It's cool that they're doing this. I asked, "Which songs from Gigaton do you most look forward to playing live?" Seems like the type thing they'd be interested in talking about.
They are bringing all answered questions to the top right now. You can also click on the handle that they are using to answer to see everything they are saying.
I
don't miss wetting the bed till i was 9 but i do miss not getting up to
go pee twice a night like did when i was 20... man ....sweet 20
yearly bladder... plus all my other ailments....Mike , whats all our
ailments again?sg
Depends
on the song. I usually am confident that Stone will come up with
something great for my songs.On Retrograde he came up with the
atmospheric melody in the first part of the chorus.Sometimes ED will
have a fixed Idea on how a rythm should be played with references like "
make it sound like the KInks" Jeff will have specific melodic leads
that he will want me to play. I usually like to hear what the guys will
come up with on their own.Mike
Chris,
I usually just go with the first 2 leads that Im feeling. Composition
for me comes in songwriting more than leads. One example of comp. on a
lead is Sirens.I specifically wrote that as a part for the song> I
wanted to have the delay note at the end emulate a Siren going by.thanks
Hi
there. Quick escape has a very rare (and wonderful) effect on the
guitar, on the solo, how do they do that? With any pedal, which one?
greetings from Argentina
What
solo ... first or second...? the first solo is me and he had lots of
crap on it... harmonizer and octaver plus tons of distortion.... Thats
all Josh Evans on effects choice . It might be guitar direct into the
board and distortion with preamps .. i do love that line though.. stone
Hi
stone! Buckle up is one of my favorite songs in the album, is there
something you can tell us about how did you wrote it? The riff is
something that got stuck in my head since the first time, can't wait to
hear it live!
i
wrote the riff in Santiago Chile in my hotel before our first show in
SA last time we were there.. i think. i wrote lyrics in seattle about
a year ago . it was the last song that was brought to band right at the
end of making the record ...fall last year. i love the simplicity of
the song> Jeff Ament came in and threw wicked lyrical bass and keys
on it right away and the rest is history.. Thank you so much for
enjoying. It makes makes me very happy. we rehearsed a few times ... its
gonna be gooooooood.
Hey guys! I'm a moderator over at r/pearljam, and just wanted to say feel free to say hi whenever you'd like!
My
question is, how do you decide who handles which guitar part when
writing a song? Is it each of you writing your own parts, or do you
write parts for one another?
Depends
on the song. I usually am confident that Stone will come up with
something great for my songs.On Retrograde he came up with the
atmospheric melody in the first part of the chorus.Sometimes ED will
have a fixed Idea on how a rythm should be played with references like "
make it sound like the KInks" Jeff will have specific melodic leads
that he will want me to play. I usually like to hear what the guys will
come up with on their own.Mike
Dance
of the clairvoyants show a different rotation on instruments, you stone
tried again bass and now Jeff went to keys, Mike, is there any other
music instrument you may want to try?
I
really want to sing for songs I write outside of Pearl Jam. Its been
daunting cause Ive been around the best ! Im taking singing lessons from
Sue Carr in Seattle shes really great and Im practicing a bunch.
Im
finishing up a record i co wrote with Mason Jennings that is a song
away from being mixed. Its called Painted Shield. its really good.
Hopefully out in a few months if we survive this crazy shit .
I
don't miss wetting the bed till i was 9 but i do miss not getting up to
go pee twice a night like did when i was 20... man ....sweet 20
yearly bladder... plus all my other ailments....Mike , whats all our
ailments again?sg
I
miss the long summer days in Seattle. I miss the excitement of the
early 80's when I was first discovering record stores like Cellophane
Square and Easy Street (still great store!) along with discovering
humor and mutual belief in the power of music.I still believe those
things
we
have a joke that all of our guitars are shared so we are in a constant
level of loaning! I love different tunings as they force me to play
different and make mistakes that can be cool opportunities
Given
everything that's going on with the Coronavirus outbreak, we're all
spending our days indoors now. That means there's a lot of time for
playing whatever guitar is lying around nearest.
