The frontman tells Rolling Stone the band is in full transition, already putting in the work and looking ahead.
Matt Cameron left Pearl Jam in July after 27 years. That’s a long run, starting in 1998 and stretching all the way through Dark Matter, the band’s latest studio release. With that, the most stable and longest-standing era in their history comes to an end. This isn’t just a lineup tweak. It’s the close of a nearly three-decade balance that defined the band’s core.
Breaking the silence is Eddie Vedder, speaking over Zoom with Rolling Stone. While the conversation mainly centers on his documentary Matter of Time, Vedder doesn’t dodge the Pearl Jam question. He says, “The quote was, I think, ‘Pearl Jam is in between eras at the moment.’” Then he adds, “And I thought that was actually pretty concise.“
That’s not spin. That’s awareness. The band knows exactly where it stands — right in the middle of something shifting.
When asked whether they’ve already found a new drummer, Vedder keeps it tight. “If I were to say anything, I think we’d wanna have a band discussion about what we’d wanna say or who would be the messenger or whatever.” No leaks. No solo statements. Whatever comes next will come from the whole band, not just one voice.
The real takeaway, though, is what’s happening right now. Vedder makes it clear they’re not sitting around. “We’re in the lab, we’re woodshedding, excited.” Then he doubles down: “It’s cool to think of change. As much as we’d like to have done it the way we did it forever — and we’ll still be able to do that thing — I think we’re all just excited for the future.“
There’s no nostalgia trap here. No clinging to the past. They know they can still do what they’ve always done. The difference is, they don’t want to stay frozen there.
Cameron’s arrival in the late Nineties, after the initial breakup of Soundgarden, reshaped Pearl Jam’s rhythmic backbone for decades. His groove, power, and feel became part of the band’s DNA. Now that chapter closes, and a new space opens up. A different drummer means different dynamics. A new pocket. A new way songs breathe in the room. In Pearl Jam, drums aren’t background noise. They’re structural. Emotional. Foundational.
Cameron confirms he’s still an active musician and is working on new Soundgarden material using vocals recorded by Chris Cornell before his passing. Meanwhile, Pearl Jam’s focus is clear. They’re rehearsing. Exploring. Figuring out what this next phase feels like.
Being “in between eras” doesn’t mean stalled out. It means a choice is being made. And if Vedder’s tone says anything, it’s this — the next chapter isn’t automatic. It’s intentional. And they’re fired up about where it’s headed.
Born in Reggio Emilia in 1980. He created pearljamonline.it in 2001 and wrote the first edition of “Pearl Jam Evolution” in 2009 along with his wife Daria. Since 2022, he is behind 2 podcasts: “Pearl Jam dalla A alla Z” and “Fuori Orario Not Another Podcast”. He has collaborated with Barracuda Style, HvsR, Rolling Stone, Rockol and Il Fatto Quotidiano. He continues relentlessly to try to find “beautiful melodies that say terrible things”.
Favorite song: Present Tense
Favorite album: No Code
Favorite bands/artists other than PJ: Tom Waits, Soundgarden, Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, IDLES, Fontaines D.C., Mark Lanegan, R.E.M., Radiohead, Cat Power, Dead Kennedys