November 3, 2025 • 29 mins
Dive into the world of Pearl Jam with author Selena Fragassi as she shares insights on the band's incredible 35 year live journey and highlights from their unforgettable concerts.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Celebrating thirty five years of legendary music and revolutionary shows
by the one and only Pearl Jam with author Selena Fragassi.
Next on Booked on Rock, We're totally booked rock and roll.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I mean I'll leave you. You're reading. Little Hands says
it's time.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
To rock and roll. Rock band rout I totally booked.
Welcome back to book Don Rock, the podcast for those
about to read and rock com Eric Senach. Selena Fragassi
is Beck on the podcast. This is her second appearance.
Last time was for her excellent book on Elenis Morrissett.
(00:38):
Today she is here to talk about her brand new book,
Pearl Jam Live Thirty five years of legendary music and
revolutionary shows. Welcome back, Selena, good to see you again.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Thank you, thanks for having me again.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Much talked about and written about Pearl Jam studio work,
but it's great to see a book paying tribute to
this band's history as a live band. It does get
into the studio work as well in this book, but
it's just great because this is one of the greatest
live bands of all time. Great the out of what
fans will get inside this book and what were the
resources you had to put it together because this is
(01:09):
a complete overview.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah, it's you know, I was trying to think of
a new way to talk about Pearl Jam, because, like
you said, there's been so many books and the great
PJ twenty documentary and so many different ways you can
kind of approach Pearl Jam. But to me, their legacy
is really a live band and the community that they've
formed around that live experience. I think they're kind of
like the Grateful Dead of this era, where people caravan
(01:31):
and meet new friends, and they're just a very special
place to build community. In terms of resources, there have
been so many great resources. I have to really shout
out the fact that fans have been incredible archivers of
this band. So everyone from the Pearl Jam concert chronicles
to Live and four Legs to Pearl Jam's own website
(01:51):
has so much copious info about each individual. To date,
there's more than eleven hundred. I actually typed out each
one for this book because I want them all in there,
but also personally, I wanted to understand the magnitude of
how voluminous their life career has been.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Take us back October twenty second, nineteen ninety This is
the very first show by Pearl Jam. They won't call
Pearl Jam yet, They're called Mookie Blaylock. This is an
infamous hole in the wall club in Seattle called the
off Ram Cafe. Tell us about this show because this
is not long after Mother Lovebone had suddenly ended.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Yeah, just a few months prior in March nineteen ninety,
and he would sadly passed away. Stone and Jeff were
left to kind of consider their future for a time.
They didn't really want to pursue music in an official
capacity until they met Eddie Vetter. And really it was
a demo tape that got into the hands of Eddie
Vedder that Stone's instrumentals were on it. At he created
(02:48):
music and lyrics, He wrote his own version of Really
Who's Tommy and his own rock opera.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
It was.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Crazy, you fe lack of a better word, but you
know it. It really struck a chord and had an impact
on band. And so the craziest thing is that Eddie
Vedder came to Seattle permanently October eighth, fourteen days later
they had their first show and a lot of material written,
which just seems impossible to me to have material in
chemistry and be ready to have a show, and the
amount of pressure on everyone, particularly Eddie Vedder at this
(03:18):
very first date, knowing the Seattle community was there to
see kind of like, who's this guy taking the place
of Andy Wood. It was, to quote Chris Cornell, one
of the best debuts he's ever seen. And in that
room that night, pearl jam was made.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Yeah he came from San Diego, he sure did. Yeah,
the mother lovedborn photographer was talking about it. People weren't welcoming. Yeah,
they weren't welcoming Eddie Vedder with open arms. They did
not want to accept him. But he won people over
pretty quickly.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
I would say, so. Yeah. I think like he had
a lot to prove that and I think he made
a lot of non believers sort of give him a chance.
Lance is very vocal about the fact that he wanted
to walk out when he saw this new guy on stage.
And I think you have to understand the magnanimous of
Andy Wood. People loved him. He was a showman. He
was the heart and soul of the Seattle seen him
and he passed. My God, you cannot replace the man
(04:10):
and Stone and Jefferly didn't want to. That's why they
began a new project and took someone really outside of
Seattle to make this project gel And so there were
a lot of people who had their doubts, who wanted
to see Eddie prove himself. But I think he sure
did that first night.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Yeah, there was a pretty pivotal moment when Eddie Vetter
finds his on stage powers, magic or his influence over
the audience. You called in the book the Night Eddie
Came Alive January tenth, nineteen ninety one. Tell us about
this one in Canada of Victoria, BC, Canada.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Yeah, so Pearl Jam had only had several shows under
their bell at this point. It was only a few
months after their first show, and they were opening for
Alison Chains whose Facelift EP was out, so they were
the support act. They only played a few songs, but
Eddie was noticing the crowd was really rowdy and not
paying attention, and I think he was motivated to get
them to pay attention, and so he did the unthinkable
and just started his very crazy tars and piatrix.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yeah, they were more interested in getting drunk, yes they
say the book, than the watching the show. But yeah,
he turned there, He turned them around. Before I get
to the next question, I just want to set it
up with some great pieces of history from the book here.
The band signed with Epic on February twenty second of
nineteen ninety one, and soon after changed the name to
Pearl Jam. They played their final show as Mookie Blaylock
(05:23):
on March second, nineteen ninety one, at Seattle's Okay Hotel.
By March tenth, they appeared on the Seattle rock station
KISW to announce the new name, and by May seventeenth,
once again at the Off Ramp, they officially performed as
Pearl Jam. They recorded the now classic album ten and
hit the road in July of ninety one ahead of
(05:46):
its late August release, And there's a show on July
twenty first at First Ab in Minneapolis. I believe where
you say it was quote the birth as we know
it of Pearl Jam. The venerable tour gods who have
gone on to transfixed crowds, sell out shows, and become
the leaders of a master class and how to perform
live and employees shared the story of that night from
the book. Eddie was playing to a real small crowd,
(06:09):
but he's performing as if his life depends on it, right.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Oh yeah, that was Eddie. I think he didn't matter
what scenario you put him into, whether it was huge
bilaming crowds of Lava Paluza or these really tiny shows,
even when he was a support act for Alison Chains
or they were a support act for Alison Chains. They
wanted to give it, They're all And I think really
a game changer was when Nirvana's Nevermind came out and
Pearl Jim had some dates with Nirvana and Red Hat
(06:34):
Chili Peppers, and they saw this band blow up and
how great they were on stage, and rather than take
it as we want to be better than them, they're like,
we got to elevate ourselves to be at this level.
So they were always thinking about how do we make
the best show we can and make an impression on
these fans, And they just to this day they give
their all on every single show they put forth.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
They sure do. You discussed the quote unquote dizzying drummer situation.
Five drummers in thirty five years, but they all had
an important role to I like Dave Preus in the beginning.
I loved his style. Dave ad rezis another outstanding drummer,
and just recently another drummer changed. Right, Matt Cameron is
no longer in the band. So who are the other guys?