Do
you guys reckon you could end up back in the studio sooner than usual,
now that you potentially have more time to focus on creating music as
opposed to touring??
Gigaton is killer btw!
ps. any chance you could check out an aspiring young bands new music video??
I
hope we can do something in this crazy time>I always want toi be
productive and drink way too much coffee to sit around. I hope we can
record some more that would be fun.
Hi-
have been pretty blown away by the cover of Hunted Down by Soundgarden
that Stone is doing lead vocals on that was one of the recent ten club
singles. Was wondering how that cover came about? It's a really exciting
interpretation of that song.
Thanks
. i can't get that lyric out of my head. It speaks to me how we spend
our lives hiding from( metaphorical) howling dogs. I remember hearing
that song for the first time as a test pressing of the Subpop single at
one our local music bars.. My jaw fell through the floor ....Matt
fucking Cameron and Chris Cornell showing why SG is one of the greatest
of all time. sg
this
is Mike, I would love to do Dont Drag Me down by Social Distortion or
Sway by the Rolling Stones. As for Deep cuts Big Wave is fun , Nothing
As it Seems, Down. MM
Longtime fan, and I’m loving Gigaton! I’m so thankful to have another stellar record from you guys to cherish forever.
Both:
What was unique about the process for recording Gigaton? Was their a
new method to composition or tracking that allowed you to approach your
ideas differently than you had in the past? What inspired the
synthetic/ambient soundscapes that appear between some tracks?
Mike: Quick Escape has quickly become one of my favorite PJ tracks! What was your signal chain for that meaty solo?
Stone: I just wanted to say Moonlander is a fantastic album!
Gigaton
was a long process to make. Lots of starts and stops with
touring,Chris's Death, etc .But in that it was freeing to just record
with the mindset of lets do whatever comes to our minds.Clarvoience was
the best example of letting go of any preconceptions I had of how a
Pearl Jam song should be. I love ambient stuff and tried to create a
huge trippy atmosphere at the end of Retrograde.I envisioned people
listening to it on headphones .Josh helped me put all that crazy stuff
in perspective.I like the decending keyboard thing on Its Alright Jeff
is really good at that stuff
I
forget my signal chain for Quick escape but a Phase 90 turned all the
way up is on there,electric mistress,ibanez tube screamer, dunliop wah
and other stuff MM
I love In Hiding the best of Stones compositions.I remember when it was a demo called Morning Song and it blew my mind.It felt like the Beatles to me. Its a masterpiece.MM
Hello
everyone . thank you for checking this out.. Its fun chat with you all
and to have a little fun distraction with my dear friend Mike M to pass
these crazy days.. Mostly want to send our deepest gratitude to everyone
out there in the middle of this pandemic fighting to help folks and
sending our love and condolences from everyone in the PJ family to all
those who've lost people they love. Stone
If
you Mike, and you Stone could freely pick a Neil Young cover to play
love (From his vast amount of amazing songs) - which one would it be?
Off the top of your head? Other than Opera Star off Reactor that is!
Hey
guys, first off I want to congratulate you on and say thank you for
Gigaton. It’s a phenomenal record and it seems to have taken on new
meaning and a sense of necessity for many people including myself in
this current time. I could talk all day about Buckle Up and Retrograde
but for now I’m just looking forward to the day we can hear them live.
Stone:
You’ve written some of the bands biggest hits and well known tracks but
also some of the greatest deep cuts and hidden gems in the discography.
Songs like Strangest Tribe, Fatal, Of the Girl and Hard to Imagine have
special places in the hearts of so many fans. I’m wondering is it a
conscious decision to only break these songs out every once in a while,
so as to keep them special? One of the many reasons you guys have always
been my favourite band is that you can go see Pearl Jam and sing Alive
with 20,000 people, but then also there’s that one song buried in the
catalog that means the world to someone and I guess I’m wondering what
it feels like as a writer to be able to do both?
