Peeps wrote:i am no where near the pj expert most of you are but i have a feeling i saw their last tour show
they are getting up there and touring does take a toll. whether you are a drummer, bassists, singer or guitar player
they had matt for the majority of their career and wouldnt be surprised that they just do the occasional benefit show/festival and go off their separate ways
I did make the comment a few times during the tour that the shows seemed to have a sense of finality to them. After the Raleigh 1 show, I actually told Mrs Wease that seemed like the last time we’d see them. It just felt different.
Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing!
- C. Montgomery Burns
darthvedder81 wrote:I don't understand the "Matt never fit into the band" argument. I thought he fit in great from day one. He's certainly the most well-rounded drummer they ever had. Jack was always more of the odd one out to me but I still love what Jack did on NC and Yield—he really pushed them into different directions creatively. Dave A played on two albums and he's unbelievable on Vs. but pretty much a one trick pony it terms of his style of drumming (especially listening to the live stuff from that era—kinda hard to listen to him with all the over top drum rolls and splash and china symbols ringing out).
To me, groove is an essential element of their sound until Matt Cameron joins, and then it mostly goes away, and he strips the groove out of a lot of the early songs (Even Flow live for example is so far below the original track for example T_T)
That's why I don't think he was a great fit, but in terms of everything else, he was. They might not have the same live history they do now without him.
darthvedder81 wrote:I don't understand the "Matt never fit into the band" argument. I thought he fit in great from day one. He's certainly the most well-rounded drummer they ever had. Jack was always more of the odd one out to me but I still love what Jack did on NC and Yield—he really pushed them into different directions creatively. Dave A played on two albums and he's unbelievable on Vs. but pretty much a one trick pony it terms of his style of drumming (especially listening to the live stuff from that era—kinda hard to listen to him with all the over top drum rolls and splash and china symbols ringing out).
To me, groove is an essential element of their sound until Matt Cameron joins, and then it mostly goes away, and he strips the groove out of a lot of the early songs (Even Flow live for example is so far below the original track for example T_T)
That's why I don't think he was a great fit, but in terms of everything else, he was. They might not have the same live history they do now without him.
there's no way they quit. the fact that they didn't cancel shows when Matt had covid, versus cancelling shows when Jeff had covid, should speak volumes!
bodysnatcher wrote:there's no way they quit. the fact that they didn't cancel shows when Matt had covid, versus cancelling shows when Jeff had covid, should speak volumes!
I don’t think they’ll quit right now, but I do think we’re in the wind down of their career. Do they really want to start all over again with a new drummer, “in the family” or not? It’s still a huge creative step and would they want to do thru writing and recording a new album with a new drummer?
Let me tell you, Homer Simpson is cock of nothing!
- C. Montgomery Burns
Strat wrote:Theyve gone through more drummers than most bands. They will carry on.
I agree that they'll carry on, but I do think losing Matt is going to be a lot different than losing any of their other drummers, both musically and personally. He was in the band for almost 10x as long as either Dave or Jack. The band was constantly in some form of upheaval or another through most of the '90's; the changing drummer thing was one of many destabilizing forces during that period, and arguably not even the most challenging one. Conversely, they seem very much to have become creatures of comfort over the last 20 or so years. Not to say they won't put in the work, but I imagine the dynamics/logistics of this change is going to be a lot different than any of their other drummer shakeups, and I won't be surprised if the resultant change looks a lot different than the kind of seamless "carrying on" that happened when Dave A, Jack, and Matt stepped in.
Honest question: Jack left the band, if memory serves, because of the toll that the band's intense touring schedule and public image took on his mental health. Is that right? Their schedule isn't like that now at all, and personal/family needs seem to drive their decisions in a way they didn't used to. Is it insane to hope?
Don't think it's insane at all. Jack is very active on Instagram and always liking and sharing stuff from the PJ era. It still clearly matters to him. He's the same age as Matt (62) so I'm guessing he'd have the same concerns about the intensity of playing Pearl Jam songs at this stage in his life physically but who knows? I think the pace of the band definitely works in his favor from the mental side of things now more than it did in 1998. He'd be the most capable past PJ drummer at playing Matt era stuff I'd say. Dave A. wouldn't have a clue what to do for something like Grievance or In the Moonlight.