Questions for the 10C Sirius/XM radio show

HeavyHands

The following is a list of business professional oriented and personal perspective questions for Kelly Curtis, Pearl Jam's manager and guest on the 12/8/2010 installment of The All Encompassing Trip satellite radio show. This list has been organized and gathered from business focused questions which have been submitted through this thread, to me privately, or which are from me directly.

As a primer for Mr. Curtis participation, here is an old article from the Dallas Observer in which it was revealed that he had to provide the band motivation to do bootleg releases. Enjoy! http://www.dallasobserver.com/2001-04-12/culture/the-man-who/

I will update this thread until the broadcast date with the hope that others who might have business related questions will continue to submit them. I will not update this list after the program airs. All questions will be folded back in to the front page list of Unanswered Questions and Answered Questions (if addressed).

H^2
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
1. What is the reasoning behind announcing tour dates several at a time rather than a complete schedule at once? A full schedule would make it easier to see several shows, as well as make it more affordable.

2. A rumour pit topic a long time ago addressed the idea that PJ were "currently working on" getting Mad Season Live At The Moore released on DVD. Has that been canceled, or is still in the works? Since technology has moved forward since then, what about a blu-ray release?

3. Can you detail how certain cities/countries are selected for tour dates?

While the band has played festival shows in the south over the past few years, there hasn't been a full fledged tour through the south since 2003. There are rumours that it's b/c of the South's conservatism, but more reasonable thoughts are album sales and ticket sales are weaker in the South. Can you confirm/deny the rumours and comment on whether a Southern leg of a tour is reasonable in the future or not?

Also, the band hasn't toured through Asia (with the exception of Japan) since 1995. Why not?

4. What is the status of the Rock Band: Pearl Jam project? Is it still alive? If so, is there a projected release date? We're really looking forward to it!

5. Can you shed some light on the mystery of the sports themed shirts from the '09 tour? They seemed very popular but not every city had that theme and then they pretty much went away. Why were the sports-themed shirts from the 2009 tour so limited? Is there any truth to a cease and desist for intellectual property violations? If not, is there any chance of them being sold through the Goods section online?

6. Will the Cameron Crowe film be a live concert film or a documentary film about the band, or a combination therein?

If it is a documentary will the band be in charge of editing out whatever they want, or will this be a documentary of the full PJ history, with 'warts and all'?

7. How does Kufala Recordings, a company based in California, ship out Pearl Jam Official Bootleg CD's to residents all over the world in record shipping time of only 5-7 business day's to any city in the world, while a CD bought @ the 10club store takes 6-8 plus weeks to ship just across the border (to Canada) @ the same postage/shipping cost? Could you test new delivery methods out for the new year?

8. Are there any plans to do a release of any audio or video from the band's past, similar (or not) to the massive Blu-Ray Vault project that Neil Young released this past year? If so, when?

9. What does the Kobalt Music Publishing Press Release mean in regards to goodies being released to us fans? How does this effect the band's ability to put out it's own material?

10. How (if at all) has the band's attitude or outlook changed over the years you've been managing them?

11. PJ got their start at an interesting time in the music industry with respect to recording albums, album/music distribution, touring, doing press, and negotiating contracts with record labels. It seems to listeners that many of these things have changed significantly in the past 20 years. What observations could you share with us about these things?

12. What have been some of the most trying times for you to be the band's manager? Why? Personality conflicts? Political differences? Communication issues?

13. Where do you and the band see the organization going forward? Touring model, Recording schedules, Music distribution models, Release schedules, Press and Interviews, etc...

14. Can you talk about or outline the mechanics of what it takes to put a tour together?
-Logistics
-Planning
-Booking Venues
-Travel reservations/Methods
-Lodging
-The number of people on staff
-Coordinating press and interviews

15. Can you talk about ticket allocation issues per venue with respect to the fan club? Can you detail how locations within venues are agreed upon for fan club ticket holders? Does 10C get any say in the matter or do venues stick you with whatever they feel like? Is it realistic (as a fan) to wonder if 10C might recieve larger blocks of tickets for fan club members in the future?

16. What is your favorite Pearl Jam record and why? What is your favorite non-Pearl Jam record and why?

17. It has been rather famously recounted how after Andrew Wood's passing many members of the Seattle musical community all kind-of turned up at your place instinctively. What did this mean to you as a person, that these people sought you out?

18. What things would you tell yourself 20 years ago to help things with the band run more smoothly or better?

19. Who in the band do you feel you have the closest relationship with?

20. How would you have handled the Ticketmaster years knowing what you know now?

21. Use one word to describe each band member.

22. Referring to creative models of distribution like what Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead have recently done, technology has (in the eyes of listeners/consumers) seemingly made large record labels moot in many respects. Do you discuss this with the band? What are your/their thoughts going forward about utilizing new technology to their advantage? What are your/their fears/apprehensions about adopting new technologies?

23. The band initially took a lot of flack when incomplete details about the 2009 distribution deal with Target Corp first started leaking out. Ultimately (in my eyes) the band's choices were vindicated. Why was there not a faster public response to shut people up and clear the air?

24. What has the band's organization learned from the distribution deal with Target that they would seek to do differently in the future? What do you think were the deal's greatest successes?

25. Who else was in the running for the vocalist position when Stone was putting PJ together? How many different submissions were considered?

