In his book Sonic Life, Thurston Moore — guitarist, singer, and co-founder of Sonic Youth — gives us an intimate and passionate look at one of the most intense chapters of his career: the 2000 tour with Pearl Jam.
Moore recalls how, back in 2000, Pearl Jam — already one of the biggest rock bands on the planet — invited Sonic Youth to hit the road with them for a month of shows across the U.S. that October. The invite most likely came straight from Eddie Vedder, the band’s charismatic frontman and longtime friend, who’d caught Sonic Youth live plenty of times, often hanging with his Mudhoney crew.
Through the pages, Thurston paints a raw and human portrait of Vedder: a genuine, curious, and kind dude who had a gift for connecting with young people — whether they were burned out or still clinging to some hope. Moore writes that Eddie always carried this subtle sense of discomfort with authority and the whole “rock star” scene. He had a regular-guy vibe mixed with a natural feminism and this zen-punk surfer energy that made him a real-deal role model for a generation raised on greed and self-interest.
But the tour came under the shadow of tragedy. Just weeks earlier, at Denmark’s Roskilde Festival, nine fans were crushed to death in the crowd during a Pearl Jam set. Shaken to the core, the band canceled the rest of their tour — including the U.S. dates with Sonic Youth — and took time to process the grief. Moore describes the band’s strength and courage in getting back onstage despite the heavy scars.
On opening night in Virginia Beach, the crowd welcomed the band with a massive, respectful round of applause, fully aware of what they’d been through. Backstage, the crew was holding its breath — when they saw the band hit their stride, everyone let out a big sigh of relief. It was game on.
During the tour, Moore says Eddie formed a sweet bond with Coco, Thurston’s six-year-old daughter. During soundchecks, Eddie and Coco would hang out, draw, read, and just goof around — building a genuine, heartwarming friendship that captured the human side of that time on the road.
Sonic Life is available now at bookstores and online.
Big shoutout to Armando Buonocore.
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., The Murder Capital, Dead Kennedys, Mark Lanegan, Cat Power, R.E.M.