The Pearl Jam Commandments

To many, Pearl Jam is not a mere rock band, it's a way of life, maybe even a religion--a claim not uncommon in the Jamily. Just watch one of their concerts; it looks pretty much like a massive religious congregation, with the worshipers coming from every corner of the earth. Below is a list of some popular PJ adages true jammers live by.

1. Just don’t be an asshole
2. Live your life with the volume full
3. (It makes much more sense to) Live in the present tense
4. If there’s no love, try to love again
5. Keep on Rocking in the free world (adapted from the Godfather, Neil Young)

Top 10 Reasons why The Big Takeover Magazine ROCKS

Once upon an alienated time I walked into a second-hand bookstore. There I found a cheap magazine with one of my favorite bands, REM, on the cover. I didn’t expect much from the magazine, but as I consumed its pages it propelled me deeper into music. And by ‘music’ I mean that which has valid artistic value—or, as Jack Rabid calls it, “music with heart”. Needless to say, this not-so-famous music magazine is a publication “with heart”.

It’s quite a misfortune that I am not able to subscribe to this magazine because I don’t live in the US. Also it’s quite a misfortune that my only copy of it has been left inside a cardboard box miles away from where I’m currently at. Meanwhile, to write about it is all I can do.

Here are the ten reasons why I love the Big Takeover Magazine.

10. It features a diverse blend of independent and major label bands.

9. But mostly it features bands that you haven’t heard of or listened to before.

8. It features reviews of live performances.

7. It features lengthy, in-depth interviews with cool artists transcribed verbatim.

6. It is published by a poet/musician, a passionate creative force named Jack Rabid—since 1980.

5. The review section, featuring Jack’s Top 40 for the issue, is regularly 60-80 pages long.

4. Even the advertisements help your musical exploration.

3. Issues are around 200 pages—semi-glossy, colored.

2. Unlike mainstream or most music magazines, Big Takeover’s price is reasonable.

1. Artists are on its cover, not corporate-puppet pop stars.

Old Mohawk Anecdote

In November 2001, as a "small political protest" against the bombing of Afghanistan, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder got a mohawk.

"I didn't want to walk around looking normal," he explained, "like maybe someone thought I was OK with the world."

Vedder's new do brought some unintended consequences.

"A day or two after I'd got my hair cut, I was out trying to find a gift for someone," he recalled, "and I was accused of shoplifting, of stealing some earrings! It was definitely the hair..."

Classic PJ Quotes part IV

EV: When you put someone up on a pedestal, it's real easy for them to fall.
[At George Mason University, April 8, 1994, commenting on Kurt Cobain's suicide]

EV: It was just some people sleeping. Do you know that show? I couldn't bear the tension. [Eddie on Big Brother]

EV: I don't need drugs to make my life tragic

MC: Sometimes you have your best ideas in the bathroom

EV: Must be interesting to look at the country below you ... like watching a dog chasing its tail

MM: I started playing guitar because of Kiss. I was 11. I had the Kiss Lunchbox, everything. Every kid at the time was into Kiss, with all the fire-breathing and stuff. We used to leap around the couch with brooms and strut in front of the mirror. Actually, I still do that.

EV: Hey, whaddaya want, somethin' profound in every verse?

On a blistering September day in Austin, TX at South Park Meadows in 1995, Ed says after an hour of music: "Hot, humid, hellacious acres!" One of only two things he said all day!


EV: There's some fancy people in the skybox ... they're blinking to us, sending us a message up there. [The crowd boos and he tells them not to get angry] "... You know life has a way of working itself out, you know? Think about this for a sec, right? These are the rich, fancy people, right? They got all the luxury, right? Looks to me, like they're the farthest ones away from the stage and they're behind a f*ckin' window ... you hang in the trenches long enough, it pays off ...
[Soldier Field Chicago, 1995]

EV: Some people say I have a death wish. That's not true. I have a whole life wish.

"Oh my God!" [Eddie after he sees Mike sans clothes at the Rotterdam concert...]

EV: I sometimes wonder why there isn't a Tee-Pees R Us.

EV: Anyone who boos the Dixie Chicks is a f*ckin' pussy.

JA: There are definetely moments live where it's as good as any experience you can have. There have been shows where maybe the whole first half of the show my eyes have been closed. and then you'll look out in the crowd and there'll be somebody totally lost in their head, in exactly the same place you're in. That, to me, is the essence of music.

