It was recently announced that grunge supergroup Temple of the Dog will be embarking on their very first tour, 25 years after the release of their wonderful self-titled (and only) album. The band, which consists of Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell and Pearl Jam members Mike McCready, Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard and Matt Cameron, will be touring in November with all its original members. Every ticket to all five shows sold out immediately.

TOTD was initially created by Chris Cornell as a tribute to Andrew Wood, the singer of Mother Love Bone, who died of a heroin overdose in 1990. The band recorded one album, released in 1991, and while it wasn’t an immediate success, the explosive release of Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten in 1992 brought more attention to the album. They played one proper concert ever, along with a few opening slots and festival sets. In the time since, a smattering of short sets and brief performances of songs like Reach Down and Hunger Strike have occasionally appeared during Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Audioslave sets, and most recently in 2015 at a one-off Mad Season reunion show gig.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUb450Alpps

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, TOTD have revealed information about what to expect from the live shows, new music and more. Rehearsal have not begun yet as Pearl Jam have been on tour, and while the band haven’t finalised any setlist plans, they’re looking to do a lot more than just play the album start to end. “We’ve discussed what other songs we might play in addition to the 10 songs from the album,” says Cornell. “But it was mostly left on the table to be discussed as a later date. It’s still a mystery to me.” McCready added that, “Playing albums in sequence can be awesome or it can be very limiting. I hope we mix it up a little bit.” This might even include Mother Love Bone songs, which “makes a lot of sense,” according to Cornell. “There are also some songs that Andy wrote outside of Mother Love Bone that may or may not be something we can do. There’s some other songs from that period we discussed, but there’s been no decision made about anything other than what’s on the album.”

One of the questions on many lips is whether or not Eddie Vedder will make an appearance, although it seems likely. “I can’t say anything about that,” McCready cryptically told Rolling Stone. “I don’t know if he is, and that’s kind of up to him. I would love it if he did.”

As to whether new music will be released, it’s unlikely, but they haven’t ruled anything out. “We’d have to feel really great about the songs,” said Cornell. “I don’t want to say they’d have to live up to the [first] album, but I wouldn’t want it to take away from it either. It was the same issue with reforming Soundgarden. I’m super excited about writing new songs as long as we don’t detract from what came before, and ultimately we did that. I think the same thing would apply to Temple.”

Read the full interview here

https://www.facebook.com/TempleofTheDog/videos/531065690431058/

 Image: Rolling Stone

Perhaps unbeknownst to many, grunge is one of my favourite genres, and certainly one that was unbelievably valuable and meaningful for me as I was growing up. Bands like Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden and Mudhoney were among the first to ever really get to me as a 12 or 13-year-old, and that whole Seattle grunge movement really became the very first ‘scene’ I ever heavily got into. Fifteen years later I’m writing this article on a music website owned by yours truly, so I guess you could say I owe these guys a lot.

One of my favourite albums from that era was a lesser known one, Temple of the Dog, by a band of the same name. This was a short lived supergroup featuring members of Pearl Jam and Soundgarden among others. The grunge scene had a fair few of these bands and mini projects, mostly existing before the big bands took centre stage, like Green River and Mother Love Bone, with others, like Mad Season, existing as side projects during grunge’s heyday. TOTD was initially created by Chris Cornell as a tribute to Andrew Wood, the singer of Mother Love Bone, who died of a heroin overdose in 1990. The band recorded one album, released in 1991, and while it wasn’t an immediate success, the explosive release of Pearl Jam’s debut album Ten in 1992 brought more attention to the album. They played one proper concert ever, along with a few opening slots and festival sets. In the time since, a smattering of short sets and brief performances of songs like Reach Down and Hunger Strike have occasionally appeared during Pearl Jam, Soundgarden and Audioslave sets, and most recently in 2015 at a one-off Mad Season reunion show gig.

