You don't have to read this post...

byrn3535

...If you don't want to...obviously... but I thought I would share my Pearl Jam Beginning.

I was a freshman in high school in 91. My musical world was a mess. It was filled with top 40 nightmares and hip hop intrigue. It would be nothing for me to switch from a Public Enemy TAPE...(remember!) to some irrelevant hair band crap. I dabbled in jazz and blues trying to learn the roots of american music and soon things were starting to take shape. wouldn't be long before I bought a Black Sabbath tape, then quickly got into Hendrix, Zep, Beattles, etc...

My personal life was just as chaotic. Alcoholic father(He's great now!), Devil of a stepmom, Hadn't spoke to my real mother in years...blah blah blah...anywho....

Living in Wisconsin we seem to be a bit behind the newest things compared to the coasts. (leave your Wisconsin jokes at the door. I love this freak'n state) Eventually Nirvana hit. I wasn't sure what I was hearing but it was undeniably fresh. I really started to dig it. Kurt's voice was echoing feelings I was having at the time. Then another band came along...Pearl Jam. I can't remember which song I heard first but I think it was Alive. All I could remember was thinking "What the fuck. Who the hell do these guys think they are." If a video came on MTV I would change the channel (yes MTV used to play music videos), if they were on the radio I'd change the station. I really hated them. SO IGNORANT

Then Lolla came to Milwaukee. I didn't go but a couple of buddies of mine went. When they got back they said: "Dude, you'll never believe which band absolutley fucking rocked."

I was like "who?"

"PEARL JAM!"

I thought "No fucking Way." My friend Mark said "Seriously man, it was unbelievable. They were all over the place and their lead singer spit on me." (weird thing to think is awesome, but hey that's rock'n'roll)

So this girl in my math class had been bugging me for a few months to listen to them. She had Ten on tape so I caved in and borrowed it from her.

MY LIFE WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME. I COULD NOT BELIEVE WHAT I WAS HEARING. The music blew my mind!!!! I related soooooooo much to the lyrics, maybe not the meaning but the feeling and the passion of them. I never gave her tape back. From that point on Pearl Jam has been the soundtrack of my life. If my friend's wouldn't have went to Lollapalooza 92 there's a good chance I wouldn't be a PJ fan today. That is so crazy for me to think about.

so if you read all of this, thanks, and i hope it wasn't a waste of your time.

the wolf

lots of echos here for me. i really didnt get PJ at first, then about a month after i got the Tape (hehe) something just clicked. have not been the same since.

byrn3535

Nirvana fell off the face of the earth for me when I discovered PJ. No disrespect to Nirvana but hey....you know

the wolf

byrn3535 wrote:

Nirvana fell off the face of the earth for me when I discovered PJ. No disrespect to Nirvana but hey....you know

i agree, most music fell of the face of the earth for me, didnt get back into Nirvana till the unplugged show.

and now when i hear them it just makes me sad.

acutejam

Thanks for sharing that -- I've been tempted to do the same. Since I stumbled onto PJ my life has tracked amazingly well with their music (though life itself is not always so amazing -- and I really think that's why we're in sync). "The soundtrack to my life..." well put, well put.

And I was a freshman in Highschool in '81.

And a few dudes at my work totally dig PJ too.
And they were freshman in Highschool in '71!

I'm gonna be the dude in berkeley showering tears of joy and sorrow in a few weeks. So just let me cry. It's good for me these days and a lot of you know what i mean.... But I'm kinda nervous if he plays "Trouble..."

Meanwhile I will be rocking out to Ace Frehley at the House of Blues, DOWNTOWN DISNEYLAND in Anaheim this Weekend!!!! PM me if you want my extra ticket! I'm in Pasadena this week...

Pearl Jen

Good story, byrn. It reminds me of how I felt when I first got into them. Thanks for sharing:)

byrn3535

When my friend Mark (one of the friends that went to Lolla) got married I was his best man and during my speech I actually thanked him for getting me into PJ.

As an interesting side note, I really didn't listen to much of anything else besides PJ until I started a band. Then we had to learn a bunch of covers (most bars around here require you to play covers and spoon feed your originals). This was great because I got caught up and turned on to some other stuff that I wasn't aware of. Now since the band has broke it's back to mostly PJ again.

Its just great how you can throw a pj disc in and it can transport you back to a certain time. Kind of like how certain aromas remind you of something.

Damn I love this band!

pjfan31

Pearl jam rocks!!!!! I love a good pj story. A bit long, but hey, got there in the end.. Keep listening.