My Pearl Jam Story..

blondieblue227

Sleep.With.Innocence wrote:

I think a lot of us use music to help cope. It's an escape for us. It can change your mood from one of a bitter reality, to that of hope.

That hope is what we are all living for.

yup yup you said it buddy.

Smarter_Than_U

Sleep.With.Innocence wrote:

I would sell my soul to be 15 years older.

Wouldn't help you--I am 15 years older and all my old Pearl Jam friends have long skipped town. I like your story though. Glad you love the band as much as us old timers.

Sleep.With.Innocence

Smarter_Than_U wrote:

Sleep.With.Innocence wrote:

I would sell my soul to be 15 years older.

Wouldn't help you--I am 15 years older and all my old Pearl Jam friends have long skipped town. I like your story though. Glad you love the band as much as us old timers.

Again it's not about having peers to share it with. Then (as stated before) it begins to become somewhat trendy, and to a true Pearl Jam fan, Pearl Jam is far more than a "trend."

It's about seeing them live in their prime. I have a lot of old bootlegs, and they are all unreal. It would simply be amazing.

Yellow Bedwetter

you may wish u were much older but i wish i was much younger when i got into PJ
i got into them right after the 2003 tour but never knew about the tour (one of the best imo and State College O3 was the first album I bought at Coconuts when I was 17 or 18 then I got Ten and Rearviewmirror) and still didnt even know they were touring during VFC but u hang around this board long enough and u know everything that's happening involving Pearl Jam within a day or even a few hours.
welcome to the board!

YB

Black-12

I was 21 when my life would be forever changed...living in Boston and going to collenge I heard this riff coming from the TV....I stopped dead in my tracks...It was 1991 MTV...Alive...ran right down to Tower Records on Newbury street and purchased 10...I stayed up late that night listening to the cd...I couldn't believe my ears.

My life has never been the same. I have listend to the same songs over and over and over year after year after year. It has been a time track to my life. That is why I enjoy all the boot legs so much there the same songs but different. I have been know to have the same cd's in my cd player for months at a time. I can listen to the same song over and over and over...

Right now it's Hard to Imagene, Live at red rocks....so enjoy the ride and the sound track to your life.

I've belonged to the fan club since 95 but only have started being part of the community. It's fun, nobody gets it like us fans at live shows...

Stoney.G.Girl

I've been into PJ since i was 14, A friend had a copy of ten on cassette and for some reason she no longer wanted it, so she in turn gave it to me, and from there on in my Obsession began & has grown & grown more than ever. I am now 31 and PJ Are and always will be an VERY Integral part of my life (as they are to ALL of us!! )

I can still remember the 1st time i saw em live, it was March 1995 at Flinders Park Tennis centre here in Melbourne..OMG My life changed FOREVER that night, seeing the band Live was a dream come true for me, I had camped out for a couple of days for tickets (yes this was the world pre Internet Ticket sales!! :shock: )

I went to all 3 shows in Melbourne that year and came away from them MORE Obsessed than I ever was before..I also came away from these shows, VERY,VERY Sore and with a MILLION Bruises all over my body (as a result of the Myer Music Bowl Show..of which I luckily got up the front (after hours of waiting for the gates to open...Only to have the show gatecrashed by fans who couldn't get a ticket! :evil: )

But hey that's only a minor thing (who cares right!!) I have also had the pleasure of meeting the band back in 98' when Jack was a member, believe me i was on cloud nine ALL day, i could NOT believe that I actually got to meet them, got some photo's with Mike and Jeff and got to meet Ed (which i TOTALLY did not expect!!) hr signed a diary i was carrying round with me at the time (which i automatically had framed with a few other bits of memorabilia! )

And to top it all off, at the 3rd show in Melb in 98' I swas having a few probs in the pit, when Pete (security guy) spotted me and pulled me from the crowd and after talking with me he gave me a VIP Pass and i spent that nights ENTIRE show on the side of stage by Stone!!! after the show Pete gave me a signed Set list(which is in the frame along with the VIP Pass, autograph and some photos)

One of the most awesome times in my life and i will treasure it always,cause i know it's NEVER gonna happen again. If y'wanna check out the pics they are on my FB page under the name "Belinda Thompson". Some of you on here may have already seen them, but for those who haven't, if y'wanna check em out y'can

Smarter_Than_U

Sleep.With.Innocence wrote:

Smarter_Than_U wrote:

Sleep.With.Innocence wrote:

I would sell my soul to be 15 years older.

