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lellopj.
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intervista postata sul message pit, però come è scritto in fondo non si sa quale sia la fonte...
Jeff Interview: US dates to follow Europe tour
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CHARLIE GRAY from sat down with Pearl Jam bassist JEFF AMENT for a chat about his life, his music, and why his band is stronger than ever.
CG: Jeff, thanks for taking time to talk to me. I’m a long-time Pearl Jam fan, I remember seeing you in New York way back in 1994 at the Paramount after I won some tickets through the radio. That’s the only way an Average Joe could get them, because so many were distributed to the fanclub. Things have obviously changed since then – what can you remember about those days: musically, personally?
JA: No problems, Charlie. Well first off, I can remember the Paramount show – one of the few shows from that time that I can actually remember. Generally speaking I can remember parts of those shows, but never specifics… and I can guarantee you that Mike and Ed will tell you that the 1993-1994 shows don’t even register any more with them personally, they had a lot going on. That show was so intense. I remember we cut short the tour because we were just totally spent. I think we had to cancel some dates or something – or maybe that was the next tour? (laughs) I guess my memory isn’t that good! I can just remember what an intense time it was. We hit every song so hard.
CG: It’s a much more different feel these days at your shows, obviously. The songs are just as intense but there is a feeling of openness and happiness about what you do.
JA: That’s right, and it isn’t as if we weren’t happy (in 1994). We were very satisfied musically, we had achieved so much in so little time, we were living the dream. But we weren’t happy with the machine that we were contributing to, and even becoming the machine ourselves. There were so many different feelings about it… the Paramount show was the night after we did, I think, Saturday Night Live. And it was right after Kurt had passed, and we had to do this ridiculously drawn out rehearsal for it, and Ed was just pissed. It was not a good time for us. We didn’t want to do a fucking television special at that time. We just decided that was it, and we cut the tour short, had some time off, and went back in to finish of the album (Vitalogy).
CG: It was around this time, too, that you let Dave (Abbruzzese, drummer) go.
JA: Yeah, and that was pretty messy, too. It’s like a break up of sorts. I mean, he was disappointed more than angry, and there were just differences that weren’t going to be fixed, some personality clashes. Dave was great for us, he was seasoned and he could play all night, but we needed a change. And we got Mr Jack Irons, who had a massive influence on Pearl Jam’s course from that messy period of Vitalogy.
CG: People have said that Jack gave the band a ‘father figure’, would you agree with that?
JA: Well, I know that if Jack heard that he would be fucking pissed! (laughs) No, yeah, in a way he was. I mean, Neil Young wanted to work with us too, at that point, so he was more of a father figure. Jack was more like the older brother who kept you on the straightened arrow. It isn’t rash to say that those two (Young and Irons) potentially saved us from implosion.
CG: Your work with Neil Young was obviously a high point?
JA: The highest point. Although, playing with Robert Plant and his band a few years ago for Hurricane Relief was damn good. And playing with guys like Bono and The Edge for a benefit in Melbourne (Australia) last year. Those are the things you work for. It’s just the ultimate reward, and it is benefiting others.
CG: You’ve always been ones to give. You play endless numbers of benefits.
JA: It’s as simple as giving back to the community. We’ve been so lucky to be where we are today. Some people aren’t as lucky. I could easily – too easily – be a washed-up art school graduate who failed at music. And we’re all the same. We all came from somewhere. Plus, it feels damn good to help out people in need. Damn good. And we meet so many awesome people at the benefit shows, and every show for that matter, because a percentage of our ticket sales to every show is given to a local charity or cause in that particular city. Like I said before, about remembering the old days… Ed is the kind of guy who will remember the faces that he sees and the people that he meets. The conversations that he has, you know. He may not remember the songs we did, or the cities and venues, but he remembers the people, for sure.
CG: Many observers often note that, since the last tour, Pearl Jam is ‘back’, when you never even left the music scene. Why might people say that, do you think?
JA: (Laughs) It’s amazing what a few interviews and videos will do for an album! No, I think it’s partly that, and it’s also that we’re better than we were during those middle periods. We’ve always had our close fan base, but we pretty much did disappear for a while there. And then the tour for Riot Act (2003) was just a total rebirth for us. The hesitancy we may have shown in the tours before that (1998, 2000) were for very, very valid reasons.
CG: Roskilde being one?
JA: Roskilde being the main reason, yeah. It’s still hard to talk about, but what has come from that tragedy is an amazing sense of family between the band, our families, the crew, our fans. Getting through that period was so powerful. And it will never leave us. Never leave us. I mean, it’s taken 6 years for us to be able to play a festival again. The growth that occurred in that time was huge, and I think that has had an impact on how we are as people, how excited we are about writing, and our live shows are so much fun these days. We can’t stop touring (laughs).
CG: Yeah, I must say, your touring schedule over the past 4 or so years hasn’t left much time off! No chance of burning out again? (laughs).
JA: Not a chance. We’re in control now. And we’re enjoying it. Really enjoying the moment. We’re being sensible, but not looking too far ahead. I mean, we have another European tour coming up soon, with some shows in the States after that, and we’ll take a bit of time off after that I think. The last few years we haven’t had much time off leading up to Christmas, which is a bit of a bummer, so we’ll be at home for this one.
CG: Staying on the tour, a lot of fans from the South are getting frustrated that you aren’t playing shows there, while the Tri-State area consistently gets shows. Is this a deliberate thing?
JA: Well, first off, we know we have a massive fan base in the South. We don’t intend to ignore them. The main difference between the Riot Act tour and the last tour was time. Because (in 2006) we wanted to tour Europe, as well as play some shows with Tom Petty, plus a month in Australia and Hawaii, we only had time for a handful of shows in the States, compared to previous tours. For the Riot Act tour we played quite a few shows in the South, too. I understand the disappointment, but as I said, we’re playing some shows at home after Europe so keep your ears and eyes open.
CG: Can you shed any more light on the tour, any specifics?
JA: I’ve probably told you too much already, man! (laughs) No, just kidding (laughs) All I know is we have Europe coming up in June, some festivals there as well as a few other shows. Copenhagen is going to be very special, obviously, and we have some cool stuff planned for the show in London…
CG: At Wembley, yeah?
JA: Yeah, Wembley, which is always awesome to play. We’ll head home after that tour and have a break, then do some shows and maybe some recording, depending on how we feel. We might have a few festivals in the South Pacific after that too, but we’ll see how we go. It will be pretty full-on, I guess, but we’re enjoying it. A lot in the pipeline.
CG: OK, well, Mr Jeff Ament, thanks for your time.
JA: My pleasure, Charlie
NOTE: This was posted on another music forum, without a link, so dont bother asking for a source.
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mas.
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"Copenhagen is going to be very special, obviously, and we have some cool stuff planned for the show in London…" .