I've never understood Eddie's connection to Bad Religion

Evil Beaver

So I'm one of the lifelong Pearl Jam fans who caught onto them in the early days.

Back when all we had was Ten and the Singles soundtrack, the only other Pearl Jam-"related" music available to us was Green River, Mother Love Bone and Temple of the Dog.

And then there was Bad Religion and "Recipe For Hate."

I bought "Recipe For Hate" after I read in a magazine article — remember those, back before the internets? — that Eddie sang a verse of "Watch it Die" and backup on "American Jesus."

I seriously ate that album up and became a Bad Religion fan just because Ed sang one verse all to himself and provided backup on four other tracks.

Seriously, though, I've never understood this: Why did Eddie Vedder appear on that album? I've never heard anything about him being tight with Bad Religion, or having some personal connection.

Was he just a talented vocalist who was hired to provide some backup vocals? He laid down these vocals well before Pearl Jam became crazy-huge, and you wouldn't know it unless you recognized his voice or studied the liner notes.

This has always tickled my curiosity. Someone enlighten me to the backstory.

musicismylife78

I cant answer the question, but back in the old days, ed seemed to talk about bands all the time, and the bands he talked about seemed to have been more than just important bands in his life, they were literally his lifeline.

I think ed was hugely influenced by any band that was political, and bad religion are one of those punk bands that every single song is a protest song. I think that probably appeals and appealed to ed.

hailhail82

This article explains it all pretty well.
http://thebrpage.net/theanswer/?article=eddie_vedder

einatshaul

I think Ed just loves having a band that he opened for - eventually open for him, that's the master plan

Crazy Marcus

The first time I saw Pearl Jam live was at the Polo Fields in Golden Gate Park in 1995. Bad Religion opened for them and had a fantastic set. I had never even listened to them before but after seeing them, it made me a fan. Unfortunately, Eddie was sick and stopped after 7 songs. At this point Neil Young came up and did his best to make it up to the crowd by thoroughly rocking out with the remaining member of PJ. It was a strange and incredible first concert to experience. I digress. . . From the article linked above, it sounds like Ed’s just a fan and why wouldn’t you want to play with someone you love to listen to? I wish they were opening in Seattle.

ReachingForThinAir

oh.

i thought someone got confused with Bad Radio.

Evil Beaver

All good information.

I should have mentioned in my first post that I often wondered whether Bad Religion influenced the name of Ed's previous band, Bad Radio. Pretty close.

Thanks for the link to the Bad Religion page on the collaboration. After 17 years of following Pearl Jam that is the most extensive explanation I've ever received.

I'm going to both Chicago shows. I'd love to see Ed come out and sing "Watch it Die."

Stinkfoot

Didn't they play a festival in Germany ('92) where Ed says to the crowd that if they don't cheer for Bad Religion then they're never playing in Germany again?

hailhail82

This old issue of Bad Times was posted on the BR page in relation to the newly announced shows. Interesting read:

BR/PEARL JAM FEST

June and July, 1995 were spent touring with Pearl Jam on their ill-fated summer extravaganza. Although many of the shows were cancelled part of the way through, it was still a fun way to spend part of the summer. Did it negatively affect BRs credibility? That is debatable, but suffice it to say that there were not a lot of people at those shows who came to see BR. Basically it was Pearl Jam fans who were treated to a blast of classic american punk rock, some of them liked it, some didn't. BR fans did not show up by and large, and that is a good thing for a couple of reasons. First, it was a bit more expensive than we would charge for our concerts and we played a shorter set, so it was not a very good value. Second, it was not a typical setting for the band. In general, BR enthusiasts are not used to huge arenas, and the power of BRs performance is not fully appreciated at such venues.

The good elements of the tour were that it was really fun to be able to play for a mainstream audience without worrying about how well it went over. It felt good to know that some people who had never heard of BR found the new exposure to be a positive experience.