Mike:
This is really specific but I’ve always wondered about that 25 second
piece at the end of Inside Job. It’s quite beautiful and I’d love to
know if it ties into the song somehow or was it just something you
decided to close out the record with?
Hi
Alex that is a thing Ed put on the end of Inside Job. I assume he felt
it would be a good way to end the record? not sure though.The beginning
was a record player from the 1960's called an Optigon that uses light
for a needle. MM
Are
there any special traditions you all have as a band when you release a
new album? Or even traditions you have before you leave on tour? Or just
backstage traditions before the start of a show?
Stone, had you already bought a new pair of sneakers for the tour?
Mike & Stone - What goes through your mind when Eddie Vedder jumps a verse or forgets the lyrics to a song?
Mike
seems to point at a lot of people in the front rows, which gives us a
sense that he remembers us. Stone, do you recognize faces in the crowd?
And do you ever think "Wow, you again?!".
Hope you both are staying healthy and sane during this hiatus. Hope to see you soon.
I've
been wearing the same boots for years on tour... but slipped up last
tour and wore some vans.. I still got my boots though....I haven't worn
my glasses in awhile live so i really can't see a thing... including
the set list...sg
How
was it to work with Josh Evans after making a series of records with
Brendan O'Brien? I love the different style that Josh brought to this
album.
PS: Not sure if this was
intentional but Giga = TEN to the power of 9 and Ton is a colloquial
term for 100. That makes Gigaton TEN to the power of 11, and is Pearl
Jam's 11th album starting from Ten.
Ok thats pretty cool about the word Gigaton. thanks .Syncronicity central.
Gotta
give a shout out to Josh Evans. Hugely talented and hugely hearted
individual. We couldn't be prouder of his enormous accomplishment of
getting all of us excited about the same record. Love you Josh E.
stone
Are
there any special traditions you all have as a band when you release a
new album? Or even traditions you have before you leave on tour? Or just
backstage traditions before the start of a show?
Stone, had you already bought a new pair of sneakers for the tour?
Mike & Stone - What goes through your mind when Eddie Vedder jumps a verse or forgets the lyrics to a song?
Mike
seems to point at a lot of people in the front rows, which gives us a
sense that he remembers us. Stone, do you recognize faces in the crowd?
And do you ever think "Wow, you again?!".
Hope you both are staying healthy and sane during this hiatus. Hope to see you soon.
In
terms of traditions Im not sure about before releasing records. We kind
of do what we think ios best on how to promote a record at a certain
time.That can change with each record. We do a last minute check of the
set before going on stage.Ed will be like a quarterback and call out
certain songs and how quickly they should change for flow purposes
sometimes. If Ed misses a lyric (doesnt happen alot) I hope I am
watching Matt and the guys and know that we might have to play an extra
verse to catch up. that is pretty intuitive though.Yes i do Point alot
in the front row and a few back.I rcognize people all the time. Certain
shirts, flags, etc help too.But Im very aware of everyone on my side I
get energy from it and i am also looking to see if it is safe up front
for people. MM
Comments
Pearl Jam bootlegs:
http://wegotshit.blogspot.com
Hey, I just wanted to ask both of you:
What do you miss most about being a kid?
Love you guys, great job on Gigaton!
I don't miss wetting the bed till i was 9 but i do miss not getting up to go pee twice a night like did when i was 20... man ....sweet 20 yearly bladder... plus all my other ailments....Mike , whats all our ailments again?sg
Hey guys! I'm a moderator over at r/pearljam, and just wanted to say feel free to say hi whenever you'd like!