Wouldn't help you--I am 15 years older and all my old Pearl Jam friends have long skipped town. I like your story though. Glad you love the band as much as us old timers.

Again it's not about having peers to share it with. Then (as stated before) it begins to become somewhat trendy, and to a true Pearl Jam fan, Pearl Jam is far more than a "trend."

It's about seeing them live in their prime. I have a lot of old bootlegs, and they are all unreal. It would simply be amazing.

Gotcha--oh well guess you are shit out of luck then.

JonnyPistachio

Sleep.With.Innocence wrote:

Smarter_Than_U wrote:

Sleep.With.Innocence wrote:

I would sell my soul to be 15 years older.

Wouldn't help you--I am 15 years older and all my old Pearl Jam friends have long skipped town. I like your story though. Glad you love the band as much as us old timers.

Again it's not about having peers to share it with. Then (as stated before) it begins to become somewhat trendy, and to a true Pearl Jam fan, Pearl Jam is far more than a "trend."

It's about seeing them live in their prime. I have a lot of old bootlegs, and they are all unreal. It would simply be amazing.

good story, I love hearing how people got into them. It's too bad your peers dont see throught the shit and listen to some PJ. I only have a few close friends who are into them, and I was a junior in HS when PJ hit it big with "Ten".

have you seen them live at all?

Sleep.With.Innocence

JonnyPistachio wrote:

good story, I love hearing how people got into them. It's too bad your peers dont see throught the shit and listen to some PJ. I only have a few close friends who are into them, and I was a junior in HS when PJ hit it big with "Ten".

have you seen them live at all?

Negative. :(

I just paid $100 for pretty good Eddie Vedder solo tickets in Nashville. Wanting to see them in Chicago (I have the money, hint hint) but the shows sold out. :(

cbh1011

I love hearing these PJ stories... makes me feel less like an obsessed child (at 39).
Keep your youth... but feed your passion. Every day.

About seeing the band live... find a way to make it happen. Life is about experiences. The live show... can't be beat. You get a sense from the DVD's -- favorite being Touring Band or Immagine -- but you really need to be there. See it... sense it... remember it.. live it. Hope you can make it happen. Certainly isn't cheap or easy to do it... but trust me that it's worth it.

You'll love seeing Eddie solo in N'ville... I saw him in Santa Barbara. Shows are intimate, personal, and amazing. Very different than the full band.... but certainly as enjoyable. You just won't be dripping in sweat from bouncing the whole time with 20000 friends.

If I can swing it, I'm going to try to get to N'ville too. I have to be in N'ville for work next week, the week after, and the first week in June. Have to hope that the stars align and I'm needed in N'ville the week when EV is in town.

Great post!

Sleep.With.Innocence

BH22295 wrote:

I love hearing these PJ stories... makes me feel less like an obsessed child (at 39).
Keep your youth... but feed your passion. Every day.

About seeing the band live... find a way to make it happen. Life is about experiences. The live show... can't be beat. You get a sense from the DVD's -- favorite being Touring Band or Immagine -- but you really need to be there. See it... sense it... remember it.. live it. Hope you can make it happen. Certainly isn't cheap or easy to do it... but trust me that it's worth it.

You'll love seeing Eddie solo in N'ville... I saw him in Santa Barbara. Shows are intimate, personal, and amazing. Very different than the full band.... but certainly as enjoyable. You just won't be dripping in sweat from bouncing the whole time with 20000 friends.

If I can swing it, I'm going to try to get to N'ville too. I have to be in N'ville for work next week, the week after, and the first week in June. Have to hope that the stars align and I'm needed in N'ville the week when EV is in town.

Great post!

Are you going to be in Nashville? Looking to try and get a little get together.

Sorry for the bump, but with Nashville approaching I am trying to get together with everyone that I can. I'd enjoy my first Eddie Vedder experience even more with friends who share mutual interest.

touringfan

Sleep.With.Innocence wrote:

I am sure you all get all kinds of these, but I'd like to share my passion for Pearl Jam here, because sadly this is one of the only places that I can.

