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Courtesy of iMusic Member Bios Summer 1984 Seminal Seattle band Green River (with Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard) is born. In October, Green River opens for the Dead Kennedys at the Moore Theater in Seattle. 12/87-01/88 Green River disbands. Gossard and Ament stay together and form a new band, Mother Love Bone. 3/16/90 Death of Andrew Wood, lead singer for Mother Love Bone. Later that year, MLB's debut album Apple is released but the band dissolves. (The album is re-released in 1992 with the new title Mother Love Bone.) Summer '90 in the aftermath of Mother Love Bone, Ament and Gossard hook up with guitarist Mike McCready, start jamming, and the nucleus of a new band begins to take shape. The three record a demo tape which ends up in the hands of Eddie Vedder (by way of future Pearl Jam drummer Jack Irons), who dubs his own lyrics and vocal on the tape and sends it back to Seattle. Fall '90 Drummer Dave Krusen joins the new band, at this point named Mookie Blaylock. The line-up is Krusen (drums), Ament (bass), McCready (guitar), Gossard (guitar), and Vedder (vocals). The band plays its first gig at the Off-Ramp in Seattle. 11/90 The band records its first demo tape at London Bridge in Seattle with producer/engineer Rick Parashar, then begins a West Coast tour with Alice In Chains. The band changes its name from Mookie Blaylock to Pearl Jam. 05/08/91 Epic Records releases Pearl Jam's first US promo single with the original songs "Alive" and "Wash" and a cover of the Beatles' "I've Got A Feeling." 05/11/91 Pearl Jam enters the studio with Parashar to start recording what will become its Epic debut album, Ten. Recording is completed, within a month. 04/91 Temple Of The Dog released on A&M Records. The album is a tribute to Andrew Wood, created by ChrisComell and Matt Cameron of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Eddie Vedder. 05/25/91 Pearl Jam performs at Seattle's RKCNDY at a party to celebrate the end of production for the Cameron Crowe film "Singles". Immediately after the party, Dave Krusen leaves the band. 08/03/91 Four days after arriving in Seattle, Dave Abbruzzese plays his first gig with Pearl Jam at the Mural Ampetheater in Seattle to a crowd of 4,000. 08/23/91 Pearl Jam's debut album Ten is released on Epic Records. It peaks on the Billboard Top 20O Albums chart at #2 in the week of 08/22/92. 10/16/91 Pearl Jam begins its first full-scale US tour as special guests of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Madison, WI. The tour culminates with a New Year's Eve show in San Francisco with the Chili Peppers and Nirvana. Christmas '91 Pearl Jam releases a fan-club-only single with the songs "Let Me Sleep (Christmas Time)" and "Rambling." 02/04/92 Pearl Jam begins its first European tour in London with dates in the UK, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain and Germany. Also on 2/4/92 thje band makes its first television appearance on BBC-TV's Late Show performing two songs. 03/16/92 At the Kaufman Astoria studios in Queens, NY, Pearl Jam tapes an MTV unplugged show which includes acoustic versions of "Alive", "Even Flow", and "Black." "Pearl Jam Unplugged" first airs on 5/13/92. 03/25/92 Pearl Jam begins a US headlining tour in Minneapolis. 04/92 Pearl Jam appears on NBC's Saturday Night Live, performing "Alive" and "Porch." 05/18/92 The Seattle Parks Department withdraws its permit for Pearl Jam, together with Seaweed, to play a free concert at the city's Gasworks Park five days before the concert is to take place. A few days later, Pearl Jam, Seaweed, and 7 Year Bitch play a free show, in Renton, a Seattle suburb. Pearl Jam begins planning "Drop In The Park," a free concert for 30,000 fans scheduled to take place in Seattle the following September. 05/06/92 Pearl Jam embark on another European tour, highlighted by the Pink Pop Festival in Hamburg, Germany, where the band plays before 50,000 fans. 06/26/92 Singles, with music from the film directed by Cameron Crowe, is released on Epic Soundtrax. The album includes new Pearl Jam tracks, "State Of Love And Trust" and "Breath." 