Those are three I mentioned Jack Irons, Jack Irons.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
And Dave Dave Jack and who am I blinking on
right now?
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Oh my gosh, there's a fifth.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Yes, I'm blinking. I'm blinking.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Well while you think of it. Do you have a
personal favorite? Because I loved I love Dave Cruson. In fact,
he got it. He was in a band with the
guys from Blind Melon by Theory, which I was happy
to see. But do you have a favorite because they're
different styles.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
They're all very different styles and I appreciate all of
them in their own way. Sorry, Matt Chamberlain. There, God,
there's another double name. There's the Dave's the Matts. There
we got mat changing.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
If I gave you enough time, you'd get it.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
He was very very short, short lived for a very
very short period of time. But not that he wasn't insignificant.
But I mean, I Matt Cameron. I have to say
Matt Cameron. I think Matt Cameron and took on a
heroic feat of literally playing in two huge bands at
the same time for a spell, learning all these Pearl
Jam songs and getting right into the mix of their
(08:10):
crazy changing setless every night. And I just feel like
Matt has there's a reason why he was in the
band as their drummer the longest. I think he was
really a guiding force and a calming force for the band,
and I'm so sad he left. He made the announcement
after this book went to production, so it's not in
the book, but I kind of like that it's not
(08:30):
because this book really celebrates all the contributions Matt made
to Pearl Jam.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
There seemed to be nothing personal with his situation, and
I think there's only really one situation I think was Aberziz,
who maybe they just felt like he was starting to
live that rock and roll lifestyle a little too much.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yeah, And the rumor is like that Dave really was
asked after the whole ticketmaster fraucus because Day did not
understand why they were doing that, why they were backpedaling
and not doing videos or singles, And so I think
like his personal ethos was like, let's shoot for the
stars and keep this rolling, whereas the other band and
where other band members wanted to back puddle a little.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Oh that's interesting. I didn't know. I've just read a
book on Coachella and I didn't realize pearl Jam plays
a pretty big role in that. In the early days,
there was a venue they didn't want to play. I
can't remember the specifics, but it had to do with
Pearl Jam not wanting to play at a venue that
was run by a ticketmaster.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Yeah, pearl Jam was I don't believe pearl Jam played Coachella,
but they did, of course play all of ninety two
for La La Pluza, the second year at the festival,
and that's really what changed the game for Pearl Jam
was being on that lineup and all the the younger
fans that came out. It was, you know, an anomaly
that festival. But yeah, pearl Jam was very staunch and
how they felt about Ticketmaster and kaw tawing to working
(09:42):
with them until it kind of became they realized you
kind of had to, sadly because of the you know,
lack of a better word, monopoly in place.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
But yeah, that became a big story. MTV covered it,
remember it well. They tore the red Hot chili peppers,
which gave Pearl Jam heavy exposure, driving radio to pay
attention more and more to them, and then we have
Nirvana's Nevermind hitting number one by January of ninety two.
Projam was part of a sea change and they were,
as you were, ready to ride that wave and also
(10:11):
start to use it for a greater purpose. Expin on
that how Projam used that popularity to influence changes in
causes that they cared about and they still do.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Yeah. Projam is a very amazing group of very passionate
people who believe in a lot of very important causes,
whether it's women's rights, voting rights, homelessness, the environment, and
they have stood behind that. They have the Vitology Foundation,
which Todata has raised millions of dollars to give to
these causes through their ticket sales. And in the beginning,
as they were growing up and not even a household name,
(10:43):
yet they really put their voices. They use their platform
to elevate those causes, and so they played shows like
Rock for Choice and Rock the Vote. They did the
Drop in the Park show for voting to get people
registered to vote. They played a show too for the
Apache Nation in Arizona to try to save their land,
and they even in twenty seventeen. I believe it was
(11:04):
they had the home shows in Seattle where they raised
a ton of money for the homeless community. They've just
been for me. My whole theory and thesis behind this
book is that Pearl Jam as a band for the people,
and I think they've shown that over a long period
of time, but it really started with taking those causes
on for their fans and the greater community of humans.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
In one part of the book, you write about how
there was a show Pro Jam played on New Year's
Eve of nineteen ninety one at the Kyle Palace in
Daily City, California, and you write, quote a reporter with
Rolling Stone was in the crowd that night and said
the show even eclipsed that of hometown heroes Grateful Dead,
who are playing their long running annual NYE Bash down
the road. Now that's interesting to me. I'm a big
(11:43):
Dead fan, and I always looked at Pearl Jam as
as very similar because they built a fan based much
in the way the Grateful Dead did, changing up the
set list, allowing for fans to record shows. And you
mentioned Eddie thanking the Dead. This is when they used
the stage at Soldier Field in July of ninety five.
(12:05):
Have any of the guys in the band talked at
length about Grateful Dead? Are they fans of the band?
Speaker 2 (12:10):
I did not find out of my research that any
were like super big fans of them. I think there
was a respect for them, and I think they very
much modeled a lot of what they did after the
community that Grateful Dad had built. And I think the
fans also played into that because, like I said, the
caravan to all these different shows, there's an international presence.
They've made their own community of friends as well through
(12:31):
being together at these shows, So that communal aspect is
very much taking off from Grateful Dead.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Yeah, because their shows, their audiences got bigger and bigger
at a point when radio was not playing as much
of their singles, when they were taking a little more
risks with the music and they weren't as mainstream, and
yet here they were. The audiences got bigger and bigger.
Playing Madison Square Garden like two nights, three nights, It's
just cool. I love it. Eddie Vedder's risk taking on stage,
(13:01):
those were becoming a concern for his bandmates, the roadies
and the venues, you know, for insurance reasons. There were
some moments where people were worried he'd fall to his death.
Especially in the early days. There were like put up
and tear down fast stage sets, right.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Yeah, oh yeah, And it's crazy, like you look at
something like the most notorious maybe it was that Pink
Pop in the Netherlands, when he's like on those rafters
and he's on the crane for the camera, It's like,
what was this man thinking? But I think it was
just adrenaline at the time. But I can't imagine all
the people his bandmates being like, please don't die right now,
and you know Lallapalooza when they Yeah, they had like
(13:38):
tear up, tear down structures in some of these parks
and it was a huge concern of how they knew
he was going to do this. But hopefully, you know,
fingers crossed he survives.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
There was a theft in Sweden, a callous theft in
Sweden that you talk about in the book, and this
is in June of nineteen ninety two. This was a
shift changing moment. What happened and how did that affect Eddie?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah, his like the lyrics were still, his info was still,
and I think at this point it was just Eddie
Vetter was too much in the forefront, and he became
the poster child for this band in a celebrity in
so many ways, and he had stalkers, and I think
it was you know that when he started saying enough
is enough and was back peddling. He didn't want to
do any of these things that would raise his exposure
(14:20):
or have these labels put on him. That he wasn't
asking for this voice of a generation all the pressure
that came with it. And so that's when you saw
Eddie kind of back pedal and he was writing in
his own vans and doing the radio tour when he
was on en route with Pearl Jam. He wanted to
get back to the sort of punk roots that he
grew up in. He didn't he it was a real
about face to the celebrity paparazzi nature of what happened.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
That's around the time he wore a mask as well.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Yeah, no helmet. He had an army helmet from all time. Yeah,
he wore an army helmet. And I think that was
literally like maybe a tongue in cheek joke, but who knows.