Depends on the song. I usually am confident that Stone will come up with something great for my songs.On Retrograde he came up with the atmospheric melody in the first part of the chorus.Sometimes ED will have a fixed Idea on how a rythm should be played with references like " make it sound like the KInks" Jeff will have specific melodic leads that he will want me to play. I usually like to hear what the guys will come up with on their own.Mike
MIKE:
One of the many things I love about your solos is how good you are at phrasing.
From ‘Alive’ to ‘Life Wasted’ to ‘Quick Escape’… You’re lightning-fast and yet you always develop such clear, focused, melodic phrases.
…phrases that combine to become almost an entirely new composition over (or within) the arrangement proper.
Could you talk about how you approach the “composition” of a solo like this?
(I’m particularly interested in how you approach what you know will be the album version, but live soloing is, of course, interesting as well…)
Thank you!
Chris, I usually just go with the first 2 leads that Im feeling. Composition for me comes in songwriting more than leads. One example of comp. on a lead is Sirens.I specifically wrote that as a part for the song> I wanted to have the delay note at the end emulate a Siren going by.thanks
Hi there. Quick escape has a very rare (and wonderful) effect on the guitar, on the solo, how do they do that? With any pedal, which one? greetings from Argentina
What solo ... first or second...? the first solo is me and he had lots of crap on it... harmonizer and octaver plus tons of distortion.... Thats all Josh Evans on effects choice . It might be guitar direct into the board and distortion with preamps .. i do love that line though.. stone
Hi stone! Buckle up is one of my favorite songs in the album, is there something you can tell us about how did you wrote it? The riff is something that got stuck in my head since the first time, can't wait to hear it live!
Cheers from Mexico!
i wrote the riff in Santiago Chile in my hotel before our first show in SA last time we were there.. i think. i wrote lyrics in seattle about a year ago . it was the last song that was brought to band right at the end of making the record ...fall last year. i love the simplicity of the song> Jeff Ament came in and threw wicked lyrical bass and keys on it right away and the rest is history.. Thank you so much for enjoying. It makes makes me very happy. we rehearsed a few times ... its gonna be gooooooood.
Hey guys! I'm a moderator over at r/pearljam, and just wanted to say feel free to say hi whenever you'd like!
My question is, how do you decide who handles which guitar part when writing a song? Is it each of you writing your own parts, or do you write parts for one another?
Depends on the song. I usually am confident that Stone will come up with something great for my songs.On Retrograde he came up with the atmospheric melody in the first part of the chorus.Sometimes ED will have a fixed Idea on how a rythm should be played with references like " make it sound like the KInks" Jeff will have specific melodic leads that he will want me to play. I usually like to hear what the guys will come up with on their own.Mike
Dance of the clairvoyants show a different rotation on instruments, you stone tried again bass and now Jeff went to keys, Mike, is there any other music instrument you may want to try?
Cheers from Mexico!
I really want to sing for songs I write outside of Pearl Jam. Its been daunting cause Ive been around the best ! Im taking singing lessons from Sue Carr in Seattle shes really great and Im practicing a bunch.
What is the very best dessert?
my wife would say tiramisu but I'm gonna go with ice cream and cookie.
lots of dessert going down here right now. captive audience sg
Stone: follow-up to Moonlander when?!
Mike: any plans for a solo record?
Im finishing up a record i co wrote with Mason Jennings that is a song away from being mixed. Its called Painted Shield. its really good. Hopefully out in a few months if we survive this crazy shit .
Hey, I just wanted to ask both of you:
What do you miss most about being a kid?
Love you guys, great job on Gigaton!
I don't miss wetting the bed till i was 9 but i do miss not getting up to go pee twice a night like did when i was 20... man ....sweet 20 yearly bladder... plus all my other ailments....Mike , whats all our ailments again?sg
I miss the long summer days in Seattle. I miss the excitement of the early 80's when I was first discovering record stores like Cellophane Square and Easy Street (still great store!) along with discovering humor and mutual belief in the power of music.I still believe those things
Mike - do you avoid loaning your guitars to Stone in case they come back in some weird tuning? ;-)
we have a joke that all of our guitars are shared so we are in a constant level of loaning! I love different tunings as they force me to play different and make mistakes that can be cool opportunities
Hi Stone! I have two questions.
