News – January/June 2009

German music magazine Visions (July 2009 issue – scans here, thanks to skyvalley@PJ’s Message Pit) published a tracklist of “Backspacer”, the new Pearl Jam album due out on September 18, 2009. Here’s the tracklist (not yet confirmed by Ten Club) of the record, whose length is about 36 minutes, according to the review on the magazine:

01 See My Friend
02 Got Some
03 The Fixer
04 Johnny Guitar
05 Just Breathe
06 Amongst The Waves
07 Unthought Known
08 Supersonic
09 Speed Of Sound
10 Force Of Nature
11 The End

Interesting notes: “Got Some” was performed at ‘The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien’ on June 1st, 2009; “The Fixer” is the song that the band taped at the end of May at The Showbox in Seattle for the Target ad; “Unthought Known” is a song written by Vedder and presented during his solo tour last year, while “The End” and “Speed of souns” are two other songs recently performed by the singer during his current US solo tour. Moreover, it is not 100% confirmed yet but a few websites (like this one ) list “The Fixer” as the first single from “Backspacer” with a release date scheduled for July 20-21.

According to the official Austin City Limits blog, the day before Pearl Jam headline the Austin City Limits Music Festival (their performance is set for October 4, 2009), the band will tape an episode of the namesake TV show. Vedder and company will perform for about an hour before an audience of just over 300 people. It is still to be announced when the episode will be broadcast on television by PBS.

In conclusion, Flight To Mars (UFO cover band featuring Mike McCready) will perform with Kristen Ward on July 23 at Neumo’s in Seattle. Ticket info available at this link.

Pearl Jam’s official website has announced that Gomez will open Pearl Jam’s upcoming European dates in Rotterdam (8/13), Berlin (8/15), Manchester (8/17) and London (8/18). For more information on this great British rock band, check their official site at this link: http://www.gomeztheband.com or visit their MySpace page (link).

According to some rumors circulating on the Web, Pearl Jam played a surprise gig at the Showbox in Seattle on May 28 to shoot a video for the first single from their upcoming new album. The performance was filmed by an old acquaintance of the band, director Cameron Crowe. The song (whose title is still unknown) has been tried a dozen time in front of an audience of about 300 extras, hired to be in the crowd for the taping, a large number of whom were reportedly laid-off workers from the area. The performance ended with a cover of Dead Boys’ “Sonic Reducer” and an unnamed (likely new) slow jam.

After months of lobbying, Crohn’s disease sufferer Mike McCready recently saw Washington state Governor Chris Gregoire sign a bill into law that will allow residents suffering from inflammatory bowel diseases to legally use businesses’ private restrooms. The law will come into effect on July 26 (more info here).

Mike McCready & Jeff Ament have also contributed their sports lists and memories to “The Great Book of Seattle Sports Lists” — a new book penned by local Seattle sports personalities Art Thiel, Steve Rudman and Pearl Jam fan and friend, Mike Gastineau.

On June 15, the Gaslight Anthem will re-release their single “The’59 Sound” (originally published last year) following the recent success of the New Jersey rock band and anticipating their upcoming Euro tour. As one of the B-sides, the 7” vinyl single features a cover of “State of Love and Trust” written in 1992 by Pearl Jam and taken from a recent performance of the Gaslight Anthem at Webster Hall in New York.

Rolling Stone reports that Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament was the victim of a violent robbery outside Southern Tracks Recording studios in Atlanta, where the band is recording their ninth studio album with producer Brendan O’Brien.

According to a police report, Ament and a band employee pulled up to the rear of the studio on the afternoon of April 27th when three assailants brandishing knives emerged from the woods wearing black masks, gloves and pants. The robbers smashed the windows of a rented Jeep and grabbed a BlackBerry before demanding more money. In total, the pair were robbed of $3,000 in cash and $4,320 worth of goods. The bassist was chased and knocked to the ground, sustaining a head laceration which was treated by EMS. The attackers — who also stole Ament’s passport — escaped into a waiting black Nissan Maxima. The incident was captured on a surveillance camera (see above), but no arrests have been made. Pearl Jam declined to comment on the incident..

Pearl Jam’s official website, MTV Games and Harmonix have officially announced that 40 Pearl Jam live songs will be chosen to be part of a forthcoming “Rock Band” project dedicated to the Seattle band, scheduled for release by the end of 2010. The developers want the fans to select the best live performances of the band directly through the Rhapsody system, available at this link.

Two Feet Thick reports that Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready has financed the new EP by Scribes, a Seattle rapper. McCready recently made an appearance on Kiswire Radio in Seattle to play a cover of Rolling Stones’s classic “Wild Horses” together with Loaded’s Duff McKagan (Guns N’Roses). A video of the exhibition is available at this link.

Members of Pearl Jam’s official fan club are receiving the 2008 annual holiday single. This year’s vinyl features the new song “Santa Cruz” played full band by Pearl Jam and “Golden State”, a cover by John Doe, performed by Ed Vedder with Corin Tucker (Sleater-Kinney). Interesting note: the first song had been played by Ed Vedder alone during his solo tour last year, while “Golden State” was featured on a self-titled EP by John Doe, released in 2008. The Ten Club single features a new, acoustic version of this song.

The band’s website has announced that Pearl Jam have added a second date in Chicago, scheduled for August 24 at the United Center.

According to some rumors that have been circulating around the web lately, Pearl Jam could play a few dates in Europe this year. As reported by a fan on the band’s official forum, Jeff Ament spoke on Radio 103.3 The Trail of Missoula (Montana) on April 17 and revealed that the band is planning a 2009 tour that includes “West (U.S.), South (U.S.) and some dates in Europe. ” Jeff has also said that the band will know by May 1st the album release date and that it is “halfway done”. Ament has also listed his favorite venues: The Gorge, Washington Grizzly Stadium (Missoula, Montana) and the Arena in Verona – the bass player said it was spectacular and that he hopes it doesn’t rain “next time”.

