The early nineties marked a revolution in popular culture. When Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video first aired on MTV, the world as a whole began to shift. The eighties hair metal bands that occupied the charts and radio for so long, had now found themselves with only a fraction of the fan base. As "Grunge" and the Seattle scene became more popular, Pearl Jam was catapulted into the mainstream. Almost twenty years later, they are still making records and touring.
Pearl Jam was partially created from the ashes of another Seattle band, called Mother Love Bone. Stone Gossard (guitar) and Jeff Ament (bass guitar) were long time friends and band mates. After Mother Love Bone's lead singer (Andy Wood) died of a drug overdose, Gossard and Ament were determined to start a new band with a new feel. They called in another long time friend named Mike McCready (lead guitar) to round off their string section.
Now searching for a drummer and a vocalist, the three boys started spreading the word in hopes of finding new band mates. They passed a demo tape along to Jack Irons (former drummer for Red Hot Chili Peppers). Irons was not interested in being in a band at that point. However, he did play it for a buddy of his named Eddie Vedder, who was a singer/surfer from San Diego, CA. Vedder liked the songs, and spent a few days overdubbing the tape with his own vocals. The three recordings he made would later become known as the "Mamasan Trilogy", being future Pearl Jam songs "Once", "Alive" and "Footsteps". Eddie sent the tape back up north and waited for a response. Gossard, Ament and McCready were all extremely impressed with Vedder's vocals, and after a few months, the singer was on his was up to Seattle.
The guys began rehearsing immediately. They went through a number of drummers, eventually sticking with Dave Krusen. They dubbed themselves "Mookie Blaylock", after a star NBA player. Mookie Blaylock began doing several shows around the Seattle circuit, and became well known relatively quickly. Some months later, they had to change their band name due to potential legal issues. The band settled on "Pearl Jam", but said that they would name their first album "Ten", after Mookie Blaylock's basketball jersey number.
Pearl Jam continued writing material and playing nearby gigs, eventually landing themselves a major label record deal. Many people believe that the reason Pearl Jam got a record deal so quickly was because of their incredibly enigmatic and high energy performances. Eddie Vedder in particular was an attraction. Even in the smallest, most run down clubs in Seattle, he gave a performance worthy of Madison Square Garden. The aggressiveness of his performances riveted most concert attendees, making them instant fans.
After recording their debut album "Ten", they decided what their first single would be. "Alive" was a song that Gossard wrote while playing in Mother Love Bone. At the time it was called "A Dollar Short". Now, with new lyrics and vocals, "Alive" became Pearl Jam's first single. They shot a live video for the song in a Seattle venue, and hoped MTV would pick it up.
Video play of "Alive" on MTV was decent, as were the album sales. However, Pearl Jam's big break would come less than a year later with the release of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" video. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" quickly went into constant rotation on MTV and radio. Suddenly, mainstream music had shifted, and the world became obsessed with the Seattle music scene. Bands including Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Nirvana were now the most popular bands in the world.
Pearl Jam has faced many trials and tribulations in the last two decades, but because of their respect for each other and their passion for music, they have survived. While almost all of the other Seattle bands from the nineties have disbanded somewhere along the way, Pearl Jam is now stronger than ever, still touring and putting out new music.
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