Eddie before playing Habit in Champaign 2003: This one's for all you high on Crystal Meth tonight...thank-you very much!

EV: You get growing pains when you get taller, but we got them when we were trying to shrink.

EV: Through telling stories, you may be able to transmit an emotion or a feeling or an observation of modern reality rather than editorializing, which we've seen plenty of these days

"There was something about that little instrument that taught me more about melody than anything or anyone else, excluding Johnny," [EV on the ukulele]

SG: For me, if it takes the end of the world to save the world, then so be it. I love that juxtaposition

EV: Looks like Amsterdam, smells like Amsterdam. But it's not.... It's San Francisco [Outside Lands 2009]

EV: I don't know if any label could have kept up with us because of the way things evolved, If right at the outset we were selling 10 million records, and years down the road we were selling 1 million, and we were fine with it, I can understand why they'd feel a little crazy when they wanted to achieve past successes.

SG: We're going to make better and better records as we get older, especially considering this one kind of rocks harder. Why should we be rocking harder now? Isn't this when we're supposed to ease into the whole Pink Floyd groove?

PJ quotes part III

EV: It's been a long time. I love Portugal. One day I was at the beach and I saw a kid riding a skate board. I went to him and asked if I could ride it too. He gave me his skate board. Just like that! That's why we keep coming back.

EV: Behave like rock stars, not like the President.

EV: Forget Sesame Street. You teach your kid the proper way to count -- 1, 2, 3, 4, what the f*ck is this world running to...

EV: Schools of Samba show themselves here, but today, is the Rock of Seattle who is going to.

EV: Let's launch a pre-emptive strike on against four more shitty years.

EV: This next song is............................ is a song" [A very drunk Ed before playing 'Last Kiss', Australia 2003]

EV:It's never good to be indecided. I'll give you a perfect example: the mullet. Do I want it short? Do I want it long? I just can't take a stand. I guess that explains why there are so many indecisive people in Canada. That's the only thing that looks bad about Canada these days.

EV: Caffeine...the gateway drug.

MM: The press is the press. They're going to write whatever they want because that's what they do. People don't know Eddie. He's one of the most caring individuals I've ever met in my life, if not the most caring. He's very intelligent. I think he gets freaked out about people following him around. Honestly, I don't know what he has to go through.

EV: I guess we have to say thanks. [Ed on MTV awards]

EV: There must have been a lot of f*cking in Montreal, cause it was not as populated last time we were here.

EV: This song was written before I could drink, well legally that is. [before singing betterman]

EV: You can't save someone from drowning if you're treading water yourself.

SG: I think in bands you have role playing, and for me it's riffs and arrangements and songwriting. Eddie's the guy you're looking at on stage, if I was in the audience I'd be looking at him - well, I might look at me a couple of times as well.

EV: I know this song so well, I can smoke a cigarette, have a drink, brush my teeth, take a shit, and mow the lawn while singing it. But I'll only be doing two of those things during this version.

EV: In rock & roll, I should be able to do whatever I want -- run around with a dildo on my head.

EV: So, Mookie think there are a bunch of crazed white rock musicians following him around, making t-shirts and singing his praises (Stone)... He's frightened of us...he sits at home telling his wife 'why is this happening to me? What did I do?'

MC: My dad says Pearl Jam fans are better than french fries.

EV: I can remember vividly playing that song in a club in Hamburg on Jeff Ament's Birthday March 12, 1992. I think thats an interesting date because it's also the last time I took a shower. Keep grunge alive is my motto. Not the music, just the personal philosophy.

EV:You don't love me. You don't know me. You love who you think I am. If you knew me, you wouldn't love me. And don't try to pretend you know me, because I don't even know myself.


SG: My goal, what I really want to achieve, is not to 'need' him. Because he is needed by so many people who don't really understand him.

EV: Music is a weapon of mass construction... Protests are a weapon of mass construction...

EV: "War doesn't determine who's right; it determines who's left.


EV: Me and the band... we'd like to say something we've never had the chance to do before... Live From St.John's, Its Saturday Night, Lets Rock This F*cking Place!!

EV: We would like to dedicate this next song to our good friend and mentor... Dick Cheney! [before playing Glorified G]

EV: There are these two girls flashing their tits, it's making it hard to concentrate [interrupted while playing 'Soon Forget]

SG:I probably have tendencies that I'm not aware of, but for me it's definitely just close your eyes, go for something, and if someone looks at you funny, maybe go for something else.

