Matt Cameron quits Pearl Jam

[Malloy]

the best way to honor Matt would be the release the NA legs of the Yield tour, immediately.

[tree_]

Do people forget about Binaural and Riot Act when they say MC was never great for PJ???

no; i'm not a fan of those albums

Dang.

I like some of the songs, for instance NAIS, Can't Keep, All or None, Parting Ways, 1/2 Full is alright...

[darthvedder81]

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.

Fair enough I guess although I think you are short changing Matt a little on the groove front. You could argue it the other way though now—maybe you bring in a "groovier" drummer but that style isn't going to work on songs like Grievance, Evacuation, You Are, In the Moonlight, Got Some, DOTC and major portions of Dark Matter. Maybe you don't like those songs or that era but I do and I like a lot of what Matt did in the band. It's going to be hard to replicate that. All that to say there's no perfect solution I guess—I just don't want the Matt stuff or style abandoned entirely or not considered.

[liebzz]

I am just going to note I think Richard Stuverud is the best fit for them. He has a long standing relationship with Jeff, has recorded with him on RNDM, Tres Mts., and Jeff’s solo work which have all had their moments but were all the kinds of creative endeavors we RMers tend to value. If he grooves well with them and brings an element of creativity, there’s no reason to go with anyone else.

All that said, I happen to always highly appreciate the Matt Cameron era. He played a lot of their legacy material straight, but he brought out different things in the band that served them well for the long term, and they may not have made it much longer if not for his presence. It was much different than Soundgarden but he served the songs well, particularly the material he played a part in creating. Hope he enjoys his post- Pearl Jam life to the fullest. It’s been a great ride, from Breakerfall to Setting Sun, and from Santa Cruz ‘98 to Pittsburgh ‘25. All but one of my shows he was behind the kit.

[Ms Harmless]

Do people forget about Binaural and Riot Act when they say MC was never great for PJ???

definitely not, but we've had... 5 albums since those? he can be great with the right songs but he has tendencies that bug me

I have a huge amount of respect for Matt and his career but I've never been shy about saying he's not my favourite PJ drummer; I'll be very interested to see if they choose a new one then head into the studio

[Strat]

Stuverud better finish a project we're working on before he heads to seattle forever!

[Strat]

I'd love to see them bring in whatever drummer they want, and hit the studio for a quick 5 song EP of sorts. Just bash tunes out. Dont overthink it. Just move forward.

[Ms Harmless]

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.

Fair enough I guess although I think you are short changing Matt a little on the groove front. You could argue it the other way though now—maybe you bring in a "groovier" drummer but that style isn't going to work on songs like Grievance, Evacuation, You Are, In the Moonlight, Got Some, DOTC and major portions of Dark Matter. Maybe you don't like those songs or that era but I do and I like a lot of what Matt did in the band. It's going to be hard to replicate that. All that to say there's no perfect solution I guess—I just don't want the Matt stuff or style abandoned entirely or not considered.

pet theory, just made up right now: Groove often works for non-Groovy songs, but non-Groove doesn't often work for Groovy songs

[96583UP]

I'd love to see them bring in whatever drummer they want, and hit the studio for a quick 5 song EP of sorts. Just bash tunes out. Dont overthink it. Just move forward.

sounds spritzy

[dad]

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.

Fair enough I guess although I think you are short changing Matt a little on the groove front. You could argue it the other way though now—maybe you bring in a "groovier" drummer but that style isn't going to work on songs like Grievance, Evacuation, You Are, In the Moonlight, Got Some, DOTC and major portions of Dark Matter. Maybe you don't like those songs or that era but I do and I like a lot of what Matt did in the band. It's going to be hard to replicate that. All that to say there's no perfect solution I guess—I just don't want the Matt stuff or style abandoned entirely or not considered.

pet theory, just made up right now: Groove often works for non-Groovy songs, but non-Groove doesn't often work for Groovy songs

try reading that post and not hear it coming from Austin Powers.

[wease]

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.

