar bone), while playing baseball yesterday. We heard some kind of rumors about Eddie hitting him a line drive. Hey, Mike looks like a shortstop to us!
Addicted to Noise, once again, has the scoop; we particularly liked the quote from Epic: "A label source added that the injury "wouldn't affect the release of the album, because the album is not currently scheduled for release"! Management is also quoted as saying that Mike's injury has no effect on any plans the band may or may not have. What does this mean for the new album or tour? We don't know. But we do hope that this puts to rest that stupid rumor that PJ were going to be playing with Neil Young at the HORDE show in Portland on 7/13; not to mention the fact that Stone is playing in Cleveland with Brad the night before. Mike may be out of action for up to six weeks. Well wishes can be mailed to him via the Ten Club at:
PO Box 4570
Seattle WA 98104 We hope you're feeling better soon, Mike!
New Album News
June 12, 1997 -- Eddie ran into Addicted to Noise at the Tibetan Freedom concert, and was apparently very chatty about the new album: "We've just about finished it," he says. Apparently the album is more "hard rocking" than No Code, but we can't decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing, since we really happened to love that album; however, he does say that they're more along the lines of "Hail, Hail," which would be just fine with us. =) There are also some quotes from Stone in the story.
Use the link above to read the ATN story; if you're not familiar with Addicted to Noise, we highly, highly recommend it as the most credible and intelligent source for music information on the 'net.
Vedder and McCready appear at Tibetan Freedom Concert
Yes, this is Ed Vedder, at the Tibet show. No, we don't think we need to say any more. =)
The entire recap of the show, courtesy of Addicted To Noise, can be found here. June 8, 1997 -- Tibetan Freedom concert goers got a surprise treat this morning as Eddie and Mike showed up on stage to do a three song set. Eddie was out in the crowd all day yesterday getting people to sign three different petitions, including one calling on Vice President Al Gore to "walk it like you talk it," referring to Gore's recent trip to China and promises that were made and apparently not kept. But today it was down to business -- a powerful display of "Corduroy," "Yellow Ledbetter," and "Rockin' in the Free World."
They are off stage now but the netcast (via sonicnet) is in progress as we speak, with live news reports being added throughout the day. The news updates on sonicnet, brought to you by Addicted to Noise, can be seen here and they change frequently.
News Flash #2 -- At about 12:45, Eddie and Mike joined Michael Stipe and Mike Mills from R.E.M. on a performance of "Long Road," with Stipe and Eddie sharing vocals. Eddie then left the stage but McCready stuck around for a couple of more songs. Someone's taping this right?...
The newest sonicnet news update now has McCready talking with Addicted to Noise Senior Writer Gil Kaufman. When this goes down we'll put it up here as well.
New Brad album out next week on vinyl
May 29, 1997 -- It's been known for quite a while now but a reminder is due -- Stone's side project Brad has a new album, entitled "Interiors," hitting the store shelves next month. The CD is out June 24 but for those of you who can't wait and have the hardware, you can pick it up next Tuesday, June 3, on vinyl.
Brad will be touring the U.S. all of July and the tour dates are listed here.
The amended truth about Tuatara
May 28, 1997 -- Okay... so we tell you not to expect McCready at any of the Tuatara shows and two weeks later he makes a liar out of us. ;-) Mike popped up in New York at the Mercury Lounge and played with both Tuatara and the Minus 5. For a pic of him in action check out the oft-updated Tuatara home page. That's one out of 19 shows so far, so the odds are still long. We still say don't expect him to show, but go anyway for a cool experience, and if he shows then you can write us and tell us about it. :-)
The truth about Tuatara
May 4, 1997 -- From time to time we still see posts on the newsgroup or other forums that refer to "McCready's side project" Tuatara, and we felt compelled to try to clear up a couple of things. First, Tuatara is a band that was started by Luna bassist Justin Harwood and Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin. They next invited Skerik Walton, a saxophonist pal of theirs from Critters Buggin', and then Peter Buck from R.E.M. wound up joining the mix. They cut an album and have played some shows in Seattle. Mike McCready played on exactly one track of the album ("The Getaway"), which was released April 1 on Epic and is entitled "Breaking the Ethers." McCready has not appeared at any of the shows, and is not likely to do so.
Tuatara is currently on tour with Mark Eitzel (ex-American Music Club leader) and the Minus 5 (featuring Scott McCaughey of Young Fresh Fellows fame and sometimes touring guitarist for R.E.M.). Tuatara does have its own web page, complete with band history, album info, current tour info, and pictures from the first shows of the new tour that occurred just days ago. They even have a list of instruments they use and top ten lists for the albums they are currently listening to and books they are reading. :)
So if you plan to go see Tuatara to get a glimpse of McCready, don't. Odds are he won't be there. If you are interested in checking out music for music's sake then do go, and do so with an open mind; we guarantee you won't be disappointed. The show is simply amazing. One word of warning -- don't go late thinking you can skip the "opening" bands of Minus 5 and Mark Eitzel. The shows are billed as "Tuatara, Mark Eitzel, The Minus 5" but they all appear on stage at the same time, playing each other's songs in alternating 5-song sets and switching instruments constantly. This band has more instruments than all other Seattle bands combined. =) The show runs around three hours so get comfortable. It's acoustic but don't worry -- it's still loud. ;-)
Oh yeah, McCready also played on Mark Eitzel's new record, "West," and The Minus 5's new album "The Lonesome Death of Buck McCoy," both out this Tuesday, May 6. We think the man has played on nearly every record to come out of Seattle over the past year. =) We're sure that's how the rumors get started about his new "side projects..."