Do you still like using open tunings? Was curious if any of the songs on Gigaton use them.
Is your Grammy award still tucked away in the basement?
No open tunings at all on Gigaton but I've got a few up my sleeve still.....
Grammy is out of basement... i think its at Mopop museum right now... or shoved in a box at warehouse.. Oh well... Sg
Given everything that's going on with the Coronavirus outbreak, we're all spending our days indoors now. That means there's a lot of time for playing whatever guitar is lying around nearest.
Do you guys reckon you could end up back in the studio sooner than usual, now that you potentially have more time to focus on creating music as opposed to touring??
Gigaton is killer btw!
ps. any chance you could check out an aspiring young bands new music video??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTsTk7WtI1E
I hope we can do something in this crazy time>I always want toi be productive and drink way too much coffee to sit around. I hope we can record some more that would be fun.
Hi- have been pretty blown away by the cover of Hunted Down by Soundgarden that Stone is doing lead vocals on that was one of the recent ten club singles. Was wondering how that cover came about? It's a really exciting interpretation of that song.
Thanks . i can't get that lyric out of my head. It speaks to me how we spend our lives hiding from( metaphorical) howling dogs. I remember hearing that song for the first time as a test pressing of the Subpop single at one our local music bars.. My jaw fell through the floor ....Matt fucking Cameron and Chris Cornell showing why SG is one of the greatest of all time. sg
Stone: Where do you think MLB would be at now if AW hadn't lost the battle?
Mike: What is one song you'd love to do live that you guys have never done?
Both: What is a deep cut that you'd love to do live?
this is Mike, I would love to do Dont Drag Me down by Social Distortion or Sway by the Rolling Stones. As for Deep cuts Big Wave is fun , Nothing As it Seems, Down. MM
Longtime fan, and I’m loving Gigaton! I’m so thankful to have another stellar record from you guys to cherish forever.
Both: What was unique about the process for recording Gigaton? Was their a new method to composition or tracking that allowed you to approach your ideas differently than you had in the past? What inspired the synthetic/ambient soundscapes that appear between some tracks?
Mike: Quick Escape has quickly become one of my favorite PJ tracks! What was your signal chain for that meaty solo?
Stone: I just wanted to say Moonlander is a fantastic album!
Gigaton was a long process to make. Lots of starts and stops with touring,Chris's Death, etc .But in that it was freeing to just record with the mindset of lets do whatever comes to our minds.Clarvoience was the best example of letting go of any preconceptions I had of how a Pearl Jam song should be. I love ambient stuff and tried to create a huge trippy atmosphere at the end of Retrograde.I envisioned people listening to it on headphones .Josh helped me put all that crazy stuff in perspective.I like the decending keyboard thing on Its Alright Jeff is really good at that stuff
I forget my signal chain for Quick escape but a Phase 90 turned all the way up is on there,electric mistress,ibanez tube screamer, dunliop wah and other stuff MM
Mike, what's your favourite Stone's song? (and vice versa)
I love In Hiding the best of Stones compositions.I remember when it was a demo called Morning Song and it blew my mind.It felt like the Beatles to me. Its a masterpiece.MM
shit.... how rude. I forgot to say hi.
Hello everyone . thank you for checking this out.. Its fun chat with you all and to have a little fun distraction with my dear friend Mike M to pass these crazy days.. Mostly want to send our deepest gratitude to everyone out there in the middle of this pandemic fighting to help folks and sending our love and condolences from everyone in the PJ family to all those who've lost people they love. Stone
If you Mike, and you Stone could freely pick a Neil Young cover to play love (From his vast amount of amazing songs) - which one would it be? Off the top of your head? Other than Opera Star off Reactor that is!
