Glen Ellen, CA
I was more than a little excited to learn about a project that has been ongoing, and now is complete. I like odd ducks so to speak. Cameron Crowe fits said description nicely. I've been an admirer of his for quite sometime, based upon his remarkable life, and the awesome films he writes and directs. I can hardly believe that Pearl Jam is now over 20 years old. PJ would also fall under the heading of odd duck. Aside from their fantastic music, and singer Eddie Vedder's distinct, almost ethereal voice, I have a bit of a connection to the Grunge scene of Seattle that they emerged from. I joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 1988 and had my first duty station aboard a ship, the Polar Sea, homeported along the Seattle Waterfront. It was a crazy crazy time. Seattle seemed to be exploding with clubs and music. My mates and me were in the thick of it all. About a block from the Coast Guard Base on Alaskan Way was a neighborhood called Pioneer Square. The hood, not surprisingly, was prominently featured in Cameron Crowe's way cool 1991 movie called Singles. It was a real bohemian situation. The movie promo picture below was taken in Pioneer Square. My shipmates and I would pay a 5 dollar cover charge and have access to about 10 clubs within the square. Bands like Mother Love Bone, and the folks from Soundgarden would play along with old school jazz and blues bands. Vedder and company along with Nirvana jammed at these clubs during this stretch of time.
Pearl Jam had just released their huge hit Album named Ten. Crowe, ever the roving reporter for Rolling Stone, as well as a Hollywood director, smelled the musically rich phenomenon that was occurring in the area. This is why Singles was based in the Seattle area, and features many folks from the Grunge scene. This was the birth of the friendship between Crowe and PJ, with the band doing several great cameos in the flick. Since this time, both Crowe and Pearl Jam have been super super successful. Pearl Jam, and especially Eddie Vedder are quite known for having a revulsion for fame and all the trappings that goes along with it. They really have kept true to their ideals, whether you believe in said ideals or not. They have given few interviews over the past two decades, and because of their spotlight shunning ways, a lot of history has been locked away until now. Because Cameron Crowe is a trusted friend of the band, and one of the best story tellers of all time, Crowe has been given the green light to do a documentary on the bands first twenty years. I can't wait to see the movie, and the companion book that is being released in conjunction with the film. Below is the trailer and then a clip of Crowe on a talk show discussing the project.
I was more than a little excited to learn about a project that has been ongoing, and now is complete. I like odd ducks so to speak. Cameron Crowe fits said description nicely. I've been an admirer of his for quite sometime, based upon his remarkable life, and the awesome films he writes and directs. I can hardly believe that Pearl Jam is now over 20 years old. PJ would also fall under the heading of odd duck. Aside from their fantastic music, and singer Eddie Vedder's distinct, almost ethereal voice, I have a bit of a connection to the Grunge scene of Seattle that they emerged from. I joined the U.S. Coast Guard in 1988 and had my first duty station aboard a ship, the Polar Sea, homeported along the Seattle Waterfront. It was a crazy crazy time. Seattle seemed to be exploding with clubs and music. My mates and me were in the thick of it all. About a block from the Coast Guard Base on Alaskan Way was a neighborhood called Pioneer Square. The hood, not surprisingly, was prominently featured in Cameron Crowe's way cool 1991 movie called Singles. It was a real bohemian situation. The movie promo picture below was taken in Pioneer Square. My shipmates and I would pay a 5 dollar cover charge and have access to about 10 clubs within the square. Bands like Mother Love Bone, and the folks from Soundgarden would play along with old school jazz and blues bands. Vedder and company along with Nirvana jammed at these clubs during this stretch of time.
Pearl Jam had just released their huge hit Album named Ten. Crowe, ever the roving reporter for Rolling Stone, as well as a Hollywood director, smelled the musically rich phenomenon that was occurring in the area. This is why Singles was based in the Seattle area, and features many folks from the Grunge scene. This was the birth of the friendship between Crowe and PJ, with the band doing several great cameos in the flick. Since this time, both Crowe and Pearl Jam have been super super successful. Pearl Jam, and especially Eddie Vedder are quite known for having a revulsion for fame and all the trappings that goes along with it. They really have kept true to their ideals, whether you believe in said ideals or not. They have given few interviews over the past two decades, and because of their spotlight shunning ways, a lot of history has been locked away until now. Because Cameron Crowe is a trusted friend of the band, and one of the best story tellers of all time, Crowe has been given the green light to do a documentary on the bands first twenty years. I can't wait to see the movie, and the companion book that is being released in conjunction with the film. Below is the trailer and then a clip of Crowe on a talk show discussing the project.
Update to the this Post September 17th 20011 I have to thank my pal Brad for sending me this below link from NPR Music. It is a fantastic article giving cogent explanation about the PJ20 project. Just click on the link and read it.
https://www.npr.org/blogs/therecord/2011/09/16/140535104/band-together-documentary-tracks-pearl-jams-20-year-run?ps=mh_frimg1
Capt C
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