07/18/92 Pearl Jam joins Soundgarden, Ministry, IceCube, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and the Jesus And Mary Chain for the Lollapalooza 11 traveling music festival which kicks off at the Shoreline Amphitheater in San Francisco. 09/09/92 Pearl Jam performs "Jeremy" at the MTV Music Video Awards in Los Angeles. 09/20/92 Pearl Jam performs at "Drop In The Park," a free, ticketed concert for 3O,OOO at Magnuson Park in Seattle. Seaweed, Cypress Hill, Pete Droge, and the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow also perform. 3,000 people are registered to vote at the site. 10/92 As a side project, Stone Gossard forms the band Brad with Shawn Smith, Regan Hagar, and Jeremy Toback. Brad records the album Shame in a single week, and it is released on Epic, 04/27/93. Christmas 1992 Pearl Jam releases another fanclub-only single, "Who Killed Rudolph?" including the Dead Boys covers "Sonic Reducer" and "Rambling Again." 12/31/92 Pearl Jam supports Keith Richards & the Expensive winos in a New Year's Eve show at The Amdemy in New York City. 01/12/93 In Los Angeles, Eddie Vedder attends the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's eighth annual induction dinner to join the three surviving Doors (Robbie Krieger, Ray Manzarek, and John Densmore) for a one-time-only live performance of Doors classics. 01/25/93 Pearl Jam wins two American Music Awards for Favorite NewArtist-Pop/Rock and for Favorite New Artist-Heavy Metal/Hard Rock. 06/16-17/93 Pearl Jam makes two secret appearances in Missoula, MT. and Spokane, WA. 06/27/93 Pearl Jam begins a European tour with dates (through 7/17/93) in Sweden, Finland, Italy, Ireland, England, and Holland, including shows with Neil Young and U2. 07/02/93 Sweet Relief- A Benefitf or Victoria Williains is released on Columbia Records. Pearl Jam contributes the song "Crazy Mary". 09/03/93 Pearl Jam wins four of their five nominations in the l993 MTV Video Music Awards the most awards earned this year by any single group or artist. The video for "Jeremy." a track from Ten, is named Best Video Of The Year, Best Group Video, and Best Metal/Hard Rock Video. In addition. "Jeremy" director Mark Pellington earns the award for Best Direction In A Video. Pearl Jam performs two songs on the telecast: "Animal" and (with Neil Young) "Rockin' In The Free World." 09/1 0/93 Judgement Night released on Epic Soundtrax. It includes the Pearl Jam/Cypress Hill collaboration "Real Thing." 10/08/93 VS., Pearl Jam's second album, is released on Epic Records. VS sets a SoundScan record, entering the Billboard Top 200 albums chart at #1 with debut week sales of 950,378 copies including sales of over 350,000 within the first 24 hours of release. 10/25/93 Eddie Vedder appears on the cover of Time. 10/28/93 Pearl Jam begins a headlining US tour at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco. The tour runs through early December, and includes multiple-night stands in select venues including a closing three-show engagement at The Arena in Seattle. Support acts on various dates include the Rollins Band, Butthole Surfers, Urge Overkill, and, Mudhoney. 10/28/93 Rolling Stone publishes Cameron Crowe's interview with Pearl Jam. 03/06/94 Pearl Jam begins another headlining US tour with two shows at The Paramount in Denver, CO. The tour includes a "Rock for Choice" benefit (3/9) in Pensacola, FL. honoring the late Dr. David Gunn. 06/94 Pearl Jam announces its intentions to keep ticket prices for its upcoming summer tour below $20. In doing so, the band challenges what it feels are unjust service fees being charged by Ticketmaster, the dominant ticketing agency in the country. The band later announces, that it wiII try to tour without Ticketmaster. 04/16/94 Pearl Jam makes it's second appearance on Saturday Night Live, performing "Not For You", "rearviewmirror" and "Daughter." 04/25/94 A North American Concert Promoters Association memo reminds members that in light of Pearl Jam's request for promoters to assist them in touring without Ticketmaster, Ticketmaster CEO Fred Rosen "intends on taking a very strong stand on this issue to protect Ticketmaster's existing contracts with promoters and facilities, and further, TM will use all available remedies to protect itself from outside third parties that attempt to interfere with those existing contracts." 