I mean, I think honestly he was very concerned about
his life, you know, the thing things could happen. I mean,
he had stalkers.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Hey guys, we'll get back to the show, but first
I want to tell you about an exclusive deal for
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(15:27):
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Booked on Rock. Also find a link in this episode
show notes, or just go to Booked on Rock dot
com and click on my deals. Pearl Jim Live thirty
five years of legendary music and revolutionary shows. Let's get
into the ticketmasters story a little bit more. This was
brewing for a few years, dating back to ninety two,
(15:48):
but it was during the Vitology tour around March of
ninety four when it reached ahead. What was their issue
and how did that all play out?
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Ultimately, Yeah, there were things that were happening where they
were trying to do like free shows drop in the
Park where it was really just a platform to get
people to register to vote, and they it was a complimentary,
you know ticket, a comp ticket, and Ticketmaster was adding
fees onto this for a free show, and that really
pissed off Pearl Jam because they didn't want there to
be you know, these tacked on things and in corporate natures.
(16:16):
Ticketmaster was printing like AT and T and stuff on
the tickets that's very antithetical to who Pearl Jam is,
and so they didn't want to do this anymore, and
they didn't They weren't agreeing with the fees that Ticketmaster
was tacking on that we all know of today, which
can be fifty percent of more of your just your
ticket price. Knowing how fans they were young and they
(16:36):
remembered how it was to want to go see shows
and not have a lot of money, they really were
trying to stand up for their fan base because they
didn't want there to be a roadblock for people to
come see their live shows. This is a band who
literally formed in order to play live, so it was
very important to them to cultivate that community that could
still come out and see them.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Was a long term effect that that had. You think beneficial, Yeah,
I think they make an impact.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Sadly no, because as you can see, Taylor Swift had
to try to do the same thing thirty years later,
and we're still dealing with, you know, for lack of
a better word, a monopoly. There's not a lot of
options in the ticketing space for bands. Many bands have
spoken out, like the Cure talks about the fees that
they try to knock down. You know, we have this
whole thing now with the UH where they're sorry I'm
(17:24):
blinking on the word, but they're.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Charger.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Yeah, not the surcharge. But when they have like the
the markets where they know there's going to be a
higher demand, they raise the pride. They hijacket those markets. Right,
They're doing like a lot of practices that really are
sketchy and that have not changed. I give pro Drum
a lot of credit for trying to change the structure,
but it was a David and Goliath fight and I think,
you know, they went to Congress to try to speak
about this. But frankly, I'm shocked that they survived all
(17:51):
of that because for a band that was still kind
of in their infancy to take on a corporation and
to bucket and try to do their own planning of
a tour could have been the kiss of death.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Huge risk. April eighth, nineteen ninety four, Pearl Jam played
at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia, and that was
the day that Kurt Cobain died. The press had fans
wondering if Eddie and Kirk got along. Were they enemies.
I don't think they ever were. There was a mutual
respect there, but the media it's kind of played that up.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
They weren't enemies, and in fact, there's some lovely footage
that was seen for the first time in the Pearl
Jam twenty documentary of them being at the MTV Awards
where they're embracing backstage. I think things were really taken
out of context and the media created this drama, and
I think if there was any kind of discord, it's
the fact that, you know, Nirvana was so punk rock
(18:42):
and their ethos and they were like, we don't want
to be mainstream. They hated any idea of that, and
Pearl Jam, no fault of their own, kind of got
thrown into it, and so there was that kind of
ruffling of ideologies. But I think they both had the
same idea. They didn't they didn't want to be the
face or their voice of a generation like that was
tagged on them, but they just got thrown into it.
(19:03):
But no, I think that they were friendly.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
What did he say that night at that show about Kurt?
Speaker 2 (19:09):
It was heartfelt and if I remember, it's to the
effect of, like, we wouldn't be here without Kurt, like
he was. He had such an impact. You know, Pearl
Jam wrestled with the idea of should they go on
that night? In fact, they were at the White House
because that show was in Fairfax. They were very close
to the White House. Bill Clinton had them come in
and he wanted to know, there's a great photo of
Bill Clinton at the band. He wanted to know, you know,
(19:31):
should I be going and making a national address on
TV to kind of quell a lot of the feelings
that this young generation kind of had about losing Kurt,
and Pearl Jam persuaded him from doing so.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Actually, according to the book, Pearl Jam has covered Neil
Young's Rocket in the Free World nearly three hundred and
fifty times, talk about his influence on the band and
why they regard him as a mentor. They lovingly referred
to him as Uncle Neil.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
They sure do. In fact, you know, the law is
that their their name, the Jam part of their name
comes from really seeing Neil Young at a date that
they signed their contract with Epic. They went to go
see Neil at a New York show and that became
part of their name. He was Uncle Neil to them.
And I think Neil Young came in at very pivotal
moments when Pearl Jam needed a mentor, a northern, a
(20:14):
north star like they called him. And I think, you know,
if you talk about nonconformity, Neil Young had done that
for years and he was the voice of reason for
them and kept them motivated to keep on the path
that they were on. When Eddie Vetter was sick at
that one day, I believe in San Francisco, and Neil
had to kind of come in and cover for them.
He like quote unquote rescued them at several points throughout
(20:36):
the course of their career, and he also showed them
the ways that you can experiment with your music while
still keeping your persona intact. Yeah, he's been a real
guiding force for Pearl Jam this entire time.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Very important moment in Pearl Jam Live History takes place
on September thirteenth of nineteen ninety five. We talked about
their similarity to The Grateful Dead allowing fans to record.
This is when the band announced taping of shows is permitted.
How important of a moment is that in terms of
the band's live legacy.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Oh my gosh, so important because you think about today.
If you go to shows where you want to everyone
has their phones out. They want to capture the moment,
they want to feel it, they want to remember how
it felt being there. And Pearl Jim allowing people to
do bootlegs was unheard of. I mean, you had people
like Bob Dylan trying to you know, and other bands
who were like Adam in Ley against it when CBS
Records try to put out the live recordings of Bob
(21:28):
and he was trying to go after them. So you know,
Pearl Jim really changed the guard with allowing it at
their shows and only allowing it, but they're like, you
want to give you better qualities. They ended up recording
them themselves, and I think you know, for one, it
was an olive branch to fans, but for two, it's
created this incredible archive. They have like hundreds of bootlegs
at this point, so you can tap back into a
show you went to, one you've heard about and feel
(21:49):
like you were there.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Going back again now to another topic that I just
I briefly mentioned, but as we get into the second
half of the nineties, radio is not embracing them as much.