NHiding

While the list and questions are all good, remember it's a call in show, so we'll hope for callers on topic and try to sneak a few of these in as well.

ADogNamedPilate

Has Pearl Jam ever considered doing a special release for Record Store Day?

HeavyHands

Roman_Turek wrote:

Has Pearl Jam ever considered doing a special release for Record Store Day?

Roman_Turek, I added your question to the Unanswered Questions list on the front page.

I put it there instead of in the list of questions for Kelly Curtis because I felt that it was general enough to be able to be addressed accurately by other, more regular guests (if someone can get the question in to a band member who thankfully have been appearing semi-regularly lately) or our hosts (like Tim Bierman).

JonnyPistachio

great questions!
thakns for doing all this HeavyHands.

HeavyHands

Just a reminder that the show is on today.

If anyone has any questions for Kelly Curtis, feel free to add them to this thread and maybe some kind caller will see and use it!

Is anyone recording later on? I don't have confirmation from anyone.

StillHere

damn missed the show

and i am hearing through the grapevine that mr. curtis had some encouraging news for us here in the good ol' U S of A?

Can anyone enlighten me?

I see a lot of celebrating going on but no real news.

JonnyPistachio

StillHere wrote:

damn missed the show

and i am hearing through the grapevine that mr. curtis had some encouraging news for us here in the good ol' U S of A?

Can anyone enlighten me?

I see a lot of celebrating going on but no real news.

Yeah, dying to hear/see the transcript.. any highlights?

RedMosquito22

Tuolumne Mama wrote:

Thank you very much Heavy Hands for putting this together - great job. I would like to ask the reasoning behind announcing tour dates several at a time rather than a complete schedule at once? Many of us are also 20 years older and need a bit longer to plan due to family & work obligations. A full schedule would make it easier to see several shows, as well as make it more affordable in this tough economy by giving us time to work out travel details with friends in other cities to share accomodations, car pool, etc. Thank you.

+100

Since the average age of members is probably 30+ we need more time to plan. We can't just do things on a whim like we could in high school or college.

HeavyHands

JonnyPistachio wrote:

Yeah, dying to hear/see the transcript.. any highlights?

I'm working on it JP! I put some time into it last night and am glad I did because this one is content rich. Lots of typing. I anticipate it being up by 11:30 am (or there about) East coast U.S. time today.

JonnyPistachio

HeavyHands wrote:

JonnyPistachio wrote:

Yeah, dying to hear/see the transcript.. any highlights?

I'm working on it JP! I put some time into it last night and am glad I did because this one is content rich. Lots of typing. I anticipate it being up by 11:30 am (or there about) East coast U.S. time today.

Awesome, thanks! Really looking forward to it! :P

HeavyHands

Thanks to Norm for recording this week!

Audio for this week is hosted and available for listening and download at http://www.gremmie.net. Also, don't forget about the on-air replays on Sirius 17/XM 39. Check the front page for dates/times.

Host: Tim Bierman (TB)
Host: The Rob (TR)
Guest: Kelly Curtis (KC)

TR: Kelly has been managing PJ since Day One, something almost unheard of in this day and age in the music business. And we'll learn a little bit about his background and what led him to meeting and working with Mother Love Bone, and then PJ. As well as how he and the band have successfully balanced the fine line of art and commerce, as well as keeping the ship afloat through several storms throughout the band illustrious 20 year career.

Welcome, Kelly Curtis.

KC: Hello. I'm not a woman.

*laughter*

TR: You're not Tony Curtis' daughter either.

KC: No, no.

TR: Cool. Well welcome to the show. We're really glad you decided to join us today. To get started it would be great if you could maybe just tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to be working in the music industry and your travels and experience that brought you to working with Mother Love Bone, and then PJ in Seattle.

KC: Well, it started a long time ago. I was like 16 and working as a roadie for Heart, a big band in the 70's. I think they're kind of happening again right now. And I worked for them for almost ten years. Did everything: Publicity, drove trucks, carried equipment... Valet. That was a good one. Luggage, Tour management, and, you know, did that til the early 80's and stopped doing that. I was ready to move on to something else.

(I) Lived in Seattle. Started a little production company where we helped promoters put on shows and one day Jeff Ament came in to meet me. I'd never met him before and he had this demo tape for Mother Love Bone and asked if, you know... I guess he didn't know anyone at the time that knew anyone in showbiz or Los Angeles or anything like that, and asked if I could help him hook up with some lawyers or agent or anyone. And I said 'Sure.' And we set up some stuff and I went to L.A. and I never went back. I went back from L.A. but never stopped working with Jeff and Stone. And we just kept going.

TR: Before you had met Jeff, before he came in had you seen Green River?

KC: Nope. I was kind of in a completely different music scene: 70's big rock. And so I wasn't really part of the local thing that was going on here.

TR: The loyalty factor within the PJ organization is something to be admired, certainly. When things took off really quickly for you and the band I imagine you probably had to fight off some serious vultures and other factors trying to grab a piece of the band's success, let alone probably trying to lure them away from you and your guidance.

KC: There was a little bit of that when it blew up you know? I didn't have a credit card for the first year, I don't think and, you know, these guys were showing up with expense accounts and stuff. But also that first year we got to meet a lot of really great managers that were really cool to me: U2's manager, Neil Young's manager, who really kind of took me under their wing and said I was doing a good job...

TB: How did you meet those guys? How did you meet Elliott (Neil Young's manager)?

