There’s a riot going on

It’s probably true to say that, in a time of nu-metal, hip-hop, R’n’B and the like, there aren’t that many great rock ’n’ roll bands left, certainly in the US. U2 may have staked their convincing claim on the international stage but, for our American brethren, it’s looking a little bleak. Thank God then for the return of Pearl Jam, maybe the only band around capable of straddling the divide between the younger alternative sect and the, shall we say, more mature audience, all without sacrificing the special elements that have been part of their makeup for over ten years now. It’s been a long and strange trip, this journey from being one of the first great grunge bands to the last great American rock band, yet it has never been anything less than enthralling. And for the past four years it has included drummer Matt Cameron, once of Seattle comrades Soundgarden but now part of this unique family.

A constant factor in Pearl Jam’s history has been the various members’ range of extracurricular activities – from appearing with artists such as the Ramones and the Who to obscure side projects like Brad and Wellwater Conspiracy. Matt (the driving force behind the latter) thinks this can only be healthy. “For me personally it’s always been nice to just play,” he says. “A lot of times when you’re in a big time rock band there’s a lot of down time after you’ve done a tour or a record. It’s always been nice for me to just get together with my friends and make music, maybe play some shows. I think it’s good as a musician to play with as many people as you can and play different styles of music. When you come back to your band hopefully you can bring that into the picture.”

You have to wonder, though, if any of this ever indicates a slightly shaky future for Pearl Jam themselves, but that’s a notion Cameron refutes.

“Since I’ve been here everybody’s been really into making music continually but I don’t think it’s always been that way,” he reflects. “There have been a few hurdles in this band’s history, which is part and parcel of being in a band. You’re always going to come up against something. They’ve persevered and continued to focus in on the music which is ultimately the most important thing.”

Pearl Jam’s roots, of course, were in the legendary Seattle Sub Pop scene – the city providing the world with one of the decade’s truly revolutionary musical movements, an explosion whose effects are still being felt today. Having been part of two of its most noteworthy products, Cameron is better placed than most to comment on the whole thing.

“It was a local music scene,” he says, almost matter of factly, “not unlike any other scene in the States like Boston or Austin or New York. There were a lot of little clusters of really cool music scenes in the late eighties that Seattle was just a part of. We had a little record label that we put our music out on. It started out very innocently but ultimately we had a really cool core group of bands that went global.”

For a while grunge ruled the world but the triumph was all too often offset hy a tragic downside. From the death of Mother Love Bone’s Andrew Wood, through to Kurt Cobain’s suicide and Layne Staley’s recent overdose, does Matt think that the Seattle dream turned sour? He replies thoughtfully.

“I don’t even know what the initial Seattle ‘dream’ was; we were just trying to do our thing. I guess a lot of the themes in a lot of the early grunge records weren’t always that happy. We
were just writing about what we knew and how we felt. Maybe it did go sour, but bands like Pearl Jam survived it and are still together. With Soundgarden, we definitely went sour and it was more a result of our creative juices drying up. Once all those bands got successful and started touring then it got a little watered down I guess.”

The interminable legal battle over Nirvana’s unreleased recordings has hardly helped matters. I asked Matt what he thought about it.

“I think it’s pretty lame actually. I think that ultimately the fans want to hear that music and Courtney Love should just give it up. I know that’s what Kurt would have wanted.” What are his opinions on ‘You Know You’re Right’, now that it has finally seen the light of day.

“It’s awesome, I love it. It’s so nice to hear that on the radio right next to all the new breed of rock bands. It just blows everything out of the water. It’s definitely an unfinished track but it’s real. The beauty of that band was the on edge quality that their music had.”

From Matt’s up to date reports, it sounds unlikely that the city will set the world alight again, at least for the time being.

“There’s a couple of bands that I like but it’s kind of all over the place,” he says. “In the late ’80s there weren’t so many bands here and now there’s too much to keep track of. But there’s some really good instrumental bands up here and there’s still some really cool Olympia bands like Sleater Kinney. There’s a lot of copycat stuff though; punk bands that are trying to sound like the Buzzcocks. It’s like, get a clue man.”

As Pearl Jam have moved further and further away from those “innocent” roots, they have grown in stature to occupy a unique place in the rock landscape. Always wearing their political hearts on their sleeves, they have passionately fought the cause of the regular music fan against the global music industry, both through their own infrastructure and also high profile battles with the likes of Ticketmaster. With the band gearing up for another couple of years of activity, their commitment to the cause shows no sign of wavering.

“There are a lot of issues in the music industry that we’re behind right now,” Matt explains. “One is ownership of our music, which is really important. As it stands right now, when bands sign a record contract they pretty much sign away all their music. Other than that, this band has always had a great history of having a rapport with their fans and I don’t think that will change. It might even get more developed once a new record deal is figured out.”