Many people have asked BR what was the real reason Pearl Jam cancelled so many shows? Given our proximity to the situation and our freindship with the band it seems logical that we would be the rock and roll Deep-Throat, and have the real inside story. However, there are conflicting indications from numerous sources and to this day none of the band members (from either Pearl Jam or Bad Religion) seem to have the same understanding of why the tour was cancelled. Suffice it to say that Pearl Jam had a vision of how they wanted to tour, and how they wanted to treat their fans. For numerous reasons their vision didn't materialize. To their credit, they are trying to balance the tough job of being true to themselves in the midst of tremendous popularity. Their ideas are usually noble and good for their fans. But the difficulty of carrying out those good intentions is often times insurmountable because of the rigid structure of the music industry. In general promoters, and record sellers are not interested in helping out the fans. Furthermore, they are not interested in helping bands with gestures of good will to the fans. They are in it to make as much money as quickly as possible. Without the sympathy of the industry, a huge rock band has to fight an uphill battle. Pearl Jam shows us just how hard that battle is, it might be un-winable once a certain level of popularity is achieved. It might always result in cancelled shows and awkward ticket buying promotions. For an independent or relatively small band, it is easier to side-step some of the industry's rigidity in order to bolster the relationship with the fans. But Pearl Jam cannot go back to that level.

Ultimately, the decision to cancel seemed to be based on numerous industry issues as well as certain shortcomings of the band's collective psychology. If you want some dirt, look elsewhere, we have no tabloid-worthy information to report.

corduroykelly

I remember my first concert. It was pearl jam at the old chicago bulls stadium on the v.s tour March 10th Jeff Aments Birthday (cake was thrown at him by Eddie) and the openers were The Frogs and then Bad Religion. Eddie Vedder came out in a cloak to try to save The Frogs from the overwhelming boo's.

PJ Colombian

"I'd love to see Ed come out and sing "Watch it Die."[/quote]


Good call... That would be the sh*t! ... Gettin to these shows early for sure!

blondieblue227

cool thread.

Zidane

Still can't believe that BR's not opening for Pearl Jam in Toronto... :(

Great articles guys, I love that thread. But the funny thing for me is the fact that a year or two ago, Jay was talking trash about PJ for the fact that they wrote music againt Bush when he was off the office soon. The link's here:
http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/B/Bad ... 88630.html

"That's why he finds the sudden vogue of Bush bashing on behalf of acts like Pearl Jam and Neil Young so annoying; it's really too little too late.

"What's the point of coming out and saying 'F--- George Bush?' It's already been done and no one cared," says Bentley.

"Isn't it easy for Neil Young to do it now? Yeah, great, you're political again. Even though I love him, or even Pearl Jam, they're like six years late. I can't help but keep going back to how much damage the Dixie Chicks did by coming out and speaking out against Bush and then retracting it because it was hurting their album sales. "

But hey, I'm happy to see that BR still around and still kick ass. Saw them 3 times and they can still teach some of those so-call punk bands how to put a great show!!!

kiljoythemerciful

Zidane wrote:

Still can't believe that BR's not opening for Pearl Jam in Toronto... :(

Great articles guys, I love that thread. But the funny thing for me is the fact that a year or two ago, Jay was talking trash about PJ for the fact that they wrote music againt Bush when he was off the office soon. The link's here:
http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/B/Bad ... 88630.html

"That's why he finds the sudden vogue of Bush bashing on behalf of acts like Pearl Jam and Neil Young so annoying; it's really too little too late.

"What's the point of coming out and saying 'F--- George Bush?' It's already been done and no one cared," says Bentley.

"Isn't it easy for Neil Young to do it now? Yeah, great, you're political again. Even though I love him, or even Pearl Jam, they're like six years late. I can't help but keep going back to how much damage the Dixie Chicks did by coming out and speaking out against Bush and then retracting it because it was hurting their album sales. "

But hey, I'm happy to see that BR still around and still kick ass. Saw them 3 times and they can still teach some of those so-call punk bands how to put a great show!!!

What an ill informed statement by whoever from BR. I guess you could say they were two years too late but...?

kiljoythemerciful

I have to post again because that quote by Jay Bentley, sorry if I screwed up his name, is pissing me off. That's complete bullshit. Riot Act came out in the Fall of 02 about 18 months after that piece of shit took office. They performed bushleager on tour and didn't apologize to anyone. This comment by Jay almost makes me want to skip his holier than anyone band and their shit music. There I said it, don't care for their music, but his comment is just bull shit!

High Fidelity 2000

Wow, I guess that guy doesn't know what he's talking about. The Riot Act US tour opener was like one week after the war started, and Ed had a LOT to say about it (as well as the Bushleaguer mask "fiasco").