I keep humming The Great Divide. It really is stuck in my head. Lets play that as a cover!!!! sg
Hey guys, first off I want to congratulate you on and say thank you for Gigaton. It’s a phenomenal record and it seems to have taken on new meaning and a sense of necessity for many people including myself in this current time. I could talk all day about Buckle Up and Retrograde but for now I’m just looking forward to the day we can hear them live.
Stone: You’ve written some of the bands biggest hits and well known tracks but also some of the greatest deep cuts and hidden gems in the discography. Songs like Strangest Tribe, Fatal, Of the Girl and Hard to Imagine have special places in the hearts of so many fans. I’m wondering is it a conscious decision to only break these songs out every once in a while, so as to keep them special? One of the many reasons you guys have always been my favourite band is that you can go see Pearl Jam and sing Alive with 20,000 people, but then also there’s that one song buried in the catalog that means the world to someone and I guess I’m wondering what it feels like as a writer to be able to do both?
Mike: This is really specific but I’ve always wondered about that 25 second piece at the end of Inside Job. It’s quite beautiful and I’d love to know if it ties into the song somehow or was it just something you decided to close out the record with?
Hi Alex that is a thing Ed put on the end of Inside Job. I assume he felt it would be a good way to end the record? not sure though.The beginning was a record player from the 1960's called an Optigon that uses light for a needle. MM
Are there any special traditions you all have as a band when you release a new album? Or even traditions you have before you leave on tour? Or just backstage traditions before the start of a show?
Stone, had you already bought a new pair of sneakers for the tour?
Mike & Stone - What goes through your mind when Eddie Vedder jumps a verse or forgets the lyrics to a song?
Mike seems to point at a lot of people in the front rows, which gives us a sense that he remembers us. Stone, do you recognize faces in the crowd? And do you ever think "Wow, you again?!".
Hope you both are staying healthy and sane during this hiatus. Hope to see you soon.
I've been wearing the same boots for years on tour... but slipped up last tour and wore some vans.. I still got my boots though....I haven't worn my glasses in awhile live so i really can't see a thing... including the set list...sg
Great work on Gigaton, guys!
How was it to work with Josh Evans after making a series of records with Brendan O'Brien? I love the different style that Josh brought to this album.
PS: Not sure if this was intentional but Giga = TEN to the power of 9 and Ton is a colloquial term for 100. That makes Gigaton TEN to the power of 11, and is Pearl Jam's 11th album starting from Ten.
Ok thats pretty cool about the word Gigaton. thanks .Syncronicity central.
Gotta give a shout out to Josh Evans. Hugely talented and hugely hearted individual. We couldn't be prouder of his enormous accomplishment of getting all of us excited about the same record. Love you Josh E. stone
Are there any special traditions you all have as a band when you release a new album? Or even traditions you have before you leave on tour? Or just backstage traditions before the start of a show?
Stone, had you already bought a new pair of sneakers for the tour?
Mike & Stone - What goes through your mind when Eddie Vedder jumps a verse or forgets the lyrics to a song?
Mike seems to point at a lot of people in the front rows, which gives us a sense that he remembers us. Stone, do you recognize faces in the crowd? And do you ever think "Wow, you again?!".
Hope you both are staying healthy and sane during this hiatus. Hope to see you soon.
In terms of traditions Im not sure about before releasing records. We kind of do what we think ios best on how to promote a record at a certain time.That can change with each record. We do a last minute check of the set before going on stage.Ed will be like a quarterback and call out certain songs and how quickly they should change for flow purposes sometimes. If Ed misses a lyric (doesnt happen alot) I hope I am watching Matt and the guys and know that we might have to play an extra verse to catch up. that is pretty intuitive though.Yes i do Point alot in the front row and a few back.I rcognize people all the time. Certain shirts, flags, etc help too.But Im very aware of everyone on my side I get energy from it and i am also looking to see if it is safe up front for people. MM