That their passion for making music too remains undimmed will soon become clear with the release of their new album, the seventh of their career. Even the title itself is indication that, with the members of the band approaching the end of their thirties (Cameron himself turns 40 next month), they still intend on putting it out there. Does the drummer see calling their album Riot Act as something of a statement of intent? He laughs loudly. “I don’t think we’re trying to address any specific political issue, but we felt that the music on this record was strong and we wanted a title that reflected that feeling.”

What’s certain is that, on Riot Act, Pearl Jam have returned to the form that they displayed on those blistering first three albums. Marrying the kind of experimentation explored in recent times with the heart stopping melodies of Ten and Vs, it shows all the signs of being an incredible work. From the raw as fuck ‘Save You’ and REM-reminiscent ‘Bushleaguer’ to the acoustic ‘Thumbing My Way’ and epic first single ‘I Am Mine’, Riot Act sounds like the kind of record that many Pearl Jam fans thought they would never make again.

It will naturally also sell in the tens of millions,underlining that the band that has become a constant thorn in the side of the music industry has also become one of its biggest players. It’s an irony not lost on Matt.

“Absolutely, this band has always been aware of its power and the record industry has been a little bit afraid of that,” he agrees. “This band generates a lot of money and money equals power. I think Eddie and the boys have always been aware of that and have tried to put out empowering messages to anyone that would listen.”

Does their kind of track record mean that a band like Pearl Jam are granted a certain artistic freedom? “It’s free reign,” he confirms. “It’s a pretty cool situation, one that’s kind of rare these days in the record industry. It’s the best position to be in, believe me.”

Is it, I wonder, possible to have a little too much freedom?

“Sure, sure,” agrees Matt. “You can tell when there’s too much freedom with some groups. The records will kind of reflect that. I think that this band has kind of earned it though, but as soon as the music starts to suck then we would definitely evaluate that situation.”

Another type of freedom that the band has encountered has been the growth in music on the Internet and the anarchic approach to the music business of certain individuals. For Matt, the likes of Napster have been taking it just a step too far.

“As a songwriter,” he explains, “that’s how I make my living, so if the person who created a song isn’t ultimately going to get paid then that has to change. The technology side of it is great, it’s cool that this kid could come up with this programme and have all the record companies scratching their heads.”

No wonder an Internet fuelled paranoia is sweeping the industry, with every major album release being swathed in security and embargoes and journalists having to listen to records in company offices – if indeed at all. Mind you, Matt wouldn’t be too happy if Riot Act were to suddenly appear on the Internet a month before its release.

“I think it would kind of suck because it probably wouldn’t be the finished product, just a working version of the record,” he says. “When you put out your record you want it to be complete. As one of the guys who’s making this thing, I want to put my best foot forward.” He pauses, then laughs again. “As a fan though, I’d probably love it.”

So we’ll have to wait with everybody else for Riot Act to emerge in its entirety, another world-conquering album from a band who, although widely knocked when they first appeared (Cobain famously described them as “false music that’s claiming to be underground or alternative”) have gone on, not only to outlast virtually all of their contemporaries but also to outperform them.

Contentment may not be a very Pearl Jam kind of word, but it’s a feeling that Cameron for one exudes.

“This band has always been focused on the right things, not doing things that anyone would feel uncomfortable with,” he says. “There was a lot of adversity at first, when Kurt slagged them in the press it was tough. There’s been a lot of growing pains but at this stage everybody feels good about what’s going on.”

Pearls of wisdom

Five memorable quotes from the elusive Eddie Vedder

On the band’s name “Great Grandpa was an Indian and totally into hallucinogenics and peyote. Great Grandma Pearl used to make this hallucinogenic preserve that there’s total stories about. We don’t have the recipe, though.”

On the feud with Nirvana “In many ways I feel sorry for Kurt Cobain. How frustrating can it be, having as much money to do whatever you want to do, you know? How’s he going to sing punk rock songs?”

On supporting U2 on the Zooropa tour “I’ve just spent the best of what’s left of my voice screaming at people back in America about booking us here.
I mean, I may be shy about some things, but not when it comes to music. How can you have a religious experience watching a band in a place
this size?”

On his real father “I’d just rather not deal with it at all. I think that probably at least one of my parents is pretty upset about my songs. Sometimes he probably can’t escape from my face in certain places. I’m sure he’s had his MTV removed.”

On Kurt Cobain’s suicide “You know, all these people lining up to say that his death was so fucking inevitable… well if it was inevitable for him, it’s gonna be inevitable for me too… I wish that Kurt and I had been able to sit in the basement a few nights and just play stupid songs together and relate to some of this. That might’ve helped us to understand each other, that he wasn’t the only one, or that I wasn’t the only one. I don’t want anything to do with this larger-than-life bullshit.”

And Bono on Eddie Vedder “He’s not a rock ’n’ roll animal. He’s come from a different place, a place that I prefer. But he’s in a rock ’n’ roll band and he has to protect himself. He probably doesn’t think he’s got a mask… but he has, and that’s OK.”