KC: I think, ahhh... Elliott I met at this Bob Dylan Tribute thing in New York that was really early on and Eddie and Mike did it and he was like... God to me kind of because Neil Young was my favorite guy growing up. But at the show, you know we're these young guys from Seattle and we're looking around and there's George Harrison, and Eric Clapton, and Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash, and Neil Young, Tom Petty, all these people, and Elliott knew them all. And I just thought 'God! How cool is that!', you know? We got invited to the Bridge School soon after that and it was just great.

U2 I think we opened for... that first year too in Rome, or... Italy somewhere...

TB: '93

KC: And (Paul) McGuinness (U2's manager) was, and again things were... You could tell things were about to happen and he was a pretty renowned manager himself and so... he was great to me.

TB: And what about John Landau (American music critic, manager for Bruce Springsteen, record producer, and currently the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jon_Landau) and those guys?

KC: I didn't meet Landau 'til much later. 'Til the Vote... You know I knew him, but it was really the Vote For Change Tour that we got to know each other really well.

TR: And those are all relationships that you still maintain rather strongly today, without a doubt.

KC: Oh, yeah. Yeah... I'm suddenly 'The Old Guy.' And I was 'The Young Guy' for a long time and now I'm 'The Old Guy.'

TB: He's even older than me, Rob.

KC: Yeah. (mutters under his breath) Fuck.

*laughter*

TB: But barely.

TR: Alright cool! Before we get to some calls at 855-PearlJam, I have one more subject I want to tread on and it's kind of one that's been going around on the boards and amongst fans too: The balancing of art and commerce, something PJ has always been one of the more righteous bands out there, and successfully doing, through: The well documented Ticketmaster struggle in the 90's, through all their philanthropic efforts... As the industry has drastically changed over the band's career it's obvious other forms of revenue need to be explored, as with the Target deal. But I wanted to ask you about the most recent use of the song Do The Evolution on this hunting show that's on the Vs. network. (it's) Probably, maybe rubbing some people the wrong way, but I'm sure you can never please everybody. But aside from that, on a deal like that is it run by the entire band, and are there pros and cons weighed every time on something like this?

KC: No. It's really up to the song writer, who wrote the song. Or the song writers. You kind of... When there's a deal like that that comes up... This hunting show we were... I just kind of heard about it the last couple of days and we had licensed that to this kid like eight years ago, nine years ago or something like that. And I vaguely remembered, we were talking to Eddie about it yesterday and he kind of remembers too. That we looked at it and thought it was a really funny show. But I really don't remember what... I don't think it was actually about going out and killing animals. I think it was something more absurd. And so...

TB: I seems like it's kind of changed now...

KC: Yeah. Maybe it's changed. We're looking into it. So if it's the guy going out and killing a bunch of things I supposed we'd change our mind. (We) wouldn't think that's much fun.

TR: Yeah. Check out that promo for it, cause I saw it and I was like... Wow...

KC: Where did you find the promo cause I was looking around yesterday?

TR: Ahhh... I saw it somewhere on the web. I think there is a link right on the forum on the subject of it.

TB: Oh God! *laughs*

KC: Is it still the same name? Is it 'Shootin' Blanks with Kenny' or something like that?

TR: It's 'Buddy Somebody' and it's his hunting show and I'd never heard of it before til I saw those subjects on the forum and I was... Clicked on it and when I saw the... You know, the cock(ing action) of the gun *laughs*... And the song starts, I was like 'Oh man!' *laughs* (the promo for the TV show can be seen here: http://www.versuscountry.com/hunting/videos/promo-gun-it-with-benny-spies/-ed)

KC: Well... I'll look into that directly.

*laughter*

And I'll let Tim know what I find out.

*laughter*

TR: Cool. Alright one more thing that (is) a collective question, and I see that they're (callers) lining up to ask you too, everybody wants to know: How are tours planned and how does it really come about and what goes on behind it and the thinking of the logic and so maybe, perhaps let everybody in on that and maybe put some myths and rumors to rest once and for all.

KC: What are the myths and rumors?

TR: Oh, you know... The whole... The South and all that, you know. Why they don't play there. Blah blah blah...

KC: Wellll... Or Asia? I guess that was one too, right?

TR: Ah, yeah. There was a big Indonesia factors out there now.

KC: Well... It's complicated. You know, these guys were never the band that was going to release a record and tour for a year and a half, you know. Really, their stamina, kind of what makes them who they are, you know, without going through the motions and having it be different every night, ummm... That only can remain fresh for so long... before it gets old or anything. And also because it's physically demanding. Especially for Eddie, Matt, and... these long shows and it's emotionally demanding cause they don't dial it in. And I'm not sayin' cause there's a lot of bands out there that are huge that will be out there off and on for a couple of years with the same kind of production and everything. But it's the same thing, you know? They might mix up a couple songs and so it's not as demanding, as far as using your brain and stuff.

So, that said, you only get so much out of this band every year. And they will only tour for... These days it's like three weeks... It's kind of like as much as we could get so... Ummm... So then you figure it out and Asia is one that we just never kind of went back to because it was like: You give up the U.S. or you give up Europe and yet, we may get back there in the next couple of years, you know? Like South America, that took 15 years or something for us to get there. So there's that part of it.

And then the routing is a difficult thing. You kind of get the band to kind of talk about what time of year they want to go and so you're having to deal with these venues, and what's available and what's not available, and how you get the trucks from Point A to Point B, and how it makes sense...