EV: In America we like to have fun. Because we are an advanced culture... we live in a very advanced society and have a futuristic way of taking care of our population problem... we give each other guns and kill each other.

EV: This song a, I don't think you ever heard it but it's a, it's a new song but it was written a long time ago. It's dedicated to the bastard that married my mom.

EV: My mind is in these songs, but the fact that so many people relate to these songs is kind of depressing. Actually, now I understand those religious channels more. Everybody needs something.

EV:How many records you sell doesn't change how you look at the music. Getting a gold record was cool for about two-and-a-half minutes.

EV: Hey, there's a thing called date rape. Don't go f*ckin' party on other people's pussy unless they're invited!

EV: When The Buzzcocks came out with their first record I was fondling my first erection.

EV: We are on the brink of forever.

EV: There was a girl in the front and her shirt says 'F*CK ME EDDY'... well you'd have to spell my name right first.


"We just got word that the Cardinals won...oh wait, no. They lost." Ed announced this at the St. Louis (October 11, 2000) show when the Cardinals were playing in the first game of the National League Championship Series, which was a HUGE deal in St. Louis at the time. Some people even booed! Ed replied by saying "Well, now aren't you glad you came here instead of staying home to watch some stupid f*cking game."

Eddie, Buffalo 5/2/03: There is this thing called a curfew and sometimes the fine can be a lot of money [crowd: BOOOOO] But we talked about it in the back... and the reason I am able to come out here and take my time is because Mike McCready agreed to pay the fine tonight"[Crowd goes insane!]

During their Limelight appearance in April of 1992, Eddie wanted to jump into the crowd, and he said, "Someone once told me never trust a new yorker," and looks at Jeff and said "F*ck it," and goes for it.

Classic PJ Quotes part II

More PJ quotes. Cheer up jammers!

EV: The only f*ckin reason you guys chant my name is cuz I'm the only guy in the band whose name has two syllables. We call Stone 'Stoney.' You could chant that ... Stoney, Stoney.

EV:Is it ok if I speak in English?... It's hard for me to speak in Spanish when I'm drunk. [Eddie at Monterrey, Mexico]

EV: It's the end of the world. It's happening right now... and I think we're OK with that.

MM: I'll do whatever the song dictates - if it doesn't need a real lead, then I won't do one. But if it does, then I'll f*ckin' go off.

EV: So I hope Neil's feeling a little fiesty tonight...Speaking of fiesty...some asshole put our table right there, next to the Ticketmaster table right there.... I'm predicting a food fight by the end of the night...

SG: The bottom line is that when we all plug in, Eddie can make us dance and play like little molecules bouncing off the wall. And for whatever reason, we can make him feel like singing.

SG: Is my band ready to kick it? [Stone before 'Mankind' on Jones beach 3]

EV: We'd like to thank... uh.. we don't... uh... we don't have to thank any sponsors... there are no f*ckin sponsors...

EV: F*ck You. I have laundry to do.

EV: It's about time a band like us played in a classy place like this

EV: A lot of flags out there... different countries, pirates... so being from America maybe we should clarify by saying we come in peace!

EV: This next song is called I Got Shit. But I guess most of you are saying, I got shit tickets

EV: If little George Dubya Bush wins the band is applying for Canadian Citizenship

EV: Advice to the kids... don't drink when you're sick. More Advice: don't get sick when you drink...

EV: Nobody can tell you who you are... If you don't know who you are, well, you better find out. Because you are somebody.

JA: Music for me is one of the more healing art forms. I think anybody can put on a pair of headphones and put in a disk or play a record and have it change them.

SG: There will never be a replacement for the guitar in its ability to translate energy to a crowd.

EV: So how many of you guys came out in limos? Its really great when your in a limo and you can put your head to the window and look out at all the homeless people... Next time you're in your limo just look out at all the people sleeping in the alleys, I just dare ya to take a drink of that free alcohol.....This song is called Even flow...

EV: Hate to promote anything like this, but before I'd kill myself I'd probably kill somebody like Bush.

EV: They call you guys Generation X... that's bullshit. They should call you Generation Why... or maybe Generation ZZZ 'cause you're falling asleep.

EV: Hey Dave, you're such a bad influence, man. I mean, personally, I wouldn't smoke that shit. It's not like I'm straight edge or nothing, I just like life anyway. [Den Haag, Holland, 1992]

EV: As uninterested as I am in other people's sex lives we should read it because it's the most expensive porn magazine the tax payers ever paid for... [Eddie touched upon the Kenneth Starr investigative report on Bill Clinton]

EV: If not for the Buzzcocks, we'd probably sound like Good Charlotte or something. No, no, it's not bad, it just sounds like... tastes like a popsicle that's been shoved up someone's ass.