The band is taking some chances. Nineteen ninety six is
no code confuse the fans a little bit, but the
band was testing their fans' loyalty and they proved that
(22:14):
they were going to follow the band no matter what
they were going to try to do, right. That was
a huge I think that was a pivotal moment as well.
That's when they realized we've got fans that are going
to be with us here.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Yeah, and it came in a really interesting time because
it was right after the whole ticket Master to backle
So they have been kind of testing fans willingness to
stick with them this entire few year span. But yeah,
pri Jams Again, it's remarkable to me that they have
stayed as relevant and active for these entire thirty five
years because there were big dips in their career that
could have really just killed the band or killed off
(22:46):
their fan base because they would have migrated to something else.
So I think it's a testament to their character and
I think by the fact that they stayed true to
themselves and authentic, it made them want to continue the
band as well.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Great albums too, It's just that they weren't They weren't
like they weren't that they didn't have the songs that
were radio friendly. But thinking of what's the one with Lovebo.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Captain, Yeah, right, act.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Yes, right at I think it was right at all.
Great stuff.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
I mean, I mean such different normal boarding, yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
The other one. Yeah. Let's get to the fans so more,
what is the ten Club? When did it form and
what is the status of it today?
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Kind Of from the beginning, it took over for a
Mother Love Bone fan club, and it morphed into the
ten Club once they had you know, time come out,
and right away they were issuing really special collectible items,
whether it was an unreleased single for Christmas or it was,
you know, anything that they would send fans that they
could collect, and they were adding to this idea of
having like these physical products in an era where we
(23:49):
don't have those anymore. And Pearl Jump stopped the physical
releases at one point, but they still deliver. That club
is very active today when fan clubs aren't really around anymore.
I think Metallica has one, but it's not a model
that truly exists, in large part because you know, social
media has taken over that community aspect in many ways.
But Ticketmaster was the front lines for fans. It was
(24:10):
where you could and still can, get first access to tickets.
It's where you get updates from the band that they're
not sharing elsewhere. It's a real exclusive community and there's
a specialness to it, and I think by them establishing
that and carrying it on for thirty five years, it's
really edified that fan base.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
So Mempik shows in the two thousands, and there's one
noted in the book July eleventh, two thousand and three
in Boston. This is at the Tweeter Center known as
the forty five Song Boston Marathon. It's a record breaker, right, yeah,
in terms of number of songs, second and.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Long set, but longest or sorry as most songs. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Now, the one that's the longest in length is Philadelphia
October nine. Is that three and a half hours?
Speaker 2 (24:52):
I thought it was Soldier Field, but I could be
wrong on that.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
Wow, I think it was.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
A lot one too.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Yeah, they essentially change the set list pretty drastically each night.
I mean they switch out quite a few. There are
songs that they'll always include, I think, but.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Yeah, they're always going to include some from ten. Of
course that's their like benchmark album. But they do. They
change it every night, and it's not even like close
to the night before, but it's a few different. It's
like a drastically different set list. I've seen them many
times on multiple nights here in Chicago or when I
was at PJ twenty and it's really interesting to me
how they curate that. And they know, like a lot
(25:30):
of fans do end up coming from multiple nights, and
so they want to make it very unique every single time.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
I love that. I love that. Easier it's an art
easier said than done, because you have to they have
to be prepared to know every single song in the catalog.
You know, you got to note back and forth. Were
you at the Wrigley Field show in twenty thirteen when
they played until two am? I sure was, Oh you
were there?
Speaker 2 (25:53):
There was?
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Yeah, tell us about this? Why did it go until
two am. It was a delay.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
There was a rain to li fittingly enough at Wrigley
Fields where they got seven songs in and then they
had to tell people go into the concourse. We have
to evacuate, you know, because it was an open field
and a rooftop there, and so we all had to
go into the concourse. But they promised they would be back,
and so we were all in the concourse. I thought
I was going to die that night. It was, you know,
Wrigley Field there, it's an older ballpark, so there wasn't
(26:20):
like a lot of room to move where I was at.
They were running out of water. I was freaking out,
like should I leave? I was having a panic attack.
A but I'll be honest, but I'm like, I'm gonna
stay because I know this band isn't there none of
their words, and they are going to come back, And
sure enough they did. I actually chatted with the team
at Wrigley Field this year because they celebrated twenty years
(26:41):
of concerts, and we talked a bit about how the
band was able to do that. Because Wrigley is in
a neighborhood, there's a very very strict curfew but they
were able to get the city to waive that without
having any penalties, and it was one of the most
mythological shows I've ever seen there.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Do you remember how much of the audience stuck around which.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Part of it? Yeah? I would say like ninety percent
was still there.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
The loyal Pearl Jam fans. Oh yeah, And we'll finish
with this. So many great Pearl Jam moments from those
who saw Perojam live in the book, which is really cool.
Let's finish with your personal Pearl Jam moment. Maybe you
just told me what it is the Wrigley Show in
twenty thirteen, But is there a show that stands out
for you as the best?
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Yeah, it's actually not the Wrigley Show, as much as
that was incredible, it was PJ twenty, the twentieth anniversary
weekend in Alpine Valley. And the reason behind that is
because I talk a bit about this in the book,
But I as a teen growing up was an alt
rock radio. I gleaned a Pearl Jam pretty early, and
I love the first three albums, Ten Versus and Vitology,
(27:42):
but I dropped off a bit with no code in
thereafter because I think at my that time, my year,
wasn't mature enough to understand same thing. Yeah, I mean
it was like they had such a formula for these
great rock bangers and I just wasn't getting it, and
so they kind of dropped off for me until I
got this assignment to cover Peach and it brought me
(28:02):
right back in. It was one of the most emotional
communal shows I've ever been to in my life, seeing
people from all over the world congregate, having Chris Cornell
come out doing Mother Lovebone Temple the Dog. That show
to this day sits in my top five list for sure.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
There You Go. Yield is another great album. Yeah I
love Yield. Yeah Yeah. Pearl GM Live thirty five years
of legendary music and revolutionary shows out now. Find it
wherever books are sold, look for at your nearest independent bookstore.
You can find your nearest independent bookstore at bookdown rock
dot com and Selena. Where can people find you online?
Speaker 2 (28:37):
I'm everywhere. I'm on Facebook, an x, and Instagram. My
handle is just my name and I would love to
hear from people. I've been running a few contests on
my socials as well.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
So I saw it, I saw it, Yes, Yes, I
follow you. I think on Instagram and maybe Nex too.
Yeah yeah, cool all right, Selena Figaci, thank you again
for coming on and look forward to having you back
on again in the future.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Thank you so much for having me. That's it. It's
in the box.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
H
Celebrating thirty five years of legendary music and revolutionary shows
by the one and only Pearl Jam with author Selena Fragassi.
Next on Booked on Rock, We're totally booked rock and roll.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
I mean I'll leave you. You're reading. Little Hands says
it's time.
Speaker 1 (00:16):
To rock and roll. Rock band rout I totally booked.
Welcome back to book Don Rock, the podcast for those
about to read and rock com Eric Senach. Selena Fragassi
is Beck on the podcast. This is her second appearance.