Then, like Asia, or South America, or something like that you find yourself every couple of years thinking 'God we haven't played Seattle! It's our home town! We've gotta go back to Seattle!' And you find yourself routing yourself South again or down the West Coast and then your three weeks are up . And then every couple of years we might want to do Letterman, or Saturday Night Live, or something and it's like 'Wow! We'd better route ourselves that way!' And if I had another four or five or six weeks...

The guys talk about it all the time like 'There's so many places we haven't gone back to.' But it's hard to do both with the limited amount of time we have and so, we do eventually get everywhere. You know? We do go to Texas and we do go to Florida, but not as often as we might like to.

TB: I think one of the frustrating things for fans is that they would like to be able to plan out their whole entire year and I think that the problem is, you kind of alluded to it before, it's an apples and oranges kind of thing. They're used to seeing people like, and no offence to U2, but like, U2 is going to sign up for a world tour and they're going to go out for more than a year and a half. And they're gonna cover the world and someone's gonna write a big check at the beginning of it and they have to play those shows and so they can say 'Okay. We're gonna be in your town on this date and we're gonna come back again the next year!' So people are used to seeing that and PJ just doesn't work that way.

KC: Yeah. They're not built that way.

TB: It's in our best interest to let our fans know with as much advance as we can but... it's just not as easy as saying 'Okay, we're gonna play this country this summer.' Because we don't know. We can't say until we actually know.

KC: And, you know, the other thing that frustrates people is even when we do announce a tour and we add things later... The whole timing thing, trying to get the word out to the fan club so they can order tickets and stuff, but a lot of times you're routing a tour and, you know, you're trying to go Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, L.A., San Diego, whatever... Maybe when you're routing that Portland is just not available. Or the building is just not available...

TB: The Blazers are in the playoffs and that's the day you want to be there.

KC: Yeah, this happened to us last year quite a bit. We were trying to book this tour and all these arenas, even the Knicks, they said 'We're gonna be in the playoffs'... Everyone knew they weren't gonna be in the playoffs but they have to hold the dates, you know? They just have to. So you can't announce that you're gonna play there even though you kinda know you're gonna play there but not until they're eliminated. And that could be well after the shows have gone on sale.

Does that make any sense at all?

TR: It definitely does and the way that the band has done things has made them the special way that they are and enabled them to keep going and providing and putting on the shows that they do. And I think we're all very thankful for it.

Do you think the band would ever consider doing their own type of festival like Wilco recently did?

KC: That's funny you mention that.

*Tim Bierman knowingly, amusingly, subtly laughs...*

TR: Hmmmm!

KC: You know, we're messing around with something for next summer some sort of 20th anniversary weekend... party. Somewhere in the middle of the country. We're trying to figure that out right now.

TR: WOW!

KC: Like a destination weekend... party. You know?

TB: Do you think people would like that Rob?

TR: You heard it here first folks!

*laughter*

TR: I feel the internet buzzing right now! *laughs*

KC: It'd be kind of fun right?

TR: That's some great news. Uhhh, yeah!

KC: With camping and all that kind of stuff?

TB: Camping yeah!

TR: Bring it on! Bring it on! Alright lets bring on some callers too *gives out the number*

1. I've had the 'Stick guy' tattoo for a long time and I don't know the background. Can you guys elucidate the background of the 'Stick guy'?

KC: It's Jeff isn't it?

TB: Yeah it's Jeff. Jeff drew that for the Alive single, I think. And so it's funny that that thing became such an icon... It's one of those things that every year, pretty much, we get approached by a merchandiser, or merchandising company, or anybody that's kind of trying to give us a visual pitch and they always include that guy on there...

KC: PJ pj's.

*laughter*

TB: I think that the guys just got tired of seeing that thing everywhere. It just kind of represents that first wave of being asked for artwork and they were in such a creative mode at that point that they just wanted to keep creating new things and changing their image and not be tied down to one particular... look and feel. Musically or visually. And I think that's why we haven't seen a lot of the 'Stickman' lately. But that's not really the question you asked...

KC: Jeff!

TB: Jeff! Jeff! Jeff! Yeah Jeff's quite an accomplished visual artist and that has always been one of his things that he's just constantly drawing. Eddie is too and Stone. All the guys can create visual art but Jeff definitely is very prolific and pretty talented for sure.

2. Back in 2009 at the Chicago shows Ed mentioned that they tried to get those shows at Alpine Valley. And I was wondering what exactly were the hang-ups there?

KC: I think with that particular thing it was a parking negotiation about how much they were going to charge and we were trying to get them not to rip people off so much and it became kind of a stalemate. That's what I recall. Sort of a stubborn...

Caller: There wasn't any falling out then? It wasn't like that place was just off the table then? Or is it a possibility for the future?

KC: It's always a possibility! Things change, you know? It's really a promoter issue, or a LiveNation issue as opposed to that particular joint. I'm surprised we had the problems we did then but you know LiveNation is kind of... It's not just one person, you know? They all have their territory and stuff, and this particular time last year was last year. We just weren't getting on with the dude that... we were negotiating with.

**Kelly Curtis on Mike McCready**
"Mike's got a lot going on right now. He's scoring a whole bunch of stuff. A Lance Armstrong documentary, which is pretty cool."