No news is(n't) good news, part two
April 2, 1997 -- No, Pearl Jam did not play a surprise show in Seattle yesterday. If you wonder why we think alternative radio sucks so hard, go read this month's Rant of the Month for the best example yet.
No news is(n't) good news
Many of you have written to us lately with questions about '97 tour dates, live album rumors, live video rumors, video taping rumors, and the like. Some of you have sent us "news" stories from your local radio stations as proof.
The facts: at this time, there is NO official word from Pearl Jam regarding '97 tour dates (let alone 30-40), there is no live album, the live video of Neil Jam was shot but has no release date, the Ten Club (and Rumor Pit) have confirmed that there are no plans at this time to let us videotape and photograph shows, and Neil Young's management has said that Pearl Jam will not be appearing on the live Bridge album.
Remember this: radio stations don't care about you, all they care about is making you listen to them so they can get advertising dollars. So they don't mind letting you go nuts thinking that tour dates will be announced any day now. Remember, we're talking about Pearl Jam here -- when the tour dates are announced, you'll hear about it in Zimbabwe. ;-> When PJ releases an honest-to-goddess press statement, complete with video footage on CNN of the boys physically saying the words, "We've decided to allow still and video cameras at our shows, and here are our new tour dates!" then it's a news story for 5h.
Mike McCready, Screaming Tree wannabe :)
March 20, 1997 -- Much-beloved "local" band, Screaming Trees, (okay, they're actually from Ellensburg but who would want to claim to be from there anyway?), played two sold-out shows at the Showbox in Seattle on Tuesday and Wednesday, the same cool club where PJ kicked off their last tour. What does this have to do with PJ you ask? If you don't know, McCready appears on the Trees' latest album Dust, lending his lead talent to "Dying Days," and he popped up on stage with them both nights at the Showbox to do the honors. No slam on the Trees but in my opinion Mike's guitar was the best sound of the night. I blame the soundman though, because after seeing the Trees blow almost everyone off the stage at Lolla last summer I can personally attest to their awesome musical ability. The Screaming Trees have one more Seattle show to go, an all ages gig this Sunday at RKCNDY. Mike will probably be there too.
Oh yeah, Stone was in the crowd, sporting a spiffy red coat and defending his most drastic hair change title. :) No, it looks good, really. ;)
Mike McCready, pool shark
February 18, 1997 -- Once again, members of Pearl Jam participated in the annual pool tournament to benefit the Washington Music Industry Coalition and JAMPAC, an anti-censorship group based in Washington state.
This year a no-longer-blonde Mike McCready, wearing a "Gimme Shelter" T-shirt to die for, lost several games (badly) to the likes of Jerry Cantrell and other local celebrities. Stone Gossard was rumored to be there (he played with Mike last year) but we couldn't find him.
Photos of this event will (hopefully) be online by the end of the week. Check back and see. ;-)
For more information about JAMPAC and the WMIC, see our Causes page. Neither of these organizations have web sites that we know of.
Radio Free L.A. Broadcast Might Feature PJ Members
January 19, 1997 -- Well, we wish we could give you a definitive answer, but we can't. All we can tell you is that members of Pearl Jam may be featured on Monday night's Radio Free LA broadcast. Tune in, listen and take yer chances. ;-)
The broadcast's theme is the upcoming Presidential Inauguration and to quote RFLA, "The purpose is to inform, educate, and organize people around sociopolitical issues while entertaining them with music and humor. Radio Free LA will erase the boundary between alternative music and alternative political perspectives." Rage Against The Machine are behind it.
If your local station isn't carrying the broadcast, you can listen to a netcast of it (providing you have at least a 14.4 modem and a RealAudio player) on either Addicted to Noise, Mediacast, or at the Radio Free LA website itself. (Though be warned, that web site is very graphics intense and uses annoying frames.)
1996 Fan Club Xmas Single Hits The Streets!!!!!!
January 4, 1997 -- The 1996 fan club single has begun to arrive! It's a 7" single with the following tracks:
- A-side: Olympic Platinum
- B-side: Smile live from Barcelona
If you wanted any proof that the band or someone is reading the newsgroup, the mailing lists, hell, even this page -- you've got it! As for the A-side, we've never seen so many people get their panties in a bunch over a song since the Mammasan trilogy tape started circulating, and the B-side, well, being extremely guilty of bitching and moaning about not getting to hear that song live, all we can say is "THANK YOU."
If you don't have a turntable -- BUY ONE! It should be really obvious now that the band has no plan to release any CD singles for the fan club. Turntables are way cheap used -- go hunt garage sales!
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