05/06/94 Unable to find suitable venues to perform in that do not have exclusive contracts with Ticketmaster, Pearl Jam cancels its summer tour and files a memo with the US justice Department's antitrust division. The memo claims that Ticketmaster, through its extensive exclusive contracts with major concert venues controls a monopoly over the marketplace, and that Ticketmaster has pressured promoters not to handle Pearl Jam shows. 05/31/94 A justice Department spokeswoman tells Billboard that the antitrust division is looking into "the possibility of anticompetitive practices in the ticketing industry," thereby, launching an investigation. 06/30/94 In Washington DC, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard testify before the Information, Justice, Transportation and Agriculture Subcommittee at Congressional hearings on the ticketing industry. 09/94 Dave Abbruzzese and Pearl Jam part ways. 12/06/94 Pearl Jam's third Epic album, Vitalogy, is released on CD, cassette, and minidisc one week after its release on vinyl. Sales of more than 877,000 copies give Vitalogy, the second-highest debut week (after VS.) since the SoundScan' system was inaugurated in 1991. 12/11/94 Vitalogy, enters the Billboard Top 2OO Albums chart at #l and holds the top spot for five consecutive weeks. 01/08/95 Pearl Jam hosts "Monkey Wrench Radio Special," including two live performances by the band plus music from Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Mad Season, the Fastbacks, Mike Watt, and Nirvana's Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic. The four-and-a-half-hour broadcast is offered on a free non-exclusive basis to radio stations across the country. During the broadcast, Eddie Vedder officially announces that Jack Irons, formerly of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Eleven, is the band's new drummer. 01/14-15/95 Pearl Jam performs two shows at Coristitution Hall in Washington DC. Both are benefits for Voters For Choice, a DC-based political action committee working to elect pro-choice candidates. Also appearing: Neil Young and L7. Vedder and Gossard participate in a press conference with VFC president Gloria Steinem to advocate freedom of choice and discuss recent violence at family planning clinics. 02/6-7/95 Pearl Jam plays two concerts for fan club members only at Seattle's Moore Theater. O2/26/95 Pearl Jam begins a tour of the Far East in Japan, with additional dates (through O3/10/96) in Singapore, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand. 03/06/95 VS is certified 6X-platinum. 03/14/95 Mad Season's album "Above" is released on Columbia records. The group is comprised of guitarist Mike McCready (Pearl Jam), vocalist Layne Staley (Alice In Chains), drummer Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees), and bassist Baker. "Above" is certified gold on 6/13/95 for sales of 500,000 copies. 03/21/95 The Basketball Diaries soundtrack released on Island records, featuring "Catholic Boy" as recorded by Jim Carroll and Pearl Jam. 04/04/95 Pearl Jam announces a 13-date US tour itinerary and the decision to use start-up ticketing company ETM for ticket sales and distribution. ETM provides fully automated phone lines, bar codes on tickets to prevent scalpers, ability to handle 4,000 incoming calls at one time, no corporate advertising on tickets and a $2 service fee along with 50 cents per order handling costs. Most of the shows are schedule at out-of-the-way alternative venues to avoid using Ticketmaster. 06/06/95 Ten is certified 9X-platinum. 06/07/95 Pearl Jam backs up Neil Young before a packed audience at an unpublicized show at Moe's Mo'roc'n Cafe in Seattle. 06/16/95 In Casper, WY, Pearl Jam plays the first show of a rocky 13-date US tour. 06/25/95 Pearl Jam cancels the remaining seven dates of its tour. The cancellation is brought on by Vedder's coming down with the flu, coupled with problems and controversies surrounding the band's attempt to stage an alternative tour. All canceled dates are later rescheduled, ending with two shows in San Diego, CA (11/6-7/95). 