Caller: You (Kelly Curtis) manage the band. Do you also manage their side projects?

KC: Some of them. I think Brad, cause Brad's a different animal that's kind of always there, and I think Stone has a new found dedication to Brad and so it requires a little more day-to-day... It's a little bit of a different animal than, say, Jeff's solo project, or Eddie's solo project. It's like a band and, although we're always here to help and we do, I think he's kind of looking to have someone just dedicated to that particular thing. But Eddie and Jeff... Matt Cameron stuff... We kind of just help him here. It's not like he goes out and tours on the stuff or anything. And Jeff's got a killer record coming out soon with Doug from King's X. That is really good. So I don't know if that answered your question. Most of the time, yeah. I manage it.

Caller: Assuming that PJ would be first and foremost amongst all the band members, is there a time frame (with respect to side/solo projects), maybe generally, I'm not talking about a date, but is it like 'Hey, you guys have got about six months to kind of do your thing and then, for instance, June we're gonna get back to PJ stuff' or are you just kind of letting that stuff run their courses organically?

KC: Well they actually talk to each other and, you know... We just kind of came off, for us, kind of a busy year and a half or so and... Was it a year and a half?

TB: Almost two years.

KC: And so there was a natural break in there for PJ and so people... Matt started doing his Soundgarden thing and Jeff had been working on this record for a bit and Stone was on Jimmy Kimmel last night and there's a natural break that happens and that's when these things kind of go on. We know generally things are gonna happen about a year out, but it's pretty general.

3. How do you struggle with being PJ when you write stuff and doing what you want to do versus worrying about what might be accepted in the popular arena?

Has a song ever surprised you when it became more popular than you thought and vice-versa?

KC: Well, I don't have to survive anything. The guys in the band do so I can't really answer for them. I've got a pretty good normal life going on.

TB: I think the question was 'Does the band struggle with purposely trying to write a song for commercial success?' I think it's pretty obvious that they don't do that ever, and they never have.

And then the follow up part was 'Has there ever been a surprise?' A song that came up that was a total surprise.

KC: Well Last Kiss would be the best example I guess, cause that just kind of happened all on it's own. Yellow Ledbetter a little bit too, I think. Because that was never a single or anything was it?

TB: No. That was a B-Side it wasn't even on the record. And then more recently Brother from when we reissued Ten. That just kind of came out of nowhere. That people started playing it on the radio.

Caller: Is it a group decision or is it more of someone just says 'Hey lets just throw it in and see what happens.'

KC: A group decision on what songs to take to radio?

Caller: Or to include anywhere. Something like Last Kiss or Yellow Ledbetter. Is that just like someone's like 'Lets take a chance' or does everyone agree that 'that is a good one.'

KC: I think Last Kiss was a Christmas thing right? So it's like Tim, every year, is trying to get these guys to, in some timely manner *laughter* get the Christmas thing out and kind of get them all to agree so he's constantly putting stuff in front of them and at some point they all go 'Okay' and...

TB: It just happens.

KC: It just happens, yeah.

TB: But as far as including tracks on records and stuff that's just all... Everybody weighs in. Band members, management, record companies...

KC: I think it's the band, for sure.

TB: Ultimately it's them, yeah.

KC: It's not anybody else. We all get to chime in on what songs we like the most and all that.

4. What are the top five priorities on the rider list?

TB: Well that's interesting I guess. Huh?

TR: Love that. *laughs*

KC: God, I'd have to look at the rider, cause security and safety is really key.

Caller: I guess some of the fun stuff.

KC: Oh we're boring man.

*Background laughter*

It's boring and kind of healthy and there's not a lot of exciting stuff going on back stage, really.

Caller: Alright. Had to ask.

*laughter*

KC: I'm sorry! There's just none of that going on!

TB: Whenever people ask me if they can get a backstage pass after I always say 'Yeah so you can come back and get a good look at our deli tray.'

KC: We don't even have a deli tray.

TB: Oh man! We've got to start asking for deli trays.

KC: We get peanut butter and stuff. Bread...

TB: A juicer!

KC: Yeah. Some bananas...

Caller: No meatballs or...

KC: You know all that early rock nonsense is just nonsense. It's just a waste of time and money and all that. It's just silly.

TB: Van Halen crossed the line when they made 'em pick out all the blue m&m's.

KC: If we have a bunch of people, guests and stuff we'll get some beer and water... wine or something like that. It's not super exciting back stage.

TR: The Jack Daniels infused granola is just a myth then.

KC: I don't think they have any hard liquor back stage. It think they might have tequila sometimes but that's about it.

TB: Well people will bring presents and...

5. Why when they (the band) come to New York don't they do a smaller venue? Come to the beach and come to the water!

TR: They did three nights at the beach in 2000, and the Colosseum in '03 to which I went back across the country for cause I grew up in that dump so I felt like I had to go there and the Bushleaguer deal reminded me of why i moved 3,000 miles away.

*laughter*

I would be surprised if they ever went back to that building. Jones Beach? That's another story.

6. When you schedule a tour, in terms of bands that PJ plays with, whether they're opening for them, or the bands are opening for them, is there a big difference in terms of how you're planning things out or perhaps pressure that the band might feel when they're doing things like they did in Honolulu a couple of years ago with U2 versus, maybe, bands that haven't got off the ground yet or are starting to get off the ground?


