How did you first get into pearl jam?

Daniel

Bought ten my sophmore year of high school (1999) and enjoyed it but that was the only pearl jam I knew until 2000 when I bought Binaural. I enjoyed that so much I found the pearljam website and purchased the hamburg and kattowice 2 bootlegs on a whim. Thats what got me and I've been hooked ever since!!!!!!!!

corduroy85

Two years ago, summer of 2006. Saw Even Flow on TV while working in the US. I guess VH1 was showing it because Avocado had come out. Next day went to WalMart and bought Rearviewmirror.

ByYourSide

My eternal PJ love is entirely credited to my brothers and sister. They wouldn't let me listen to spice girls like every other 10 year old girl (thank god) So I grew up listening to some amazing bands. My brother even took me to my first pearl jam concert last week. Yay for know the words to nothing man instead of 'spice up your life'!

Left Porch

Even though I was young when it came out I remember staying home sick from school and watching the videos for Jeremy and Evenflow and thinking this is some pretty cool stuff. But it wasn't probably till 98' when I was like 11 or 12 that I started to really become a big fan buying all the posters, CD's, bootlegs, videos etc...Yield, the album they released that year still remains my favorite PJ CD, for both the music and sentimental reasons, being its the album that turned me into a huge PJ fan. I've enjoyed every moment since then haha.

kineticjam

My brother had the tape of Ten when I was maybe in 8th grade. I used to listen to that tape all the time. I also had a sweet bootleg called "Against" that was taped in New Orleans and it was amazing. Some dipshit has since stolen that bootleg. Since then every new album is like a holiday!

Touchofgray16

It was 1992 and I was 34 years old. At the time I was a stay-at-home Mom with 3 kids under 8 years old. That September I watched the MTV Music Awards and saw Ed sing with his eyes closed (for the most part) and I have been hooked ever since.

This week I took all three of my daughters to see the band. What a phenomenal experience !!!

san pedro

when i saw the "ALIVE" video on Mtv in 1992. i recognized the drummer (matt chamberlain) from the new bohemians. i went to high school with him. he got me backstage to a couple of new bohemian shows in the bay area. when i saw him in the alive video i thought "awesome he's in another great band", but as it turns out he was just filling in for a bit. and the rest is history..........

MakingWaves

I think it was 1991, I was 15 or 16, and my family was going through some rough shit, parents getting a divorce, and I couldn't sleep. I got up and put it on MTV and was watching 120 Minutes. Fuck that was a good show to see some good music. Anyway, Alive video came on and the lyrics hit me so hard. I went out the next day and bought the tape and the rest is history. I fucking love this band and like almost everyone else on here this band has gotten me through so much shit in my life.

GlttrGrrl

It was 1991. I was 15. I lived in NYC. PJ were on tour with RHCP and Smashing Pumpkins. At the time I mostly listened to hair metal - I just liked dudes with long hair - but I did like RHCP. At the time, bands often bought mailing lists from other bands, so I often got mailings from bands I never heard of. I got a flier in the mail inviting me to see PJ for free at CBGBs. All I had to do was call the band's manager and give him my name. He asked me, "How many people are you going to bring?" I didn't know anyone who'd ever heard of the band so I said, "One?"

I spent a day or two trying to convince someone...anyone to come with me to see this band, and no one had ever heard of them. No one wanted to go. These were the same people who were the band's #1 fans 6 months later after the band blew up...but I digress. I found a girl to come with me. We showed up, didn't have ID (it was 16+), my name was misspelled on the guest list, but I recognized it. I pointed and said "That's me, but my name's misspelled." the guy at the door said, "Do you have ID?" I said, "I do, but that's not the correct spelling of my name, so what does it matter?" He handed me a package that had postcards for me to give to my friends to get them to join the band's fanclub. Also inside were two paper tickets for the show, but no one collected the tickets. They stamped my hand, I found a table with some girls I knew from other shows.

After I looked in the package, I told the girl who came with me to go outside and hand the paper tickets to the first two people in line who couldn't get in. We had our hand stamps, so we didn't need the tickets. I still wonder who those two lucky fans were and whether they still listen to PJ.

Anyway, I didn't know their music at all, but I was totally blown away by the show. All I remembered about them was that they were these dudes in crazy hats who made awesome music. I *ran* to Tower Records afterwards to buy Ten on cassette. I went back to the club. The band was hanging out, but I never talked to them, instead spending my time talking to some local radio DJ and some guys in a local band who I thought were hot. I still kick myself today for not talking to the band when I had a chance.

I've been a diehard fan since November 1991

PJ_Jammer

My self I was always a Pearl Jam fan since Ten, but became a die hard fan in 2003. I have been to 5 shows since but am planning out a few more shows a year. i wasn't able to go to shows when I was 12 yeard old.

phungi

Was living in Toronto 1991-1992, and my friend Jane lived in Seattle. She wrote me (remember a time before cell phones, text messages, and, GASP, e-mail?!?) about this band she was into, and sent a cassette. I listened, LOVED it, and wrote her back a review. She wrote to Eddie on the back of my letter, and a few weeks later she gets the following:

"Thanks, Jane
For BOTH letters.

(photo of winter wave)
You get it.. at the risk of repeating myself... MMMM...BREATH...LIFE...

& by reminding you, I remind myself

Note: It's a long letter if you read it s l o w"

Link to copy of letter:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/20157049@N00/2615965621/

I was already a fan, but how can you not be drawn in by that? Saw them in Toronto and Lalapalooza that year, and as often as I can ever since.

On a side note, Jane got rid of a ton of old "baggage" including the letter, so my copy is the lone version, otherwise we would have a "Vedder Original" drawing.

markymark550

It was the summer of '95, I was 13 years old, and Better Man was getting heavy rotation in the rock radio stations. The first time I heard that song, I loved it. I would sit around with the radio on just waiting for it to come back on. One day, out of the blue, my sister walks into my room and throws the Vitalogy cassette to me and says "because I'm such a good sister, I got this for you." It was a very appreciated gift as I hadn't really started to develop my music collection yet, but after listening to the whole Vitalogy cassette, I was hooked on Pearl Jam. From there I went and found out if they had any other albums, which they did, and immediately bought all 3 in CD form (yes, I've got Vitalogy on cassette and cd). After hearing Alive, I knew there was no turning back and that Pearl Jam was my favorite band.

PJ212

The decision of a 12 year old can't be based on much more than this...
I thought Eddie Vedder was cuter than Kurt Cobain, may he rest in peace.

But soon after the music and the lyrics grabbed hold and that was it.

blondieblue227

san pedro wrote:

when i saw the "ALIVE" video on Mtv in 1992. i recognized the drummer (matt chamberlain) from the new bohemians..

so cool because i just was going to post a question about that.
now i don't have to.