I am 17, I live in Louisville Kentucky. When I was in 6th grade a group of all of my friends decided to do a "secret santa". I girl named Catherine drew my name, and she had no idea what to get me. I heard Black on the radio for the first time, I thought that song was pretty "pimp" (Current day slang ) so I told her "Pearl Jam - Ten" and to my surprise she bought me that CD.

I had that CD in my little Sony walkmen for three months straight. I was already into Nirvana (something about the whole Kurt Cobain/teenage rebellion thing was huge around my school) but nobody was really into Pearl Jam, and it baffled me. Luckily for me this was around the time that Audioslave became huge, which got me into Soundgarden to.

But enough rambling. Obsessed with Ten I decided to by Vs. and Vitalogy. I listened to Vs. a lot in the 8th grade, but it wasn't until 9th grade that I had my first encounter with Immorality. All I could think was "Oh shit!"

Since I first listened to Immortality 3 and a half years ago I have not gone a single day without listening to Pearl Jam. My favorite album of 10th grade was Yield, I spent the entire summer listening to it. That was the first album that I really loved from top to bottom, it has no glaring weaknesses at all.

In late summer I was in Chicago and I was riding the L-Train, I played "Sleight of Hand" for the first time on my Ipod, and it was a breath taking moment. Something about listening to that song L-Train alone, watching people live their lives in that "pattern" that the song speaks of, really is astonishing. Just for that split second, I felt like I truly knew the message Eddie was portraying.

It didn't take me long to realize that I was all alone in my High School. A lot of my really close friends are into Metallica, Mastodon, Led Zep, but no Pearl Jam. Half of my high school hasn't even heard of Pearl Jam, and the other half only knows "Alive" from rockband. I have no one at all to share my passion with, it's really tough.

I am a totally obsessed fan. My top 25 most played on my Ipod looks something like this..

1. Release - Fox Theater 1994 - 527
2. In My Tree - No Code - 491
3. Breath - Singles - 433
4. I Got Shit - Melbourne 1998 - 404
5. Leash - Vs. - 403
6. Given To Fly - Yield - 398
7. In Hiding - Yield - 362
8. Faithfull - Yield - 342
9. Rearviewmirror - Vs. -328
10. Daughter - Vs. - 320
11. Low Light - Yield - 320
12. Off He Goes - No Code - 315
13. Elderly - Vs. - 313
14. Believe You Me - Tower Records Demo (Bad Radio) - 291
16. Wishlist - Yield - 271
17. Inside Job - Avocado - 259
18. Corduroy - Vitalogy - 254
20. Better man - Vitalogy -228
21. Immorality - Vitalogy - 219
22. Nothingman - Vitalogy - 209

I have countless stories to tell about how much I love every single Pearl Jam record. I have "undeciphered tricks at the bar" to almost every Pearl Jam song I can. I have a butt load of Bootlegs. Musically no one else compares to them. I love them because they are real. Eddie Vedder is a humble. There is a lot of truth to all of their songs. It has meaning, purpose. Every song has a reason, and no one can write a song like Eddie Vedder.

I see this, NONE of my peers do. I would sell my soul to be 15 years older.

I feel old. That RELEASE that you have listened to 500+ times was the first Pearl Jam song I ever heard live. Atlanta 94 was my first show. If were ever at a future show together I will let you have my +1 on my low fanclub #. I love seeing the next generation of fans that have the same passion as us "old timers"

Sleep.With.Innocence

touringfan wrote:

I feel old. That RELEASE that you have listened to 500+ times was the first Pearl Jam song I ever heard live. Atlanta 94 was my first show. If were ever at a future show together I will let you have my +1 on my low fanclub #. I love seeing the next generation of fans that have the same passion as us "old timers"

Bud, you honestly just made my day.

Sleep.With.Innocence

That entire bootleg is amazing. I love the sound of Ed's voice on Blood. Indifference was the perfect way to close it.