KC: Nope. There's no pressure. The guys come up with who they're interested in opening, or who they're listening to or who's kind of available. Sometimes it's like a Ben Harper that they've been friends with a long time and it just kind of makes sense or sometimes it's Mudhoney or something from Seattle. Or Band of Horses was last year which everyone enjoyed. Opening for U2, it's always fun for these guys to do and it's more of an honor for them with the Rolling Stones, or Neil Young, or Bruce Springsteen, or whoever it is. They would never stress about the fact that they're opening and not headlining and stuff. It'd be more of a bow to these people that they respect, you know?

TB: What about the issue of 'co-headlining shows' where, I think, our guys would much rather play before a band of, like, equal stature than to try to...

KC: Yeah, I don't think they care. Really, you know? So there is no pressure and they don't stress about it. Because they don't tour too much, and because they don't burn themselves out it's all kind of joyous out there. And that's what makes it killer, right?

Caller: In terms of how those calls go (calls to potential opening bands), how do they go and how does that process work?

KC: I don't call the bands directly myself. The band gives me their wish list and our agent kind of talks to their agent. Sometimes there's a relationship where Ed might call Mark Arm or someone in Mudhoney and just go 'What are you guys doing?' Or if there's someone where we know the manager we'll call and say 'Are they up for it?' It just depends on what their plans are. If they're busy or they're not busy. If they wanna be home or not be home.

Caller: Is there any place that you or the band think is "the Best" venue or city that you've been though, or places where you haven't had such good success or a time?

KC: Nassau was not that much fun.

*laughter*

KC: No, it was fine. IIIIIIt was fine. It was all fine. Everything has it's own personalities. That guy (earlier caller) was talking about Jones Beach and stuff but really the answer to all that is: They love playing the arenas. They love the intimacy and all that... They love those places. We try to talk them in to doing some sheds or amphitheaters every now and then, or maybe a festival every now and then but they don't like it. They like the arena.

7. I've been in the fan club since the mid '90's, then two years ago we were shout out of getting any tickets. Why is that?

TB: First of all, New York is where everybody wants to go and so there's not enough tickets to go around. That's just the ultimate answer to that question. I answered it last week. I think I may have answered it the week before. When you only have a certain number of tickets, and many more people, like 10 times more people trying to buy those tickets, two things are going to happen. Number one: Not everybody's going to get their tickets. Number two: The server's gonna crash. And that's just the case for a couple of markets. Usually Philadelphia, New York, and Boston are the three places that are notorious where that will happen. I don't know where you're trying to buy tickets to, but if it was one of those places than that's a problem area. We've been... Like to get more tickets for the fan club and we're working on that and hopefully it will get better in the coming years...

Here's my suggestion for you. Instead of trying to go and see the band in like, the Garden, or even if you did get a ticket you probably wouldn't be that close to the stage... Pick a nice little town in the Midwest like Indianapolis or St. Louis or Kansas City. Great towns to go visit and you'll be right up in the front and have a great time and there won't be a hassle and...

8. How does a set list get created? I know Eddie's in charge of making the list each night and you never know what to expect from him. What goes through their mind when they make a set list? Who has all the input with that?

KC: I think Eddie puts in most of the work. He really does put in a lot of work. He wants to know what's going on in that town and kind of get a feel for the building, and the crowd, and if there's any kind of controversy or political things going on or causes or... It's real work. He spends hours educating himself about the show he's gonna do that night. And he gets some sort of feeling about how he wants it to go. Usually the input the other guys have has to do with guitar changes and tempos and stuff like that. Eddie, it's not like he just sits down and whips out some songs. He kind of, struggles with it for a long time. Hours, you know?

TB: I remember we actually talked about this on one of the other shows. (On the 11/XX/2010 show Tim goes over this in great detail -ed) He'll actually know the last couple of times he's played a city what got played and...

KC: He'll know every time.

TB: Yeah every time. And how it was received and another thing that he'll do... He'll go out and watch the opening act or just go out and take a look at the venue to kind of get a vibe and a feel as to what's going on out there... And if it seems like a really rowdy crowd or whatever he might choose to start off with a slower, mid-tempo song just to kind of get people back on their heels a little bit so you can deliver a blow later on. And then if there are people sitting back on their hands he might feel like he want to come out and double-barrel hit right off the top ...

KC: Or none of that. Or all of that.

TB: It's just a feeling that he gets and like Kelly said he puts an extremely large amount of work into that.

Caller: Hard to Imagine is my favorite PJ song. How come that never made it (on)to a record?

KC: I have no idea. Tim can you answer that?

TB: *laughs* I have no idea either. Rob? Do you know?

*laughter*

TR: I do, but I'm not at liberty to tell. I'm sorry.

TB: All right there you have it. Good job!

KC: You've got to wait until those guys are on the show themselves and ask them a question like that.

9. What's the status of the Rock Band (video game) project? It was last year when they released a bunch of different songs and at the same time asked us to vote on what was the best live version... I haven't heard anything really concrete since.

KC: I think that's more of a Rock Band question. They're kind of struggling, I think, with their own selves and what technology and path they want to take. I think that maybe some of these releases didn't work out for them so well. Maybe Green Day, maybe not even The Beatles were what they expected and that the technology is changing and they're trying to figure out what it is, if anything.

Caller: When Backspacer was released two years ago it was also released simultaneously (for Rock Band). How did that go? Was that a success? Is that something that you feel will happen with future albums or releases?