Today has come the incredibly exciting news that Temple of the Dog will be embarking on their first ever tour, in celebration of the album’s 25th anniversary. The complete original lineup will be performing; that is, Chris Cornell on vocals and Pearl Jam members Jeff Ament, Matt Cameron, Mike McCready and Stone Gossard on bass, drums, lead guitar and rhythm guitar respectively. While Eddie Vedder contribution some backing vocals and guitar to the record, his appearance has not been confirmed – however, I can say it’s pretty damn likely he’ll appear on stage, at least once throughout the tour. They’ll be playing five shows in November, in Philadelphia, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and of course, Seattle.

The band released this video with the announcement, which shows old footage and all tour dates:

https://www.facebook.com/TempleofTheDog/videos/531065690431058/

Tickets go on sale on Friday, July 29 for those lucky enough to be in USA at the time – details can be found here. For members of the Ten Club (PJ’s fan club), Soundgarden and Chris Cornell mailing lists will have access to a pre-sale on the 27th. The band are also reissuing the album on CD and vinyl. It will be available on September 29, and you can pre-order it now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VUb450Alpps

Image: PBS

Pearl Jam and karaoke are two very polarising things, and in many circles usually used in the same sentence sarcastically, but who among us isn’t guilty of flirting with the enjoyment of both? Here’s your daily dose of stories you’ll pretend are super lame but that you actually find endearing: Eddie Vedder invited the winners of a local Pearl Jam karaoke competition onstage during their set at The Ride Festival to sing Daughter.

The resulting fan-filmed video is worthy of being submitted as evidence for the argument against disabling phone cameras at gigs. It’s suitably cheesy and heart-warming and the fans look nervous as all get-out but damned if they aren’t having a kick-ass time. Pretty good Vedder impressions too.

https://youtu.be/Ttlw0k343o0

Big shout out to the ever-vocal/politically minded musician for subtly commenting on gun violence, too. He incorporated part of W.M.A into Daughter via the line “Police stopped my brother again”.

The festival took place over the weekend in Telluride, Colorado, and PJ’s set was a landmark one for a few other reasons, too. The band pulled Angel off its dusty shelf, where it’s been sitting for 22 years; they also played Society, the Vedder-penned track for Into The Wild live for the first time.

Image: Consequence of Sound

 

Pearl Jam are currently touring in celebration of their twenty fifth anniversary, and some lucky fans have been treated to something incredibly special.

Following the recent news that the grunge legends played Vs in its entirety at a concert in South Carolina last month, the band have now treated their Philadelphia fans with a complete performance of their game-changing 1991 debut, Ten. This is the second time they’ve done so, the last being back in Munich way back in 1992. The only two other occasions they’ve played whole albums took place in October 2014, when they played Yield in Milwaukee, and No Code in Illinois.

The performance occurred on the second night of their shows at the Wells Fargo Centre. Coincidentally as Rolling Stone reports, this was the tenth time the band had sold out that particular venue, which was celebrated by a banner as well as the performance.

While a majority of the album’s tracks, including Jeremy, Alive and Even Flow are fairly common among typical Pearl Jam set lists, this is only the second time ever that the entire album has been played from start to end.

Following Ten, the band performed a huge selection of tracks across two extensive encores. As well as classics including Given To Fly, Daughter and Better Man, they covered Pink Floyd‘s Comfortably Numb, Throw Your Hatred Down by Neil Young and more.

It’s an interesting shift in perspective from bassist Jeff Ament, who recently told Rolling Stone  that he’s not to keen on full-album performances. “I saw Cheap Trick do three albums and that was amazing. But for the most part I haven’t been a fan of that. When we did those albums, we were on the plane going to the show and Ed said, ‘Hey, what do you feel about doing No Code tonight?’ And then we basically scrambled and learned the five songs we hadn’t played in 10 years right before the show. And it created, like, a good tension. By the second or third song, the fans started realising what we were doing. We could sense that. I think the fact that we did it in Milwaukee and Moline was awesome. That was the greatest thing ever.”

Here’s the setlist. Below, watch fan-captured footage of the special night.