Thoughts_Arrive

This is a great thread. Thanks for sharing. Exact same feeling you have my man.
This bands been a best friend in shit times I've had recently.
I wish I was at the concert stoney g's girl was at in 95, unfortunately I was only 11 years old and not exposed to great music, thanks to the internet I have been since.
I've not yet seen them live and it depresses me, hate to admit that, makes me feel less of a fan and embarrassed :oops: :oops: :oops:
I hope to see them one day, I really do, I think about it every time I listen to their songs, this would be a dream come true, sorry to sound so corny.
I haven't been a fan as long as most of you sadly.
I bought Ten & Vs about 4-5 years ago and loved them then but more so now.
It is when I got No Code about a year ago I became obsessed.
From there I went on a PJ shopping spree, all their albums, live cd's, all dvd's, their book 5 against 1, stickman tee and hoodie, oh and Ten SDE!

Damn now I feel like changing my playlist from The Who to PJ!

PureandEasy

I just came across this thread for the first time. I enjoyed your story.

Looks like your show(s) are coming up. Enjoy.

I love first timers, please share your story with us afterward.

satansbed

Sleep.With.Innocence wrote:

I am sure you all get all kinds of these, but I'd like to share my passion for Pearl Jam here, because sadly this is one of the only places that I can.

I am 17, I live in Louisville Kentucky. When I was in 6th grade a group of all of my friends decided to do a "secret santa". I girl named Catherine drew my name, and she had no idea what to get me. I heard Black on the radio for the first time, I thought that song was pretty "pimp" (Current day slang ) so I told her "Pearl Jam - Ten" and to my surprise she bought me that CD.

I had that CD in my little Sony walkmen for three months straight. I was already into Nirvana (something about the whole Kurt Cobain/teenage rebellion thing was huge around my school) but nobody was really into Pearl Jam, and it baffled me. Luckily for me this was around the time that Audioslave became huge, which got me into Soundgarden to.

But enough rambling. Obsessed with Ten I decided to by Vs. and Vitalogy. I listened to Vs. a lot in the 8th grade, but it wasn't until 9th grade that I had my first encounter with Immorality. All I could think was "Oh shit!"

Since I first listened to Immortality 3 and a half years ago I have not gone a single day without listening to Pearl Jam. My favorite album of 10th grade was Yield, I spent the entire summer listening to it. That was the first album that I really loved from top to bottom, it has no glaring weaknesses at all.

In late summer I was in Chicago and I was riding the L-Train, I played "Sleight of Hand" for the first time on my Ipod, and it was a breath taking moment. Something about listening to that song L-Train alone, watching people live their lives in that "pattern" that the song speaks of, really is astonishing. Just for that split second, I felt like I truly knew the message Eddie was portraying.

It didn't take me long to realize that I was all alone in my High School. A lot of my really close friends are into Metallica, Mastodon, Led Zep, but no Pearl Jam. Half of my high school hasn't even heard of Pearl Jam, and the other half only knows "Alive" from rockband. I have no one at all to share my passion with, it's really tough.

I am a totally obsessed fan. My top 25 most played on my Ipod looks something like this..

1. Release - Fox Theater 1994 - 527
2. In My Tree - No Code - 491
3. Breath - Singles - 433
4. I Got Shit - Melbourne 1998 - 404
5. Leash - Vs. - 403
6. Given To Fly - Yield - 398
7. In Hiding - Yield - 362
8. Faithfull - Yield - 342
9. Rearviewmirror - Vs. -328
10. Daughter - Vs. - 320
11. Low Light - Yield - 320
12. Off He Goes - No Code - 315
13. Elderly - Vs. - 313
14. Believe You Me - Tower Records Demo (Bad Radio) - 291
16. Wishlist - Yield - 271
17. Inside Job - Avocado - 259
18. Corduroy - Vitalogy - 254
20. Better man - Vitalogy -228
21. Immorality - Vitalogy - 219
22. Nothingman - Vitalogy - 209

I have countless stories to tell about how much I love every single Pearl Jam record. I have "undeciphered tricks at the bar" to almost every Pearl Jam song I can. I have a butt load of Bootlegs. Musically no one else compares to them. I love them because they are real. Eddie Vedder is a humble. There is a lot of truth to all of their songs. It has meaning, purpose. Every song has a reason, and no one can write a song like Eddie Vedder.