Bad Religion is one of the only PJ openers I would be excited to see (well Ben Harper too, they did OK this tour). I'm not going to Chicago, but the Bad Religion opener makes me wish I was even more. I hope they come out and play Let Them Eat War and the Empire Strikes First and tear the roof off the joing. I was supposed to see them open in '95 but that was one of the rescheduled dates (we got Ramones instead, so I guess that's pretty good, wink wink). Saw them once on their own. All their songs are short and fast and pretty fun. Get there on time to watch them.

DewieCox

kiljoythemerciful wrote:

I have to post again because that quote by Jay Bentley, sorry if I screwed up his name, is pissing me off. That's complete bullshit. Riot Act came out in the Fall of 02 about 18 months after that piece of shit took office. They performed bushleager on tour and didn't apologize to anyone. This comment by Jay almost makes me want to skip his holier than anyone band and their shit music. There I said it, don't care for their music, but his comment is just bull shit!

Agreed.....

He was right on about the Dixie Chicks, though. What a bunch of skanks. They trashed Bush overseas, got blacklisted, then apologized. Further, they came out with a movie whining and crying about the effects it had on their career.

kiljoythemerciful

DewieCox wrote:

kiljoythemerciful wrote:

I have to post again because that quote by Jay Bentley, sorry if I screwed up his name, is pissing me off. That's complete bullshit. Riot Act came out in the Fall of 02 about 18 months after that piece of shit took office. They performed bushleager on tour and didn't apologize to anyone. This comment by Jay almost makes me want to skip his holier than anyone band and their shit music. There I said it, don't care for their music, but his comment is just bull shit!

Agreed.....

He was right on about the Dixie Chicks, though. What a bunch of skanks. They trashed Bush overseas, got blacklisted, then apologized. Further, they came out with a movie whining and crying about the effects it had on their career.

The attitude fits with the Dixie Chicks. I also don't know what he is referencing with Neil, but Neil has been socially active sense before this dude was born. As a representative of a band who, from what I understand, are really into social and community issues, I just don't get this. Maybe he was having a bad day and after a few moments to cool down (having some issues with my old, old Zenith record player as well :evil: ) I have decided to let it go as a dumb-assed comment. I make many of them as well.

Zidane

kiljoythemerciful wrote:

I have to post again because that quote by Jay Bentley, sorry if I screwed up his name, is pissing me off. That's complete bullshit. Riot Act came out in the Fall of 02 about 18 months after that piece of shit took office. They performed bushleager on tour and didn't apologize to anyone. This comment by Jay almost makes me want to skip his holier than anyone band and their shit music. There I said it, don't care for their music, but his comment is just bull shit!

Hahaha!!!! I remember feeling the same way about that interview; I think I stopped listening to any of their albums (BR) for a while...! Oh, and I think the interview was right after the Avocado album and also Neil Young's Living with War.

But like I said earlier, I guess there's no bad blood between BR and PJ for BR to open the Chicago shows.

brainofe

Ok so maybe I'm way late, but what verse does Ed sing on "Watch it Die?" I've listened to that song about a million times and it sounds like the same voice through-out? Is Ed imitating the BR singer or something, I just don't hear it.

brandon10

Zidane wrote:

Still can't believe that BR's not opening for Pearl Jam in Toronto... :(

Great articles guys, I love that thread. But the funny thing for me is the fact that a year or two ago, Jay was talking trash about PJ for the fact that they wrote music againt Bush when he was off the office soon. The link's here:
http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/B/Bad ... 88630.html

"That's why he finds the sudden vogue of Bush bashing on behalf of acts like Pearl Jam and Neil Young so annoying; it's really too little too late.

"What's the point of coming out and saying 'F--- George Bush?' It's already been done and no one cared," says Bentley.

"Isn't it easy for Neil Young to do it now? Yeah, great, you're political again. Even though I love him, or even Pearl Jam, they're like six years late. I can't help but keep going back to how much damage the Dixie Chicks did by coming out and speaking out against Bush and then retracting it because it was hurting their album sales. "

But hey, I'm happy to see that BR still around and still kick ass. Saw them 3 times and they can still teach some of those so-call punk bands how to put a great show!!!

Completely uninformed statement considering the showbox was pre-Iraq. And we all know how long Eddie has been going on about Bush. But I still love Bad Religion.

I hope Eddie lets Jay know how misinformed he is. If he hasn't already.