Stitches, Stitches - They Had Us In Stitches
Some say laughter is the best medicine. If that's the case, then perhaps some of the answers we got this time are the cure for those of us suffering from what seems like Pearl Jam deprivation. Symptoms vary but include people spreading wild rumors of band break ups and the rest of us daydreaming of things that might be...We Snapped Out Of It!
For jammers who may not have been plugged in Sunday, the exciting buzz about Mike and Eddie's terrific performance at the Tibetan Freedom Concert was the break in the PJ "drought" we were all looking for. Eddie volunteered to help the Tibetan cause by getting signatures on petitions and on Sunday they took the stage opening the day's events by performing Corduroy (new version), Yellow Ledbetter and Rockin' In The Free World. A few other details...they joined Michael Stipe and Mike Mills of R.E.M. for a version of Long Road and a few other cool songs. It was great to see them again! To learn more about the struggle for Tibetan Freedom, go to the Milarepa site.Tunes...
Since January we've been talking about the new music that Pearl Jam have been working on, and as usual they aren't revealing very much yet. We do know that they're doing a lot of writing for it and, of course, it's getting closer but it's not something you rush through or it might not be the amazing music they always give us. We'll try to keep you up on any new word we get. There's been some new speculation about how it's going to sound, but until they actually select the final songs to go on the album, the rumors will go on. We kinda enjoy the speculation and being surprised. We can say that we did hear from someone who talked to someone who heard about someone who spoke with someone who talked to "a source" that heard it and it really rocks though! ...which is never a surprise. :)Spreading The Brad...
Stone's side project, Brad, have released their second album, "Interiors." It's out on vinyl now and will be released on CD on June 24th. Along with their opening band, Verbow, they'll be touring in the U.S. during the month of July. Brad's touring personnel will be Stone Gossard, Shawn Smith, Regan Hagar, Mike Berg and James Hall. Stone will be appearing in the Brad video for "The Day Brings" but Mike McCready won't be in the vid even though he plays guitar on the song. The Brad tour dates are:7/7 Salt Lake City; 7/8 Denver; 7/10 Minneapolis; 7/11 Chicago; 7/12 Detroit; 7/13 Cleveland; 7/15 New York; 7/16 Boston; 7/18 Philadelphia; 7/19 Washington DC; 7/21 Atlanta; 7/23 Dallas; 7/24 Houston; 7/26 Phoenix; 7/28 Los Angeles; 7/29 San Francisco; 7/31 Portland, Oregon; 8/1 Seattle.
We asked if Stone would be doing interviews while on the road with Brad like Jeff did while out on the Three Fish tour and were told yes he would for print media, and a maybe on radio and TV interviews.
Brad July Updates:
7/22 Stone Interview from Denver.
7/8: Stone is on tour with Brad and doing a few interviews. Find Brad news (and some PJ mentions) here and here.
Rumors, Rumours, Rumors...
PEARL Rumor: Pearl Jam are doing just fine and they aren't breaking up. T/F?
JAM Fact: True.
PEARL Rumor: Jeff has written a lot of the songs for the new album?
JAM Fact: He always does.
PEARL Rumor: Pearl Jam is, or was, in negotiations with U2 to play some shows on the "Pop" mart tour.
JAM Fact: No, that would be Rage Against The Machine.
PEARL Rumor: Pearl Jam will be opening for Pink Floyd in Pittsburgh (and
maybe other cities, not sure) sometime this summer, is this true?
JAM Fact: False.
PEARL Rumor: Pearl Jam is coming to Roskilde Festival 26-29 June.
JAM Fact: False.
PEARL Rumor: Eddie Vedder is singing a lead vocal on "Passin' Thru" on an old Gary Heffern compilation called, "Painful Days". Eddie does one verse, Victoria Williams another, etc.
JAM Fact: True.
PEARL Rumor: The picture of the little piece of cut out flesh and stitched wound on the cover of No Code are pics of Eddie's foot taken by Dr. Bubak with Eddie's forensic Polaroid after Ed was stung by a sting ray!
JAM Fact: Yes.
PEARL Rumor: Dennis Rodman will be the new lead singer for PJ and Eddie has just been signed with the Bulls.
JAM Fact: True, I mean FALSE.
~Q&A~Q&A~Q&A~Q&A~
Q: Are Pearl Jam always writing and working on new music? I mean, they don't just come together and write only at album time, right?
A: True.
Q: Does the next tour depend on finishing the album?
A: Yes.
Q: Who might open for PJ on the next tour?
A: No plans yet.
Q: Australians want to know. WHEN is PJ coming to Oz again?
A: Maybe this winter.
Q: I was just wondering if Pearl Jam will ever tour in the Los Angeles area?
A: Yes.
Q: Is the reason Pearl Jam is not playing L.A. because of what happened at the Indio show?
A: No.
Q: Is it true that PJ is planning a video release featuring clips from the 1996 No Code tour?
A: No.
Q: Now that Pearl Jam are more comfortable with where they are, will they make any videos for the next album?
A: Maybe.
Q: What's up with that mysterious video we've been hearing about for two years?
A: It's a mystery. [No id! - RP]
Q: Is it just me, or does Mankind, off No Code, sound a whole lot like Frank Black's song, called Tossed (Instrumental)?
A: It's just you.
Q: You said in the last Rumor Pit that there will be a taper's section sometimes. Could you be more specific?
A: No, we can't. [Har, har. - RP]
Q: Will I have ticket benefits by joining the Ten Club even if I live in Italy?
A: Yes.
Q: When is the album from the Bridge Benefit that Pearl Jam did in October '96 with Neil Young and others going to come out in record stores?
A: X-mas is the set date.
Q: Will there ever be another Three Fish album?
A: Possibly.
Q: Chris Cornell, vocalist + Mad Season = Temple of the Mad Season. Any chance that dream matchup could come true? We'd love to hear it.
A: That would be nice wouldn't it?
Q: Since they did some acting work in Singles, are any members of Pearl Jam thinking about appearing in any movies again? (either Michael Stipe or Kelly Curtis production co.)
A: No plans.
Q: I was just wondering what specific types of guitar processing pedals do Stone and Mike use when they perform.
A: It changes every tour but most of the time Mike uses an Ibanez Tube Screamer MXR, Univibe, MXR Phase 90 Dunlop Cry Baby and Roland Delay. Stone's stuff changes too much to list.
Q: When is the new album expected out and what kind of music will be on it?
A: You'll have to wait to find that out, I could tell you but then I'd have to kill you!
[Well, we want it really, really bad but we're not ready to die to get it! :) - RP]