While it is basically confirmed that Pearl Jam will headline the Austin City Limits Festival (Texas) on October 4, 2009 (the lineup will officially be announced on April 28, but yesterday a nice cartoon – later removed, see it above- appeared on the festival’s homepage, hinting at Pearl Jam as one of the headliners), Radio Eins in Berlin has repeatedly mentioned a possible Pearl Jam show in Germany’s capital this summer, which would take place in the outdoor venue Wuhlheide. Another rumor has surfaced, not so unlikely after Jeff’s recent statements… according to local newspaper Il Giornale di Reggio, an Italian promoter is in contact with FestaReggio, the annual entertainment festival organized by the Italian Democratic Party, which takes place in late August/early September in the outdoor venue Campovolo in Reggio Emilia (Northern Italy). The festival organisers are in contact with various artists, including Pearl Jam, which are considered as ‘the most probable ones’ by the newspaper. If confirmed, this would be amazing for all Italian fans (and especially for this site, which is based in Reggio Emilia!). We will keep you updated as soon as we know something more. In the meantime, we keep our fingers crossed…

Thanks to TwoFeetThick, PJ’s board & Bugs ML.

To coincide with Pearl Jam’s previously announced reissue of their debut album, Ten, on March 24, 2009, Sony Music has launched an interactive game (available online at the following link: www.pearljamtengame.com) and released a promotional video of the band (link). Matt Cameron will also play Rock Band 2 with Xbox LIVE Gold members on March 27 (more info here). Also, to commemorate the re-issue of Ten, Volcom released a limited edition Pearl Jam/Volcom t-shirt and a 7” vinyl featuring live versions of “Even Flow” and “Porch”, taken from their 2005/ 2006 tour. This special package is available at this link.

The Daily Record recently published an interesting Q&A interview with Pearl Jam. They revealed that Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis has had the idea to do a 20 year anniversary retrospective movie and that he’s been on board with film director Cameron Crowe for the last few years. In the same interview Jeff Ament said that the band is planning to return to Europe over the next 18 months. To read the full interview, click here.

Green River announced on their MySpace that they’re going to be teaming up with The Melvins for at least two shows for the Melvins’ 25th anniversary. Two dates set for May 22nd and 23rd at the Showbox Market, with a possible third show.

Ed Vedder has published a letter on the band’s official website (link) expressing worry about the current global economic situation and focusing his attention on his friend, cartoonist Tom Tomorrow (creator of the strip This Modern World), who recently found himself unemployed.

Finally, the Pearl Jam frontman phoned the Kings Of Leon to congratulate them for the great success they recently achieved. “He was just telling us how proud he was of us,” says Caleb, Kings Of Leon lead singer, “and he said, ‘Now you guys are playing on the same stages that we were playing on together’ – it was amazing.”

In other news, Best Buy’s website released a promo video in which you can see the contents of the ‘Ten’ reissue Super Deluxe Edition (attention! **SPOILER ALERT** Do not watch if you don’t want to know):

In conclusion , Mike McCready appears on Dierks Bentley’s latest album, “Feel That Fire” , playing the guitar on the track “Life On The Run.”

Billboard reports that EverGreen Copyrights (which controls rights of dead artists including folk singer Nick Drake) has signed a deal with Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records label to release a Nick Drake tribute album, featuring covers by Jack Johnson, Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters), Norah Jones, late actor Heath Ledger and Pearl Jam’s Ed Vedder, who is going to revisit one of the many beautiful songs written decades ago by the late English singer-songwriter. The project is scheduled to be released later this year.

Pearl Jam’s singer, who recently appeared at a Knitters show (click here for more information) to celebrate the settlement at the White House of the new president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, has expressed his feelings related to the event: “Relief, exhiliration, joy; at least we are going to be able to let go of some of the anger,” he said from his Seattle home. “Obama seems to be a true gift. Ten minutes after he was elected, I felt the goodwill on the planet double. It seems part of the enormous job he faces was to create hope in people and around the world. The night he was elected, I got calls from around the world. It was incredibly moving.” (Source: PJBoard)

A few weeks ago, Vedder has sent a new song to Neil Finn (Crowded House), who in these days (along with an all star band including members of Radiohead, Wilco and Smiths) is recording a new album linked to the project ‘7 Worlds Collide’, the series of concerts that were held back in 2001 (which saw the participation of Vedder) and that led to the publication of a live CD and a DVD titled ‘7 Worlds Collide’. Neil Finn said, friendly, that Vedder could not be present at the new sessions and concerts (which were held at the beginning of January) because he was busy taking care of two children: one, human, the new baby he recently had with his partner Jill McCormick, and another one, the new Pearl Jam album (Source: 3 News)

Paul McCartney, Donovan, Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow, Paul Horn, Moby and more will perform at the World Harmony Concert, a global benefit concert that will be held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Saturday, April 4, 2009, in support of the David Lynch Foundation’s international initiative to teach one million children the Transcendental Meditation technique. Details on how to order tickets before they go on sale to the public can be found at the David Lynch Foundation website.

Stone Gossard’s wife, Liz Weber, whose mother suffers from Huntington Disease, is going to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro with a group of people as a fundraiser to help fight hereditary diseases, starting February 6th. Check out their site www.klimbforthekure.com, not only are Pearl Jam listed as a sponsor, but there are some pics of Stone at fundraisers there as well. They hope to raise a million dollars U.S., but are only up to $150,000. (Thanks to PJLostDog).