by Mike Peake (1996)
"Look Who's Turk-ing!"
'The guy on the right in the funny hat is none other than
Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament - and he's having a right old laugh in Istanbul,
talking up his smart new side-band Three Fish.
That is, until Mike Peake walks into his hugely expensive hotel and shouts,
'Is Eddie Vedder mad or what?'...
Jeff Ament, bass player with Pearl Jam, is sitting opposite
me in the luxurious lounge of the Ciragan Palace, one of the world's most expensive
hotels. He has- surprise, surprise - a hat on his head, a very expensive cup of
coffee in his hand, and he's currently gazing out at the impressive Istanbul skyline,
which reflects grimly off the pollution-addled Bosphorus River.
Jeff is waiting to talk to me.
Jeff - a good-looking, average-sized man of medium build - is happy to jabber
on about the crappy weather, the miserable economic state of Istanbul, his new
side-band Three Fish and most other things one cares to sling his way. In fact,
Jeff, dear, dear Jeff, the man of a 100 great bass lines and quite possibly
the godfather of the Seattle scene, is up for chatting about anything.
Except Pearl Jam. To be honest, all he really wants to talk about is
Three Fish - a cool, whacked-out, spiritual kind of trip. While we - if we're
being frank about his- are also, well, keen-ish to talk about Eddie Vedder.
In fact, the temptation to leap in with, 'Go-on-Jeff-tell-us-about-the-new-Pearl-Jam-record'
is almost overwhelming. But we've been told that, as opening gambits go, it's
a bit of a non-starter. Mr Ament smiles, stares coolly into my eyes, and waits
for an opening question. The tape recorder rolls.
So, Jeff. Tell us about Three Fish...
The Three Fish story is a two-blokes-bonding-and-a-drummer-playing-on-the-album
sort of deal. Jeff met singer Robbi Robb when the latter's band, Tribe After
Tribe (big in South Africa), supported Pearl Jam in the states in 1992. The
pair headed off into the mountains to camp, talk philosophically, frolic naked
in ice-cold freshwater lakes. Robbi pulls one of his dreadlocks from his mouth
and tries to explain: "We just found that we were into the same writers, the
same philosophers...and had the same thoughts." Jeff and drummer Richard 'Nice Guy' Stuverud had known each other for years
and after deciding that it would be a 'beautiful thing' to get together and
jam, the trio quickly realised they'd written more than 30 songs.
Says Jeff: "We recorded most of the stuff in a teeny 16-track studio where
a lot of the old SubPop stuff was recorded - the first records by Green River
(Jeff and PJ guitarist Stone Gossard's first real band) and Soundgarden. But
there was never and grand plan."
You're telepathic?
"We shared a sensitivity to similar subjects - some of
the ordeals we'd been through in relationships with women. Conversations that
guys don't usually have."
Right. Lots of crying then?
"Yeah, there was the odd moan and groan, but there was
a lot of celebration too."
Come on, someone must have said, 'Hmm,
let's do an album'? 'Three Fish', the record, is a funny little beggar. The general Kerrang! Consensus
on first listen was "arse". This quickly softened to "it's okay", and was soon
replaced with "it's a f**king beauty" amongst the more spiritually tuned-in
members of the K! team.
"I've no idea who'll like the record," ventures Jeff. "There's bound to be
people who are like 'How dare he go outside of the golden pentacle?'."
Right... Eddie, old son, get in the kitchen!
"There just came a point where we had so much music and so many tapes floating
around," he shrugs. "I was at a point in my life where I felt I had too many loose
ends, and Three Fish was one thing that I thought I could sort out quite easily."
Is this some 'back-to-my-roots' trip?
"Sure. And that's the theory behind going on tour. We're
doing 20 shows in the States in really small venues. We want it to be intimate."
People chanting?
"No."
Any plans to play the UK?
"No."
No change there then. Let's face it, you never play the
UK - even with Pearl Jam.
"Oh, we'll be coming back," he smiles. "We forgot how bad
the food was."
"Initially my feeling was, 'I don't care what people think.'
But then, I wouldn't be putting it out for people to comment on or give it to
magazines to review, if we didn't wonder what people were thinking. Whenever
anyone says anything really critical or mean, you're affected by that, and it
hurts."
What about your buddies in, ahem,
your other band?
