Ament tells how Pearl Jam chose a new drummer — Rolling Stone

Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament told Rolling Stone that the band members immediately agreed on a candidate for a new drummer after Matt Cameron’s departure. At the same time, when the conversation was recorded, the musician was not ready to call the new performer’s joining the group permanent, since the band had not yet performed with him.

On September 25, Pearl Jam played for the first time since Cameron’s departure, making a surprise appearance at the Ohana festival. Abe Laboriel Jr., Paul McCartney’s longtime drummer, was behind the drum kit that evening. Vocalist Eddie Vedder told the audience that Laboriel was helping the group that night. The band did not say whether the musician would become a permanent member.

Plans for new music

Ament said he would like Pearl Jam to record a new album and go on tour next year. According to him, the band members are writing new music, although they have not created much material together yet. The bassist considers several things the musicians have already worked on together successful, but noted that further work would require at least several months.

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The musician also recalled that he had previously joked with Cameron that Pearl Jam had about three years left to exist. Later, according to Ament, he realized that for Cameron it was not just a joke. The bassist himself stressed that he is not ready to end his work in the band.

The Since Forever photo book

The interview was timed to coincide with the release of Ament’s photo book Since Forever, created together with his brother, designer Barry Ament. The publication contains more than 250 black-and-white photographs and written comments by the author. Ament photographed Pearl Jam members from the early 1990s and also shot the covers for the albums Vs., Yield, Riot Act and the Lost Dogs compilation.

In particular, the bassist recalled a photograph of an animal for the cover of Vs., taken on a farm in Montana. According to him, a sheep was walking along a fence and trying to get through it. Ament believes that the photograph depicts a sheep, rather than an Angora goat, as some publications had suggested.