EV: Stone has the guts to fly here in a helicopter, but he's too scared to play Breath.


EV:So there's this big rumor around that we want to clear up right now ... we're NOT from Seattle. I just had to say it because if someone else asks me about the 'Seattle scene' one more time, I think I'm gonna puke, piss and shit all at the same time.

EV: We have to live up to the expectations of a million people. And we can't do that. ....and then, there's a cynical f*cking media on top of that. F*ck them. F*ck that. They question your f*cking honesty. They think it's all a f*cking game. They don't know what's real.... and when someone comes along who's trying to be real, they don't know the f*cking difference.

EV: You know something? I've never dated. I never had time for that stuff. I really had an ongoing affair with my Telecaster, and that was pretty much it.

EV: Do you want a message?... Do you want a message?... Kill your local rapist... but torture him first... then serve him to one of your enemies for dinner... I'll cook.

Handling a Bad Situation the Vedder Way

It's amazing how Eddie Vedder was able to turn what would have been a very humiliating incident into one of Pearl Jam's most glorious, most memorable moments.

It all happened in Indio—polo field, lots of dirt. The year was 1993, and the band was in their Vs tour. People were throwing shoes at the best band in the world. Somehow it reminds me of that Nickelback (of which I'm not a fan, of course) show in Portugal, in which one stone (not sure if indeed it's just one)was thrown at them by someone in the audience, an act that pissed the lead singer, consequently leading to the concert’s early end. A similar incident happened to Guns n’ Roses: Axl Rose had to stop a concert because someone threw a rock onto the stage.

Something as disgraceful as that would never happen to Pearl Jam. The grungers in Indio hurled countless of shoes and various garments, but Eddie is way too wise for them. It would have been unfair for the rest of the Jamheads had Eddie put an early halt to the concert.

In that show, Eddie proves why he’s one of the best (if not the best) front man in the history of rock n’ roll. He knows how to handle the crowd; he knows how to handle a bad situation. He doesn't quit. This is the reason why he’s the last grunge hero standing.

“Me and Jeff are gonna go to the front gate," Eddie told the crowd. "And when you guys exit, we’re gonna beat the shit out of every barefoot person here.”

Then he threw in some humor, making as if licking a shoe: “Hmmm, your dirt is my f*ckin’ food, don’t you understand that by now?”

Then, still holding the shoe: “I’m just like you… so I guess it’s my turn to throw this back.”

But, of course, he had the sense not to throw the shoe at his fans. So he kept on joking around while Mike toyed with the guitar. “I just had this great idea, these are all gonna be donated to charity. Thanks so much. Thank you.”

“Alright more shoes. Shoe the shoeless.”

The crowd cheered and jeered, and garments kept flying onto the stage.

“More shoes. Shoes for my friends,” Eddie said. “I was gonna play your… a… your favorite song, but I… you know. I might get interrupted by a f*ckin’ shoe.” And more laughter from the crowd. But that did not stop the storm of shoes.

“Let’s see. I got a shoe, I got a shirt, let’s see. I need some boxers”—interrupted by a flying garment—“Ah, so good. I got some pants. Someone throw some pants; let’s see some balls out here.”

More laughter. More flying garments.

“Somebody throw up a gun, so I can shoot you all. F*ckers.” Eddie, now wearing a cap and sweater, said jokingly. “Ah, I meant that with love, you know that.”

Then our hero finally got hit. Almost in the head. The crowd went Oooooh. As in "that must have hurt". Had it been Axl Rose or Chad Kroeger in that situation, they would've had fainted.

“I’m still here. I ain’t goin’ anywhere. You f*ckers have to leave, we’re gonna kick you out.” Eddie said with a brief laugh at the end. “OK, that’s it. Goodnight.”

And he exited.

But the night didn't end there. The band, of course, found a way to continue the show. After they walked off stage, they sent the roadies out to move the amplifier stack, forming a wall in front of the stage. The rest of the band played behind the amps, and Eddie continued to dodge shoes for some songs. Epic!

The lesson here is that if you’re in a chaotic situation, be fearless and DON'T QUIT. As Eddie once said regarding the song Jeremy: "The best revenge is to live on and prove yourself. Be stronger than those people. And then you can come back."