Fair enough I guess although I think you are short changing Matt a little on the groove front. You could argue it the other way though now—maybe you bring in a "groovier" drummer but that style isn't going to work on songs like Grievance, Evacuation, You Are, In the Moonlight, Got Some, DOTC and major portions of Dark Matter. Maybe you don't like those songs or that era but I do and I like a lot of what Matt did in the band. It's going to be hard to replicate that. All that to say there's no perfect solution I guess—I just don't want the Matt stuff or style abandoned entirely or not considered.

Matt tunes have already gone the way of the dodo live. Now it just an absolute sure thing we’ll never get to see them.

[epilogue]

Fine, I'll do it.

A headbanger you are
A drummer for Pearl jam though?

Pal..

Pffft! How hard could it be!

Spoiler: show

.

[lvc]

Maybe he's about to be a grandpa and after missing chunks of his kids' lives he doesn't want to miss out on grandkids. Maybe he's uncomfortable touring with a literal murderer. Anything is possible.

But people quit jobs all the time, even good ones.

My money is on being poached by the Chili Peppers, though.

[epilogue]

the best way to honor Matt would be the release the NA legs of the Yield tour, immediately.

And by playing one final private show together at my theater in NYC. And playing only Matt songs. And opening the set with In The Moonlight.

It's really the only kind, fair, and responsible thing to do.

[LoathedVermin72]

it's just weird that the guy who was their drummer for like 80% gets an "Era". Dave A was 3 albums, Jack Irons was 2 albums, Matt Cameron was 7 albums. Cameron was there for like 3 different PJ Eras.

yeah but only 2 of his albums were good so I think it's fair

[Buby]

the best way to honor Matt would be the release the NA legs of the Yield tour, immediately.

And by playing one final private show together at my theater in NYC. And playing only Matt songs. And opening the set with In The Moonlight.

It's really the only kind, fair, and responsible thing to do.

[dimejinky99]

Fine, I'll do it.

A headbanger you are
A drummer for Pearl jam though?

Pal..

Pffft! How hard could it be!

Spoiler: show

.

We could ask Strat or stip

If anyone knows..

[darthvedder81]

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.

Fair enough I guess although I think you are short changing Matt a little on the groove front. You could argue it the other way though now—maybe you bring in a "groovier" drummer but that style isn't going to work on songs like Grievance, Evacuation, You Are, In the Moonlight, Got Some, DOTC and major portions of Dark Matter. Maybe you don't like those songs or that era but I do and I like a lot of what Matt did in the band. It's going to be hard to replicate that. All that to say there's no perfect solution I guess—I just don't want the Matt stuff or style abandoned entirely or not considered.

pet theory, just made up right now: Groove often works for non-Groovy songs, but non-Groove doesn't often work for Groovy songs

Yeah I don't know if I agree with that. I think Matt can do Evenflow and Dissident better than the Dave's could do Grievance or Dark Matter. None of them can do In My Tree though. Ha!

[96583UP]

so is there budget for Boom to finally get a 401k match now or

[CCKaraoke]

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.

I think it depends on the song. .. but I'm going to flip this and say I think that maybe PJ didn't always allow Matt to groove.
When a band changes drummers, every song done by the bands other drummers will change, for better or worse.
Evacuation is a great song off Binural, and .. different from anything else on there.
You Are is an easy top-5 PJ song for me, a Matt song, and they haven't really tapped into that vibe elsewhere. Those are Matt drums 100%.
Unemployable is also in my top-5 PJ songs. That's a Matt song. It's unlike anything else on THAT album too, and it really grooves so damn hard.
Then there's Dance of the Clairvoyants (which we know was on 'The Drive'.) It's ... wait for it lol... unlike anything else on the album

I mean, I think and I'd expect that this is all cordial. I'd hope they have always been family and that there'll continue to be love between them..
But I do think there's a bit of smoke to the idea that he didn't have enough creative input in the songwriting process..
And maybe that was a bit exhausting? Even if you love your bandmates it can still just wear you down a bit when your ideas get rejected.
Again, not suggesting it's THE reason. I still think he's getting older and the drums are an incredibly physically taxing job in a band like PJ.. but, I always wanted more of him in the band.