Jeff Ament - The Origins of Pearl Jam - A Fresh Face in Hell with Jonathan Evison
A Fresh Face in Hell with Jonathan Evison

freshfacepod.evison
Jonathan has a conversation with his old friend Jeff Ament. They discussed his incredible rock 'n' roll journey—from the Seattle hardcore scene of the '80s to the rise of '90s Grunge, and eventually becoming the rock star bassist of Pearl Jam. Jeff is like the "Lucy" of Grunge, with stints in three of Seattle's most influential bands: Green River, Mother Love Bone, and Pearl Jam. They talked about his surprising influences and the transformative moments that helped shape what we now know as Pearl Jam. A fun ride for music fans. Watch the video @ substack.
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SHAWNSMITH Rip 2019Mark Lanegan Band 5/18/19
Anyone listen yet?
1996: Ft Lauderdale
1998: Birmingham
2000: Charlotte, Tampa
2003: Tampa, Atlanta, Phoenix
2004: Kissimmee
2008: West Palm Beach, Bonnaroo, Columbia
2010: MSG2
2012: Music Midtown
2014: Memphis
2018: Wrigley 1, Fenway 1
2022: Nashville
2023: Ft. Worth II
2024: Baltimore
Upcoming: 2025 Hollywood, FL Night 2
I’ve known @evison.jonathan for over forty years, we played shows together back in the day, and he’s since become one of the great contemporary writers of the PNW. Fun to catch up on his pod. Check out LAWN BOY or his newest THE HEART OF WINTER. #marchofcrimes
Apple Podcast
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-fresh-face-in-hell-with-jonathan-evison/id1780650409?i=1000697860599
Spotify
https://open.spotify.com/episode/6sa7wgJZut6sQnWZL6HYKb?si=2a0739b5a081439f
YouTube
Substack
https://afreshfaceinhell.substack.com
Between bands, you might linger out front on 2nd Avenue with the crowd of kids that couldn’t manage to scrape up the requisite 3, or, 4, or 5 bucks to get in. Or, you hung out back in the parking lot. The parking lot behind the Metropolis in Seattle in 1983 was a cultural petri dish in the best possible way, a vital convergence of personalities, interests, influences, and various legal or illegal proclivities. It was happening. Whatever it was. It was palpable. You felt like you were a part of something bigger. It was like tailgating at a football game—but way less lame.
Looking back, I think of it as an incubator for everything that would eventually (six or seven years later) put Seattle on the larger cultural map. It was a great place to drink mickey’s 40 ouncers in a van between bands, or before the show, or after. I first met the Matt and Buzz Melvin in that parking lot. And another guy, who’d recently relocated from Missoula, Montana, with his bandmates from Deranged Diction, Bruce and Sergio. That guy was Jeff Diction. And he’s been my friend ever since, although most people call him Jeff Ament now. In the years after the Metropolis parking lot, he and Stoney (Gossard) ended up in other bands (Green River, Mother Love Bone, Mookie Blaylock) until the cycle reached its ultimate permutation in the form of Pearl Jam.
This week, our Fresh Face in Hell is Jeff Ament, and while he may have mellowed or matured over the past four decades, he’s the same dude I met in a van behind the Metropolis in 1983. And I love him for that.