Last time was for her excellent book on Elenis Morrissett.
(00:38):
Today she is here to talk about her brand new book,
Pearl Jam Live Thirty five years of legendary music and
revolutionary shows. Welcome back, Selena, good to see you again.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
Thank you, thanks for having me again.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
Much talked about and written about Pearl Jam studio work,
but it's great to see a book paying tribute to
this band's history as a live band. It does get
into the studio work as well in this book, but
it's just great because this is one of the greatest
live bands of all time. Great the out of what
fans will get inside this book and what were the
resources you had to put it together because this is
(01:09):
a complete overview.
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah, it's you know, I was trying to think of
a new way to talk about Pearl Jam, because, like
you said, there's been so many books and the great
PJ twenty documentary and so many different ways you can
kind of approach Pearl Jam. But to me, their legacy
is really a live band and the community that they've
formed around that live experience. I think they're kind of
like the Grateful Dead of this era, where people caravan
(01:31):
and meet new friends, and they're just a very special
place to build community. In terms of resources, there have
been so many great resources. I have to really shout
out the fact that fans have been incredible archivers of
this band. So everyone from the Pearl Jam concert chronicles
to Live and four Legs to Pearl Jam's own website
(01:51):
has so much copious info about each individual. To date,
there's more than eleven hundred. I actually typed out each
one for this book because I want them all in there,
but also personally, I wanted to understand the magnitude of
how voluminous their life career has been.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Take us back October twenty second, nineteen ninety This is
the very first show by Pearl Jam. They won't call
Pearl Jam yet, They're called Mookie Blaylock. This is an
infamous hole in the wall club in Seattle called the
off Ram Cafe. Tell us about this show because this
is not long after Mother Lovebone had suddenly ended.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
Yeah, just a few months prior in March nineteen ninety,
and he would sadly passed away. Stone and Jeff were
left to kind of consider their future for a time.
They didn't really want to pursue music in an official
capacity until they met Eddie Vetter. And really it was
a demo tape that got into the hands of Eddie
Vedder that Stone's instrumentals were on it. At he created
(02:48):
music and lyrics, He wrote his own version of Really
Who's Tommy and his own rock opera.
Speaker 1 (02:53):
It was.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Crazy, you fe lack of a better word, but you
know it. It really struck a chord and had an impact
on band. And so the craziest thing is that Eddie
Vedder came to Seattle permanently October eighth, fourteen days later
they had their first show and a lot of material written,
which just seems impossible to me to have material in
chemistry and be ready to have a show, and the
amount of pressure on everyone, particularly Eddie Vedder at this
(03:18):
very first date, knowing the Seattle community was there to
see kind of like, who's this guy taking the place
of Andy Wood. It was, to quote Chris Cornell, one
of the best debuts he's ever seen. And in that
room that night, pearl jam was made.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
Yeah he came from San Diego, he sure did. Yeah,
the mother lovedborn photographer was talking about it. People weren't welcoming. Yeah,
they weren't welcoming Eddie Vedder with open arms. They did
not want to accept him. But he won people over
pretty quickly.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
I would say, so. Yeah. I think like he had
a lot to prove that and I think he made
a lot of non believers sort of give him a chance.
Lance is very vocal about the fact that he wanted
to walk out when he saw this new guy on stage.
And I think you have to understand the magnanimous of
Andy Wood. People loved him. He was a showman. He
was the heart and soul of the Seattle seen him
and he passed. My God, you cannot replace the man
(04:10):
and Stone and Jefferly didn't want to. That's why they
began a new project and took someone really outside of
Seattle to make this project gel And so there were
a lot of people who had their doubts, who wanted
to see Eddie prove himself. But I think he sure
did that first night.
Speaker 1 (04:22):
Yeah, there was a pretty pivotal moment when Eddie Vetter
finds his on stage powers, magic or his influence over
the audience. You called in the book the Night Eddie
Came Alive January tenth, nineteen ninety one. Tell us about
this one in Canada of Victoria, BC, Canada.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
Yeah, so Pearl Jam had only had several shows under
their bell at this point. It was only a few
months after their first show, and they were opening for
Alison Chains whose Facelift EP was out, so they were
the support act. They only played a few songs, but
Eddie was noticing the crowd was really rowdy and not
paying attention, and I think he was motivated to get
them to pay attention, and so he did the unthinkable
and just started his very crazy tars and piatrix.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
Yeah, they were more interested in getting drunk, yes they
say the book, than the watching the show. But yeah,
he turned there, He turned them around. Before I get
to the next question, I just want to set it
up with some great pieces of history from the book here.
The band signed with Epic on February twenty second of
nineteen ninety one, and soon after changed the name to
Pearl Jam. They played their final show as Mookie Blaylock
(05:23):
on March second, nineteen ninety one, at Seattle's Okay Hotel.
By March tenth, they appeared on the Seattle rock station
KISW to announce the new name, and by May seventeenth,
once again at the Off Ramp, they officially performed as
Pearl Jam. They recorded the now classic album ten and
hit the road in July of ninety one ahead of
(05:46):
its late August release, And there's a show on July
twenty first at First Ab in Minneapolis. I believe where
you say it was quote the birth as we know
it of Pearl Jam. The venerable tour gods who have
gone on to transfixed crowds, sell out shows, and become
the leaders of a master class and how to perform
live and employees shared the story of that night from
the book. Eddie was playing to a real small crowd,
(06:09):
but he's performing as if his life depends on it, right.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Oh yeah, that was Eddie. I think he didn't matter
what scenario you put him into, whether it was huge
bilaming crowds of Lava Paluza or these really tiny shows,
even when he was a support act for Alison Chains
or they were a support act for Alison Chains. They
wanted to give it, They're all And I think really
a game changer was when Nirvana's Nevermind came out and
Pearl Jim had some dates with Nirvana and Red Hat
(06:34):
Chili Peppers, and they saw this band blow up and
how great they were on stage, and rather than take
it as we want to be better than them, they're like,
we got to elevate ourselves to be at this level.
So they were always thinking about how do we make
the best show we can and make an impression on
these fans, And they just to this day they give
their all on every single show they put forth.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
They sure do. You discussed the quote unquote dizzying drummer situation.
Five drummers in thirty five years, but they all had
an important role to I like Dave Preus in the beginning.
I loved his style. Dave ad rezis another outstanding drummer,
and just recently another drummer changed. Right, Matt Cameron is
no longer in the band. So who are the other guys?
Those are three I mentioned Jack Irons, Jack Irons.
Speaker 2 (07:15):
And Dave Dave Jack and who am I blinking on
right now?
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Oh my gosh, there's a fifth.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Yes, I'm blinking. I'm blinking.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Well while you think of it. Do you have a
personal favorite? Because I loved I love Dave Cruson. In fact,
he got it. He was in a band with the
guys from Blind Melon by Theory, which I was happy
to see. But do you have a favorite because they're
different styles.