I see this, NONE of my peers do. I would sell my soul to be 15 years older.

my story is almost the same as i am more or less the only one of my friends bar one that likes them bar one who i got into them recently, the wierd thing is my friend is who got me in to them and now he nolonger likes them...... strange i know

Sleep.With.Innocence

Thoughts_Arrive wrote:

This is a great thread. Thanks for sharing. Exact same feeling you have my man.
This bands been a best friend in shit times I've had recently.
I wish I was at the concert stoney g's girl was at in 95, unfortunately I was only 11 years old and not exposed to great music, thanks to the internet I have been since.
I've not yet seen them live and it depresses me, hate to admit that, makes me feel less of a fan and embarrassed :oops: :oops: :oops:
I hope to see them one day, I really do, I think about it every time I listen to their songs, this would be a dream come true, sorry to sound so corny.
I haven't been a fan as long as most of you sadly.
I bought Ten & Vs about 4-5 years ago and loved them then but more so now.
It is when I got No Code about a year ago I became obsessed.
From there I went on a PJ shopping spree, all their albums, live cd's, all dvd's, their book 5 against 1, stickman tee and hoodie, oh and Ten SDE!

Damn now I feel like changing my playlist from The Who to PJ!

I have all of their CD's on my ipod. Live at the Garden is amazing. Before I die I plan on seeing Pearl Jam at the Garden at least once, it seems like a musical epiphany. Hopefully seeing Eddie Vedder tomorrow night will be as amazing as I am hoping for, I have a feeling it is.

Yield did it for me. I got Yield before I got No Code. The thing is though, my obsession with Yield really allowed me to appreciate No Code later on down the road. Both albums are bad ass. Slowly becoming a huge fan of Riot Act, and every Pearl Jam on the board loves Binaural, so I am trying to work both of those into the daily Pearl Jam routine.

I haven't bought any of the books yet, nor have I bought a lot of collectibles. Money's tight (I am only 17). I am hoping that by the time I get a solid cash flow coming in it isn't to late to start collecting.

I am a big fan of The Who (just for the record)

Spacetoad

FrankieG wrote:

Sleep.With.Innocence wrote:

I would sell my soul to be 15 years older.

Maybe not sell my soul, but i would LOVE to be 15 years older.
I am a kid of the 90s born too late to grow up in them. (i was born in 1990) I would have loved to be turning 18 in 1990 so I could have been a part of "it".

but what I hate the most is everyone in my school likeing the rap / R&B / "shit"...and NO ONE getting even close to PJ :(

I was 18 in 1990, I lived in Manachester UK and we had the invasion of the baggies, Stone Roses, Happy Mondays etc and then GnR and Metallica were on tour playing Milton keynes around then (1991)
I blinked in 1990 and now i am 37, realising I am looking at the last UK shows until I am in my 40s. I don't care. Yes i wish i was 15 years younger sometimes but right here, right now is what counts. Dont ever wish to be older, if i did that I would be looking at 52!

Sleep.With.Innocence

robgray2772 wrote:

FrankieG wrote:

Sleep.With.Innocence wrote:

I would sell my soul to be 15 years older.

Maybe not sell my soul, but i would LOVE to be 15 years older.
I am a kid of the 90s born too late to grow up in them. (i was born in 1990) I would have loved to be turning 18 in 1990 so I could have been a part of "it".

but what I hate the most is everyone in my school likeing the rap / R&B / "shit"...and NO ONE getting even close to PJ :(

I was 18 in 1990, I lived in Manachester UK and we had the invasion of the baggies, Stone Roses, Happy Mondays etc and then GnR and Metallica were on tour playing Milton keynes around then (1991)
I blinked in 1990 and now i am 37, realising I am looking at the last UK shows until I am in my 40s. I don't care. Yes i wish i was 15 years younger sometimes but right here, right now is what counts. Dont ever wish to be older, if i did that I would be looking at 52!

The whole point behind me saying that, is that if I was 15 years older I would have already seen Pearl Jam 50+ times by now.

Trust me, "I delight in my youth" and wouldn't trade it for anything, but it does kind of stop and make you wonder.