KC: Just having them simultaneously available digitally for games? Is that what you're asking?

Caller: Yeah like how Backspacer came out the same day. The album itself.

TB: We had that special edition that had the DLC with it that we sold at Target, you know? Which um... I wouldn't necessarily call that a huge success *laughs* or anything It was just...

KC: I don't know. I think it'd be better to do... I think it would be interesting to hear from gamers what they thought, you know?

Caller: As a PJ fan... I thought it was a great way to get to know the album and the lines and the tempo of the album. I wasn't just playing it in the car when I was driving along or at the computer or whatnot.

TB: Yeah, we've been, really, we've been working with Rock Band to try to figure out interesting and innovative ways to bring PJ music to the game. We're kind of in the middle of still trying to figure that out. And at the same time having to deal with their issues that they have internally. We're hopeful for it.

10. In 2003 it seemed like you were able to get as many tickets as there were requests except for the MSG 2 show. Since then it's kind of been rumored that Ticketmaster only gives you 10% of the venue for fan club tickets. Is that true?

KC: Ticketmaster controls how much we get for sure. It's more than 10%.

TB: But it didn't change then.

KC: It hasn't changed. Nothing got less or more.

TB: For us.

KC: But yes. Yes. They do control. They are Ticketmaster.

Caller: Okay. I was just curious if that was a rumor or if that's actually true.

TB: Yeah, that's a rumor. That's a tour rumor.

11. It's been talked about that PJ's music would be perfect for half time at the Superbowl, so has it been talked about? Is it possible? What do you say?

KC: Uhhh... You know. I don't think it's gonna happen in the next ten years. But never say never.

Caller: Hoping more for new Meadowlands Stadium, or what we call Giant's Stadium here in New Jersey. What do you say? It's uhhh... 2014, I think?

KC: Ummm... I think we should think a little... I think we need to be around for a lot longer. I don't think it'd be the most comfortable experience for those guys to do something like that. It would just, uhhh... We would probably all regret it at this point. I'd lose my job and be fired. And then Tim would be fired. And then...

*laughter*

...everyone would be fired and it would just be horrible.

TB: And the band would break up.

KC: Yep. The band would break up.

*laughter*

TR: But the Seahawks might win the super bowl!

KC: About the time PJ plays half time, right?

*laughter*

12. My first concert happened to be at Golden Gate Park when Eddie Vedder went down with the stomach flu...

KC: I'm sorry.

TR: June 24th

Caller: I've been to many concerts since then, but I have to say that show was probably some of the best rock music I heard you guys play. Then the show that he made up for it at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, I think, was almost a year later was just phenomenal.

KC: You didn't get a refund so you got to go for free? That show was for free, right?

Caller: Yeah it was free but he played, I think they played for almost three hours.

KC: That was a really... You really like that show (the Golden Gate Park show), huh? Cause I think he only did like three songs. It was weird cause it was...

TB: I think he did like seven...

TR: No, it was seven songs and then... For me it was truly a weird experience because to see Neil (Young) come out and save the day with the guys and then watch, like 20,000 angry people leave because Eddie Vedder was ill was just... bizarre.

KC: Bizarre. Yeah. It was funny cause he was really... It wasn't funny it was frickin'... But when he started singing I thought 'Oh, Jesus! He's gonna do it. It's gonna be alright! He sounds great!' But he was soooo sick and then... I think there would've been a riot or something if Neil hadn't been there. I think people would've been so pissed off... Didn't they do Rockin' In The Free World like a couple times?

TR: Twice.

KC: Just wearing people down, and wearing people down...

TB: Like a 20 minute Cortez The Killer...

KC: You should've seen the look on the promoter's face man! He was fuckin' pissed!

*laughter*

Caller: My brother and I were there and we thought those seven songs that they played were rockin'. Then we also saw you with the Stones at Oakland Colosseum when it was just pouring down rain which was awesome also.

KC: Yeah that was good.

TR: Those were fun times!

KC: Did you go to one show or four shows?

Caller: Yeah, I think you guys played three or four that weekend. But we went to the one where it was just pissin' down rain so...

KC: Yeah, they came out in rain suits, right?

Caller: Yeah. *says thanks and goodbye*

KC: I can't believe Mike McCready hasn't called and stalked me...

*laughter*

TB: Where's Mike McCready?

TR: Yeah! Where are you this week, Mike? Come on dude?

13. Do you all have the ability to, say, for example Eddie and the band wanted to have an impromptu show at their house or sing at the *indecipherable* ...Do they have the ability to do something like that at their house now with their own channel?

TB: I think they have the ability to do whatever they want. I think they're a pretty big company, Sirius. Yeah, I think those things could be achieved. I don't know if anybody's gonna have a concert at their house...

Well Eddie could come in here with his guitar and sit down and play a song and we could figure out a way to get him on...

Caller: I was just curious If they would just come on there one day and just talk to all their fans or whatnot.

TB: That's actually... Seriously though, that is a good question and we would love that and I'm sure you guys would too. We just want to put it out there that it's always open to them if they want to do that.

KC: Today you're stuck with me.

Caller: I thought that'd be kind of cool because... my first show was '95 in New Orleans when they were supposed to play the Fourth of July, but of course Ticketmaster...

TB: Oh, yeah

Caller: ...threw a curve ball into that.

TB: (jokingly) They keep going back to that summer of '95...