Speaker 2 (07:38):
They're all very different styles and I appreciate all of
them in their own way. Sorry, Matt Chamberlain. There, God,
there's another double name. There's the Dave's the Matts. There
we got mat changing.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
If I gave you enough time, you'd get it.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
He was very very short, short lived for a very
very short period of time. But not that he wasn't insignificant.
But I mean, I Matt Cameron. I have to say
Matt Cameron. I think Matt Cameron and took on a
heroic feat of literally playing in two huge bands at
the same time for a spell, learning all these Pearl
Jam songs and getting right into the mix of their
(08:10):
crazy changing setless every night. And I just feel like
Matt has there's a reason why he was in the
band as their drummer the longest. I think he was
really a guiding force and a calming force for the band,
and I'm so sad he left. He made the announcement
after this book went to production, so it's not in
the book, but I kind of like that it's not
(08:30):
because this book really celebrates all the contributions Matt made
to Pearl Jam.
Speaker 1 (08:33):
There seemed to be nothing personal with his situation, and
I think there's only really one situation I think was Aberziz,
who maybe they just felt like he was starting to
live that rock and roll lifestyle a little too much.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
Yeah, And the rumor is like that Dave really was
asked after the whole ticketmaster fraucus because Day did not
understand why they were doing that, why they were backpedaling
and not doing videos or singles, And so I think
like his personal ethos was like, let's shoot for the
stars and keep this rolling, whereas the other band and
where other band members wanted to back puddle a little.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
Oh that's interesting. I didn't know. I've just read a
book on Coachella and I didn't realize pearl Jam plays
a pretty big role in that. In the early days,
there was a venue they didn't want to play. I
can't remember the specifics, but it had to do with
Pearl Jam not wanting to play at a venue that
was run by a ticketmaster.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Yeah, pearl Jam was I don't believe pearl Jam played Coachella,
but they did, of course play all of ninety two
for La La Pluza, the second year at the festival,
and that's really what changed the game for Pearl Jam
was being on that lineup and all the the younger
fans that came out. It was, you know, an anomaly
that festival. But yeah, pearl Jam was very staunch and
how they felt about Ticketmaster and kaw tawing to working
(09:42):
with them until it kind of became they realized you
kind of had to, sadly because of the you know,
lack of a better word, monopoly in place.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
But yeah, that became a big story. MTV covered it,
remember it well. They tore the red Hot chili peppers,
which gave Pearl Jam heavy exposure, driving radio to pay
attention more and more to them, and then we have
Nirvana's Nevermind hitting number one by January of ninety two.
Projam was part of a sea change and they were,
as you were, ready to ride that wave and also
(10:11):
start to use it for a greater purpose. Expin on
that how Projam used that popularity to influence changes in
causes that they cared about and they still do.
Speaker 2 (10:21):
Yeah. Projam is a very amazing group of very passionate
people who believe in a lot of very important causes,
whether it's women's rights, voting rights, homelessness, the environment, and
they have stood behind that. They have the Vitology Foundation,
which Todata has raised millions of dollars to give to
these causes through their ticket sales. And in the beginning,
as they were growing up and not even a household name,
(10:43):
yet they really put their voices. They use their platform
to elevate those causes, and so they played shows like
Rock for Choice and Rock the Vote. They did the
Drop in the Park show for voting to get people
registered to vote. They played a show too for the
Apache Nation in Arizona to try to save their land,
and they even in twenty seventeen. I believe it was
(11:04):
they had the home shows in Seattle where they raised
a ton of money for the homeless community. They've just
been for me. My whole theory and thesis behind this
book is that Pearl Jam as a band for the people,
and I think they've shown that over a long period
of time, but it really started with taking those causes
on for their fans and the greater community of humans.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
In one part of the book, you write about how
there was a show Pro Jam played on New Year's
Eve of nineteen ninety one at the Kyle Palace in
Daily City, California, and you write, quote a reporter with
Rolling Stone was in the crowd that night and said
the show even eclipsed that of hometown heroes Grateful Dead,
who are playing their long running annual NYE Bash down
the road. Now that's interesting to me. I'm a big
(11:43):
Dead fan, and I always looked at Pearl Jam as
as very similar because they built a fan based much
in the way the Grateful Dead did, changing up the
set list, allowing for fans to record shows. And you
mentioned Eddie thanking the Dead. This is when they used
the stage at Soldier Field in July of ninety five.
(12:05):
Have any of the guys in the band talked at
length about Grateful Dead? Are they fans of the band?
Speaker 2 (12:10):
I did not find out of my research that any
were like super big fans of them. I think there
was a respect for them, and I think they very
much modeled a lot of what they did after the
community that Grateful Dad had built. And I think the
fans also played into that because, like I said, the
caravan to all these different shows, there's an international presence.
They've made their own community of friends as well through
(12:31):
being together at these shows, So that communal aspect is
very much taking off from Grateful Dead.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
Yeah, because their shows, their audiences got bigger and bigger
at a point when radio was not playing as much
of their singles, when they were taking a little more
risks with the music and they weren't as mainstream, and
yet here they were. The audiences got bigger and bigger.
Playing Madison Square Garden like two nights, three nights, It's
just cool. I love it. Eddie Vedder's risk taking on stage,
(13:01):
those were becoming a concern for his bandmates, the roadies
and the venues, you know, for insurance reasons. There were
some moments where people were worried he'd fall to his death.
Especially in the early days. There were like put up
and tear down fast stage sets, right.
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Yeah, oh yeah, And it's crazy, like you look at
something like the most notorious maybe it was that Pink
Pop in the Netherlands, when he's like on those rafters
and he's on the crane for the camera, It's like,
what was this man thinking? But I think it was
just adrenaline at the time. But I can't imagine all
the people his bandmates being like, please don't die right now,
and you know Lallapalooza when they Yeah, they had like
(13:38):
tear up, tear down structures in some of these parks
and it was a huge concern of how they knew
he was going to do this. But hopefully, you know,
fingers crossed he survives.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
There was a theft in Sweden, a callous theft in
Sweden that you talk about in the book, and this
is in June of nineteen ninety two. This was a
shift changing moment. What happened and how did that affect Eddie?
Speaker 2 (14:00):
Yeah, his like the lyrics were still, his info was still,
and I think at this point it was just Eddie
Vetter was too much in the forefront, and he became
the poster child for this band in a celebrity in
so many ways, and he had stalkers, and I think
it was you know that when he started saying enough
is enough and was back peddling. He didn't want to
do any of these things that would raise his exposure
(14:20):
or have these labels put on him. That he wasn't
asking for this voice of a generation all the pressure
that came with it. And so that's when you saw
Eddie kind of back pedal and he was writing in
his own vans and doing the radio tour when he
was on en route with Pearl Jam. He wanted to
get back to the sort of punk roots that he
grew up in. He didn't he it was a real
about face to the celebrity paparazzi nature of what happened.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
That's around the time he wore a mask as well.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Yeah, no helmet. He had an army helmet from all time. Yeah,
he wore an army helmet. And I think that was
literally like maybe a tongue in cheek joke, but who knows.