"Well, Stone called me up within a few hours of receiving
the tape and said, 'it's amazing', and that made me feel really good. There's
been times where Stone and I have been really competitive, and it was nice of
him to say he liked what I'd done."
Does it bother the rest of the band
that people will be latching onto Three Fish because of their be-hatted, millionaire
bass player?
"No," hoots Robbi, "that's fine - we're exploiting
him!"
"But when we play live, I'll have a big curtain in front of me, so you'll see
a silhouette!" cracks Jeff.
But what does being in Three Fish
enable you to do that you can't do in your other bands?
"Play lead guitar," Jeff hoots. "I play my first lead on
this record."
You can tell. It's dreadful!
Robbi: "Yeah! And you just can't pay for that!"
"I played such a good lead on this record they wanted me to play lead on the new
Pearl Jam record," Jeff insists. "But I said 'no way. I could only do that in
Three Fish'.
"No guitar but I'll sing
eh?
"Hey, he cooks up a good curry!" says Jeff.
And suddenly, we're talking about Pearl Jam. Ice-cold Jeff is smiling, the guys are relaxed, and we're having a right old time. Look, chaps, I don't mean to be rude, but I've travelled 2,000 miles, nearly been hospitalised by a manic Istanbul cab driver and been laughed at by the locals for my ham-handed attempts at haggling. Jeff, old pal, how's about five minutes to chat to you about Pearl Jam? For three dangerous seconds, cool, calm, Jeff Ament looks like he could kill a man with his bare hands. He shifts uncomfortably in his seat, and I fear, momentarily, that this suave-looking grunge demi-god may punch me in the face. Richard and Robbi stand up and shake my hand, and leave. Jeff?
He stares at me. Just a few questions?
Long pause.
"Okay."
Here goes. Five minutes. Off the cuff. Almost verbatim.
Why haven't you played the UK for so long?
"We just haven't played live that much at all. Part of the problem is that we
went to the UK three times on the first record, and we kind of felt we'd
done Europe. That's pretty much it. Last year we couldn't get the US tour
off the ground because of problems with ticketing, but I think we've got it
pretty well sussed out now. I think the only way we can tour properly is if
we just concentrate on playing. In the past, we've been so busy dealing with
security and merchandising and shit...This time, we won't have our hands in
that stuff."
Who's the control
freak - Stone?
"No. I'd say that Eddie and I deal with a lot of that stuff."
Who's your mate in the band?
"I'm friends with each of them in different ways. I think I relate to Eddie
and Jack more than Mike or Stone, even though I've known those two longer. But
I'm probably closer to Stone right now than anyone, because we have so much
history together."
Is Eddie misunderstood, or a mad bloke?
"I think he's pretty misunderstood. He has such a quiet, mystical quality, and
that allows people a wide range of opinions. I really don't think he gives a
shit and that puts people off even more."
Does he ever call you up and say 'Jeff!
Let's go for a beer!'?
"Yeah. Actually, quite a few times, lately. We've probably all hung out more
in the last year than any other time since the band started. I think we've loosened
up a lot."
Whose decision was
it to stop doing Pearl Jam interviews?
"There was a point where we were on the f**king cover of every magazine in the
world, and it was like we were being shoved down everybody's throats. The focus
started to be taken away from the music. All we've done in not doing interviews
or pictures or videos is try and put the focus back and let some of the younger
bands utilise that medium. People know who we are."
Yes, but from a fan's
perspective, it looks like you don't care.
"Well yeah, but I think now that we're in a situation that we feel like we're
a band, you'll see more interviews and stuff like that."
And that's it. Five minutes with the bassist from a Seattle band called Pearl Jam who don't do interviews.
"You know," says Jeff, rising from his chair, "We're gonna be around for a longtime. People might be upset that we haven't played over the last year or two but we're gonna play shows and we'll be around."
Footnote. I have seen Jeff Ament without his hat on. Later, after the interview, we are invited back to the band's ultra-luxury hotel for a meal, and I end up sitting next to him. I eagerly try to engage Jeff in all manner of potentially very interesting conversations, but he is not keen. Though polite, he looks uninterested to the point of tears. I, however, have an ace up my sleeve. I can wreak my revenge by revealing precisely what the Ament head looks like minus bandana.
Sadly he is not bald.
Bastard.
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