Pearl jam set list for tonight … #grunge

A photo posted by neil irvin (@neilthepirate) on

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnXmLpQt5nk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OW3wBr4C8Xo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTtiQzyyLRA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO342-AuwFQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO342-AuwFQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkT6LlXpHX4

Setlist:
Once
Even Flow
Alive
Why Go
Black
Jeremy
Oceans
Porch
Garden
Deep
Release
Breakerfall
Corduroy
Who You Are
Let the Records Play
Spin the Black Circle
Do the Evolution

Encore:
Bee Girl
Just Breathe
All or None
Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd cover)
Mind Your Manners
Given to Fly
Daughter
Rearviewmirror

Encore 2:
Last Kiss (Wayne Cochran cover)
Better Man
Leash
Throw Your Hatred Down (Neil Young cover)
Sonic Reducer (Dead Boys cover)
Baba O’Riley (The Who cover)
Yellow Ledbetter

Image: Huffington Post

Pearl Jam are the latest band to cancel a concert in North Carolina, in protest of the anti-LGBT “Bathroom Bill” known as HB2. They join the ranks of Bruce Springsteen, Ringo Starr, Boston and more in cancelling North Carolina shows, while others including Mumford & Sons and Against Me! have announed that they will not be cancelling, but will be donating proceeds from the show to organisations working to fight these terrible laws.

The band are on their 25th anniversary tour, during which they’ve just performed Vs in its entirety for the first time ever in NC’s neighbouring South Carolina.

Pearl Jam published a lengthy handwritten note to their website and social media accounts, explaining the reasons they have decided to cancel their show. “The HB2 law that was recently passed is a despicable piece of legislation that encourages discrimination against an entire group of American citizens,” they wrote. “The practical implications are expansive and its negative impact upon basic human rights is profound. We want America to be a place where no one can be turned away from a business because of who they love or fired from their job for who they are.”

“In the meantime we will be watching with hope and waiting in line for a time when we can return – perhaps even celebrate,” it ends.

Read the note in full:

1035x690-PJStatement

 

Image: Danny Clinch

Pearl Jam made history this weekend by performing the entirety of their second ever album, Vs, first released in 1993. The performance took place at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, South Carolina, while on their 25th anniversary tour. It marks only the third time ever that Pearl Jam have played a full album live – the first two performances took place in October 2014, when they played Yield in Milwaukee and No Code in Illinois.

Interestingly, this wasn’t announced in advance. The concert was just a part of their ongoing US tour – so any fans who weren’t a fan of Vs lucked out, but for everyone else, it was undoubtedly a night they’ll never forget.

The set list runs through the album in its entirety, but it didn’t end there. Eddie Vedder and co went on to play an additional 20 songs, including a cover of Pink Floyd‘s Comfortably Numb and The Who‘s Baba O’Riley, and some of their biggest hits, including Given to Fly, Alive, Better Man and Yellow Ledbetter. 

It’s even more surprising as Pearl Jam’s bassist Jeff Ament has gone on record expressing his distaste for full-album performances. “I saw Cheap Trick do three albums and that was amazing. But for the most part I haven’t been a fan of that,” he told Rolling Stone. “When we did those albums, we were on the plane going to the show and Ed said, ‘Hey, what do you feel about doing No Code tonight?’ And then we basically scrambled and learned the five songs we hadn’t played in 10 years right before the show. And it created, like, a good tension. By the second or third song, the fans started realising what we were doing. We could sense that. I think the fact that we did it in Milwaukee and Moline was awesome. That was the greatest thing ever.”

Pearl Jam used to release bootleg recordings of every single concert they played, so fingers crossed a full recording of this special night will be available soon. For now, here’s some footage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ogb6XJQ6ec

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx0blqQi_W4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4EPdIcex2I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMmpnYQltPs

Image: Business Wire / Danny Clinch

Following the tragic Paris attacks last month, Eagles of Death Metal sent a request throughout the music industry, asking them to cover their track I Love You All The Time, off their recent album Zipper Down (which they were on tour promoting at the time of the attack). The request was part of a “Play It Forward” campaign by charity group The Sweet Stuff Foundation, with proceeds going to the victims affected by the horrific attacks on November 13 2015.