I mean, I think honestly he was very concerned about
his life, you know, the thing things could happen. I mean,
he had stalkers.
Speaker 1 (15:04):
Hey guys, we'll get back to the show, but first
I want to tell you about an exclusive deal for
Booked on Rock. Listeners get fifteen percent off any purchase
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(15:27):
glory dot com. Make sure to use the promo code.
Booked on Rock. Also find a link in this episode
show notes, or just go to Booked on Rock dot
com and click on my deals. Pearl Jim Live thirty
five years of legendary music and revolutionary shows. Let's get
into the ticketmasters story a little bit more. This was
brewing for a few years, dating back to ninety two,
(15:48):
but it was during the Vitology tour around March of
ninety four when it reached ahead. What was their issue
and how did that all play out?
Speaker 2 (15:55):
Ultimately, Yeah, there were things that were happening where they
were trying to do like free shows drop in the
Park where it was really just a platform to get
people to register to vote, and they it was a complimentary,
you know ticket, a comp ticket, and Ticketmaster was adding
fees onto this for a free show, and that really
pissed off Pearl Jam because they didn't want there to
be you know, these tacked on things and in corporate natures.
(16:16):
Ticketmaster was printing like AT and T and stuff on
the tickets that's very antithetical to who Pearl Jam is,
and so they didn't want to do this anymore, and
they didn't They weren't agreeing with the fees that Ticketmaster
was tacking on that we all know of today, which
can be fifty percent of more of your just your
ticket price. Knowing how fans they were young and they
(16:36):
remembered how it was to want to go see shows
and not have a lot of money, they really were
trying to stand up for their fan base because they
didn't want there to be a roadblock for people to
come see their live shows. This is a band who
literally formed in order to play live, so it was
very important to them to cultivate that community that could
still come out and see them.
Speaker 1 (16:53):
Was a long term effect that that had. You think beneficial, Yeah,
I think they make an impact.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Sadly no, because as you can see, Taylor Swift had
to try to do the same thing thirty years later,
and we're still dealing with, you know, for lack of
a better word, a monopoly. There's not a lot of
options in the ticketing space for bands. Many bands have
spoken out, like the Cure talks about the fees that
they try to knock down. You know, we have this
whole thing now with the UH where they're sorry I'm
(17:24):
blinking on the word, but they're.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Charger.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Yeah, not the surcharge. But when they have like the
the markets where they know there's going to be a
higher demand, they raise the pride. They hijacket those markets. Right,
They're doing like a lot of practices that really are
sketchy and that have not changed. I give pro Drum
a lot of credit for trying to change the structure,
but it was a David and Goliath fight and I think,
you know, they went to Congress to try to speak
about this. But frankly, I'm shocked that they survived all
(17:51):
of that because for a band that was still kind
of in their infancy to take on a corporation and
to bucket and try to do their own planning of
a tour could have been the kiss of death.
Speaker 1 (18:01):
Huge risk. April eighth, nineteen ninety four, Pearl Jam played
at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia, and that was
the day that Kurt Cobain died. The press had fans
wondering if Eddie and Kirk got along. Were they enemies.
I don't think they ever were. There was a mutual
respect there, but the media it's kind of played that up.
Speaker 2 (18:20):
They weren't enemies, and in fact, there's some lovely footage
that was seen for the first time in the Pearl
Jam twenty documentary of them being at the MTV Awards
where they're embracing backstage. I think things were really taken
out of context and the media created this drama, and
I think if there was any kind of discord, it's
the fact that, you know, Nirvana was so punk rock
(18:42):
and their ethos and they were like, we don't want
to be mainstream. They hated any idea of that, and
Pearl Jam, no fault of their own, kind of got
thrown into it, and so there was that kind of
ruffling of ideologies. But I think they both had the
same idea. They didn't they didn't want to be the
face or their voice of a generation like that was
tagged on them, but they just got thrown into it.
(19:03):
But no, I think that they were friendly.
Speaker 1 (19:05):
What did he say that night at that show about Kurt?
Speaker 2 (19:09):
It was heartfelt and if I remember, it's to the
effect of, like, we wouldn't be here without Kurt, like
he was. He had such an impact. You know, Pearl
Jam wrestled with the idea of should they go on
that night? In fact, they were at the White House
because that show was in Fairfax. They were very close
to the White House. Bill Clinton had them come in
and he wanted to know, there's a great photo of
Bill Clinton at the band. He wanted to know, you know,
(19:31):
should I be going and making a national address on
TV to kind of quell a lot of the feelings
that this young generation kind of had about losing Kurt,
and Pearl Jam persuaded him from doing so.
Speaker 1 (19:41):
Actually, according to the book, Pearl Jam has covered Neil
Young's Rocket in the Free World nearly three hundred and
fifty times, talk about his influence on the band and
why they regard him as a mentor. They lovingly referred
to him as Uncle Neil.
Speaker 2 (19:54):
They sure do. In fact, you know, the law is
that their their name, the Jam part of their name
comes from really seeing Neil Young at a date that
they signed their contract with Epic. They went to go
see Neil at a New York show and that became
part of their name. He was Uncle Neil to them.
And I think Neil Young came in at very pivotal
moments when Pearl Jam needed a mentor, a northern, a
(20:14):
north star like they called him. And I think, you know,
if you talk about nonconformity, Neil Young had done that
for years and he was the voice of reason for
them and kept them motivated to keep on the path
that they were on. When Eddie Vetter was sick at
that one day, I believe in San Francisco, and Neil
had to kind of come in and cover for them.
He like quote unquote rescued them at several points throughout
(20:36):
the course of their career, and he also showed them
the ways that you can experiment with your music while
still keeping your persona intact. Yeah, he's been a real
guiding force for Pearl Jam this entire time.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
Very important moment in Pearl Jam Live History takes place
on September thirteenth of nineteen ninety five. We talked about
their similarity to The Grateful Dead allowing fans to record.
This is when the band announced taping of shows is permitted.
How important of a moment is that in terms of
the band's live legacy.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Oh my gosh, so important because you think about today.
If you go to shows where you want to everyone
has their phones out. They want to capture the moment,
they want to feel it, they want to remember how
it felt being there. And Pearl Jim allowing people to
do bootlegs was unheard of. I mean, you had people
like Bob Dylan trying to you know, and other bands
who were like Adam in Ley against it when CBS
Records try to put out the live recordings of Bob
(21:28):
and he was trying to go after them. So you know,
Pearl Jim really changed the guard with allowing it at
their shows and only allowing it, but they're like, you
want to give you better qualities. They ended up recording
them themselves, and I think you know, for one, it
was an olive branch to fans, but for two, it's
created this incredible archive. They have like hundreds of bootlegs
at this point, so you can tap back into a
show you went to, one you've heard about and feel
(21:49):
like you were there.
Speaker 1 (21:50):
Going back again now to another topic that I just
I briefly mentioned, but as we get into the second
half of the nineties, radio is not embracing them as much.