07/05/95 The justice Department drops its Ticketmaster investigation with the following statement: "The Department of Justice announced today that it has informed Ticketmaster Holdings Group, Inc. that it is closing its antitrust investigation into the firm's contracting practices. The Department will continue to monitor competitive developments in the ticketing industry." 07/06/95 Attomey General Janet Reno, commenting on the Department's dropping of the case, says," [It] did not seem an appropriate time to continue to pursue the investigation... My understanding is that the division found that there were new enterprises coming into the arena and based on that evidence ... we do not have a basis for proceeding." Pearl Jam responds that it is "disappointed" with the decision, starting that "those who will be most hurt by the Justice Department's cave-in are the consumers of live entertainment." The band adds that it "will continue to work on behalf of our fans to keep our tickets affordable and accessible to everyone." 08/29/95 Mad Season releases a new home video, Live At The Moore, on Columbia. 10/13/95 Vitalogy is certified 5X-platinum. I2/05/95 Pearl Jam's Merkinball is released on Epic Records on CD and 7-inch vinyl. It contains two songs, "I Got Id" and, "Long Road," with words and music by Eddie Vedder. Both tracks were recorded in Seattle during the sessions for Neil Young's album Mirror Ball. 01/09/96 Dead Man Walking soundtrack released on Columbia Records, featuring music from the TimRobbins film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. The album includes two songs, "Long Road" and "The Face Of Love," performed by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan with Eddie Vedder. 01/29/96 Pearl Jam wins two American Music Awards, for Favorite Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Artist and Favorite Alternative Music Artist. 02/09/96 Home Alive: The Art Of Self Defense released on Epic Records. The two-CD set benefits Home Alive, a Seattle-based nonprofit organization. It includes Pearl Jam's cover of the Eddie Holland Motown classic "Leaving Here" (recorded specifically for this project) along with tracks by Joan Jett, Soundgarden, Nirvana, the Fastbacks, Jim Carroll, Exene Cervenka, and the Presidents Of The United States Of America, among others. 02/27196 Merkinball is certified as a gold single for sales of over 5OO,000 copies. 02/28/96 Pearl Jam wins its first Grammy Award in the category of Best Hard Rock performance, for "Spin The Black Circle." 05/20/96 In the 13th annual Pop Music Awards of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Pearl Jam's "Better Man" (composed by Eddie Vedder) is cited is one of the most-performed ASCAP songs of the year 10/01/94-9/30/95. 06/11/96 Release of the self-titled Epic album by 3 Fish, a side project for Jeff Ament. The band is comprised of Jeff (12-string and fretless bass, 12-string guitar, djembe), Robbi Robb (vocals, guitar), and Richard Stuverud (drums). 07/02/96 Benefit compilation album, Music For Our Mother Ocean, featuring Pearl Jam's cover of the Silly Surfers' 1964 novelty hit "Gremmie Out Of Control," is released on Interscope Records. 08/17/96 "Who You Are" the first single from No Code enters the Billboard Hot 100 at #35. 08/27/96 Pearl Jam's fourth album, No Code is released on Epic Records. 09/01/96 No Code enters the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart at #l. 09/16/96 Pearl Jam embarks on a three-and-a-half week US tour beginning in Seattle, with dates through 10/7/96, followed by a European Tour beginning 10/24/96 in Cork, Ireland with dates through 11/25/96. 09/20/96 Pearl Jam performs "Hail Hail" on The Late Show With David Letterman. 06/24/97 Release of Interiors, the second Epic album by Brad. 06/08/97 Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready perform "Yellow Ledbetter" and Neil Young's "Rockin' In The Free World" to open thje second day of the 1997 Tibetan Freedom Concert on Randall's Island in New York City. 11/14-18/97 Pearl Jam supports the Rolling Siones for four shows at Oakland Stadium in Oakland, CA. 12/24/97 "Given To Fly" is the first radio track from Pearl Jam's new album, "Yield." 02/03/98 Yield is released on Epic Records. Produced by Brendan O'Brien and Pearl Jam, and engineered by Nick DiDia, Yield was recorded in Seattle and Atlanta. |