A few covers have so far been released, but today, the band have officially unveiled the first set, from artists including Florence and the Machine, Mini Mansions, Kings of Leon and Jimmy Eat World are some of the artists who’ve contributed covers. Pearl Jam have also released a live cover of EODM track I Want You So Hard, on top of an ILYATT cover by drummer Matt Cameron.

The band have posted all covers here. All proceeds will be donated to charity.

While he wasn’t in Paris at the time, co-founder Josh Homme was just as affected by the news, as we saw in this exclusive, heartbreaking interview with himself and Jesse Hughes for Vice. He released the following statement about the project:

I made a plea to artists and business people alike to come together to use our solidarity as proof that we are stronger together, and that we can make a difference. We are proud to be a little part of such a big group of talent and good will. We can’t thank these artists enough for their donations of talent, love, time, and compassion. Now, the Play It Forward Campaign is in the hands of the fans to help us make a difference, and to help those affected by this tragedy. Please listen, purchase, play, and enjoy – and know that every time you do, you’re doing the sweet stuff that makes that difference.

Eagles of Death metal have also just announced a string of brand new European tour dates, following their vow to return to Paris as soon as possible after the attacks cut their set sort and saw the devastating deaths of eighty-nine concertgoers.

Listen below, and purchase, stream or even submit your own version right here.

It always gives me great pleasure to write about grunge. Grunge was the first genre that got me into music, the first that made me realise I’m gonna be one of those ‘music people’. One unique aspect about the tight-knit Seattle community, home to bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains, Mudhoney, Screaming Trees and The Melvins, was their particularly frequent collaborations, joint side projects and so on. There aren’t many other genres where band members just hop about like that, and there are some real gems – my personal favourites are Temple of the Dog and Mad Season.

Many of these bands aren’t around anymore, but not all. Of course Pearl Jam have gone on to become one of the world’s largest rock bands (admittedly I haven’t really been able to get into anything since 2002’s Riot Act), Soundgarden are still milling about, Melvins blew my away at The Annandale a couple years ago, and I can confirm first hand that Alice in Chains are still one of the best live acts around, more than 20 years since the tragic death of Layne Staley <3 RIP.

Back in June, a new grunge supergroup was announced. It got me giddy.

Ten Commandos is comprised of: Matt Cameron, drummer of Pearl Jam AND Soundgarden, Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd, QOTSA, Them Crooked Vultures and Arctic Monkeys collaborator Alain Johannes, and Dimitri Coats, OFF! guitarist.

The announcement comes with a glorious first single, Staring Down the Dust. On vocals is my Mark Lanegan, one of my favourite voices in the history of rock music.  In an interview with Rolling Stone, Cameron said of the single, “This was the first song we recorded and we finished the rhythm track very quickly. We all liked the sound and feel of the song, but once we heard Mark Lanegan’s vocals on it, he took it to another level completely.”

“So much music that influenced me came from Seattle,” adds Coats. “The riffs Ben came up with for this one are heavy and twisted; not an obvious pocket for a singer to jump into.”

This is a song that I cannot flaw. It’s grunge, but refined grunge with a modern twist (specifically, that reverb on the vocals and the slightly tinny distortion). In a nutshell, grunge was awesome for 15-year-olds. This is awesome for those same 15-year-olds as we are now.

Apparently, the project actually dates back to 2008, following a memorial concert in tribute to Johannes’ wife Natasha Shneider. However, they didn’t actually make it to the studio until 2014. The four core members wrote the album, while Mark Lanegan takes the vocals (he also wrote the lyrics to the above single), Peter Frampton plays guitar on one track, and Nikki Costa sings on Come.

As Rolling Stone points out, all members of the band have worked together in previous bands and collaborations, running through Soundgarden, QOTSA, Eleven and more.

 

Ten Commandos are set to release their album next month, via Monkeywrench Records, a Universal imprint founded by Pearl Jam in 2009.