*laughter*

Caller: ...I was wondering if that was even possible. I assumed it was...

TB: Yep. Oh yeah.

TR: Well, all we can say is: 'Stay tuned!'

14. I been to the three shows in Jones Beach in 2000 and, no offence, but the sound, I think, in Jones Beach is terrible so please don't go to Jones Beach just go to the Garden.

You guys put out Backspacer yourselves without having a record company backing you. I wanted to know: How was it different and what was it like?

KC: It was a challenge. It was pretty good. We learned a lot and every time we put out a record we'll know a little bit more and the landscape changes a little bit more. It was work, for sure, but...

Caller: Was it more fulfilling and more fun?

KC: Ahhh it was... You know that's a hard question. It's always great to get a record out and have people be able to get it and get past that. In this particular case, to be able to put it out ourselves was pretty amazing. That we didn't really screw it up too much and, like I said, we learned a lot. And it will be even better the next time, you know?

TB: I was just going to say I think it was really fulfilling from my angle anyway just to note that we could pull it off, you know? We've always gone into these big shiny glass steel buildings to make those things happen and it's a lot more refreshing to just come down to your...

KC: Plaster and wood...

TB: Your little plaster and wood office by the highway and make it happen from here. In that regard, yeah. It was awesome.

15. I was wondering, because of Matt Cameron being their drummer, and now Soundgarden being back together have you heard anything about maybe a Temple of the Dog-type-situation?

KC: I have heard of a Temple of the dog-type-situation, but I don't know what's going to happen. Ummm, you never know. It's a big year coming up!

Caller: I would love to see them in concert.

KC: We have a little problem in that our drummer plays in all three bands so I don't know how you pull something off without killing him.

*Thanks to Kelly Curtis*

KC: I've got to go get in this 'gun' show or whatever...

**Tim Bierman and Kelly Curtis on the accuracy of the recently revealed Pearl Jam event tentatively scheduled for Summer 2011**

TB: I just want to clear that up. It's two days we're talking about.

KC: Maybe.

TB: Well it might be more. You never know. So it's open ended.

NEXT WEEK: A special two hour AET with all the factors of the Two Feet Thick website (http://www.twofeetthick.com): Kathy Davis, Jessica Letkemann, and John Reynolds. It's going to be the ideal fan-intensive experience!

Spoken

HeavyHands-
YOU RULE!!!!

HeavyHands

Spoken wrote:

HeavyHands-
YOU RULE!!!!

Kind of you.

I'll pass along any credit to The Rob, Tim Bierman, and all of their weekly guests for getting this all going. I hope that they, and the folks at Sirius/XM know how much we appreciate the show and hope that it can continue for a long, long time!

Spoken

HeavyHands-
I think the show might be at a bad time for caller-
people are still at work around the USA, and can't call with questions....what do u think?

davidtrios

youre the best heavyhands!

HeavyHands

Spoken wrote:

HeavyHands-
I think the show might be at a bad time for caller-
people are still at work around the USA, and can't call with questions....what do u think?

From our perspective, sure. A broadcast during a weekday that is later in the evening would probably draw more callers or listeners. I'm ultimately not sure though. I'll leave those declarations to the marketing research people at Sirius/XM.

I consider the following when thinking about what you're getting at:

Each show's premiere broadcast time falls across the continental U.S. time zones (not sure about Hawaii or Alaska) like this.

5PM East
4PM Central
3PM Mountain
2PM Pacific

Here's where listeners are most likely to be* during those times (in my opinion):

5PM East: Leaving work or driving home.
4PM Central: Winding down the work/school day.
3PM Mountain: At work/school.
2PM Pacific: At work/school.

*all assume a 1st shift work schedule.

Could the show premiere at an air time more conducive to having more fans call in? Probably "yes." As a guess, probably a weekend time slot would have the most listeners due to the M-F career path a majority of people follow. My observation though is that they're not really having much of a problem getting callers right now. There seems to be enough people to fill up an hour-plus quite easily. As far as listeners go, they replay the show four times at different times (where maybe people who work different shifts at work might be more likely to catch it), and we seem to be falling in to a pattern of fans recording the shows and making them available to download at our convenience. So really, very few people are losing out on the listening experience. Especially our friends overseas who cannot get Sirius/XM.

Also, we need to think about the nature of the show being of East Coast origin. That's where the hosts live and where the band lives and it makes them all more available to be on the show. People with families tend to leave work at work and enjoy their time in the evenings or on weekends to themselves. If they delayed the show until everyone was at home and had eaten dinner and were settled in for the evening it would be nearly (if not) midnight on the East Coast. I wouldn't ask them to work on the weekends just so I could listen to it live.

What do you think?

Black Diamond

HeavyHands wrote:

What do you think?

It's a difficult question, as much as what time to play the full concerts. I have been trying to get them to do a morning commute show (6 am EST start) but of course I am EST... and that is not exactly commute time for the rest of the country.

BTW, good news on the Sirius front... Howard Stern just signed a new 5 year contract, so that should keep them in business longer. Considering 60% of the subscribers listen to his channels, it could have been an ongoing issue.

elwayvedder

wow, amazing. thank you for this transcript. i love thursdays because of you and these transcripts!

JonnyPistachio

thanks again HeavyHands!!
Good read, I love thursdays too now!

Awesome about the PJ event -- possible two day excursion!
and there are TOTD ideas floating about, nice!!