The band is taking some chances. Nineteen ninety six is
no code confuse the fans a little bit, but the
band was testing their fans' loyalty and they proved that
(22:14):
they were going to follow the band no matter what
they were going to try to do, right. That was
a huge I think that was a pivotal moment as well.
That's when they realized we've got fans that are going
to be with us here.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
Yeah, and it came in a really interesting time because
it was right after the whole ticket Master to backle
So they have been kind of testing fans willingness to
stick with them this entire few year span. But yeah,
pri Jams Again, it's remarkable to me that they have
stayed as relevant and active for these entire thirty five
years because there were big dips in their career that
could have really just killed the band or killed off
(22:46):
their fan base because they would have migrated to something else.
So I think it's a testament to their character and
I think by the fact that they stayed true to
themselves and authentic, it made them want to continue the
band as well.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
Great albums too, It's just that they weren't They weren't
like they weren't that they didn't have the songs that
were radio friendly. But thinking of what's the one with Lovebo.
Speaker 2 (23:06):
Captain, Yeah, right, act.
Speaker 1 (23:10):
Yes, right at I think it was right at all.
Great stuff.
Speaker 2 (23:14):
I mean, I mean such different normal boarding, yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:17):
The other one. Yeah. Let's get to the fans so more,
what is the ten Club? When did it form and
what is the status of it today?
Speaker 2 (23:27):
Kind Of from the beginning, it took over for a
Mother Love Bone fan club, and it morphed into the
ten Club once they had you know, time come out,
and right away they were issuing really special collectible items,
whether it was an unreleased single for Christmas or it was,
you know, anything that they would send fans that they
could collect, and they were adding to this idea of
having like these physical products in an era where we
(23:49):
don't have those anymore. And Pearl Jump stopped the physical
releases at one point, but they still deliver. That club
is very active today when fan clubs aren't really around anymore.
I think Metallica has one, but it's not a model
that truly exists, in large part because you know, social
media has taken over that community aspect in many ways.
But Ticketmaster was the front lines for fans. It was
(24:10):
where you could and still can, get first access to tickets.
It's where you get updates from the band that they're
not sharing elsewhere. It's a real exclusive community and there's
a specialness to it, and I think by them establishing
that and carrying it on for thirty five years, it's
really edified that fan base.
Speaker 1 (24:27):
So Mempik shows in the two thousands, and there's one
noted in the book July eleventh, two thousand and three
in Boston. This is at the Tweeter Center known as
the forty five Song Boston Marathon. It's a record breaker, right, yeah,
in terms of number of songs, second and.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Long set, but longest or sorry as most songs. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:46):
Now, the one that's the longest in length is Philadelphia
October nine. Is that three and a half hours?
Speaker 2 (24:52):
I thought it was Soldier Field, but I could be
wrong on that.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
Wow, I think it was.
Speaker 2 (24:55):
A lot one too.
Speaker 1 (24:56):
Yeah, they essentially change the set list pretty drastically each night.
I mean they switch out quite a few. There are
songs that they'll always include, I think, but.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
Yeah, they're always going to include some from ten. Of
course that's their like benchmark album. But they do. They
change it every night, and it's not even like close
to the night before, but it's a few different. It's
like a drastically different set list. I've seen them many
times on multiple nights here in Chicago or when I
was at PJ twenty and it's really interesting to me
how they curate that. And they know, like a lot
(25:30):
of fans do end up coming from multiple nights, and
so they want to make it very unique every single time.
Speaker 1 (25:35):
I love that. I love that. Easier it's an art
easier said than done, because you have to they have
to be prepared to know every single song in the catalog.
You know, you got to note back and forth. Were
you at the Wrigley Field show in twenty thirteen when
they played until two am? I sure was, Oh you
were there?
Speaker 2 (25:53):
There was?
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Yeah, tell us about this? Why did it go until
two am. It was a delay.
Speaker 2 (25:59):
There was a rain to li fittingly enough at Wrigley
Fields where they got seven songs in and then they
had to tell people go into the concourse. We have
to evacuate, you know, because it was an open field
and a rooftop there, and so we all had to
go into the concourse. But they promised they would be back,
and so we were all in the concourse. I thought
I was going to die that night. It was, you know,
Wrigley Field there, it's an older ballpark, so there wasn't
(26:20):
like a lot of room to move where I was at.
They were running out of water. I was freaking out,
like should I leave? I was having a panic attack.
A but I'll be honest, but I'm like, I'm gonna
stay because I know this band isn't there none of
their words, and they are going to come back, And
sure enough they did. I actually chatted with the team
at Wrigley Field this year because they celebrated twenty years
(26:41):
of concerts, and we talked a bit about how the
band was able to do that. Because Wrigley is in
a neighborhood, there's a very very strict curfew but they
were able to get the city to waive that without
having any penalties, and it was one of the most
mythological shows I've ever seen there.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Do you remember how much of the audience stuck around which.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Part of it? Yeah? I would say like ninety percent
was still there.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
The loyal Pearl Jam fans. Oh yeah, And we'll finish
with this. So many great Pearl Jam moments from those
who saw Perojam live in the book, which is really cool.
Let's finish with your personal Pearl Jam moment. Maybe you
just told me what it is the Wrigley Show in
twenty thirteen, But is there a show that stands out
for you as the best?
Speaker 2 (27:20):
Yeah, it's actually not the Wrigley Show, as much as
that was incredible, it was PJ twenty, the twentieth anniversary
weekend in Alpine Valley. And the reason behind that is
because I talk a bit about this in the book,
But I as a teen growing up was an alt
rock radio. I gleaned a Pearl Jam pretty early, and
I love the first three albums, Ten Versus and Vitology,
(27:42):
but I dropped off a bit with no code in
thereafter because I think at my that time, my year,
wasn't mature enough to understand same thing. Yeah, I mean
it was like they had such a formula for these
great rock bangers and I just wasn't getting it, and
so they kind of dropped off for me until I
got this assignment to cover Peach and it brought me
(28:02):
right back in. It was one of the most emotional
communal shows I've ever been to in my life, seeing
people from all over the world congregate, having Chris Cornell
come out doing Mother Lovebone Temple the Dog. That show
to this day sits in my top five list for sure.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
There You Go. Yield is another great album. Yeah I
love Yield. Yeah Yeah. Pearl GM Live thirty five years
of legendary music and revolutionary shows out now. Find it
wherever books are sold, look for at your nearest independent bookstore.
You can find your nearest independent bookstore at bookdown rock
dot com and Selena. Where can people find you online?
Speaker 2 (28:37):
I'm everywhere. I'm on Facebook, an x, and Instagram. My
handle is just my name and I would love to
hear from people. I've been running a few contests on
my socials as well.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
So I saw it, I saw it, Yes, Yes, I
follow you. I think on Instagram and maybe Nex too.
Yeah yeah, cool all right, Selena Figaci, thank you again
for coming on and look forward to having you back
on again in the future.
Speaker 2 (28:56):
Thank you so much for having me. That's it. It's
in the box.
Speaker 1 (29:07):
H
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