PJcorps
Krystof Kieslowski
Posts: 14
Hey,
I used to come to this board a lot of years ago. Especially the “All Encompassing Trip” section. Used to stay up all hours of the night talking to people about whatever. I guess that’s not really important but I recently joined the Ten Club again after a long hiatus and it got me thinking about stuff. There’s this thing called “Storycorps” where people are interviewed about their life and it is recorded onto a disc. Well, I used that framework to tell my Pearl Jam story. If you want to, feel free to answer my questions or tell your story however you want. I’m sorry if something like this has been done before. I just felt the need not only to do this but share it. This is where I used to do that so it seemed like the right place. I thought maybe others would like to as well.
Thanks for the time.
Describe the moment that Pearl Jam became “your band”
It was fall of 1998. My friend and I were going to a Tori Amos concert. She was my favorite musical artist at the time. My friend loved Pearl Jam. A little backstory…We were friends in high school but because he was a year ahead me, we didn’t hang out much. That changed during this time period because: 1) We were in college. 2) Our respective schools were close to one another. 3) His girlfriend was studying abroad which gave him more free time. Whenever we hung out, he would play his Monkeywrench 98 bootleg, Single Video Theory on VHS, Yield and No Code. It feels like such an older brother/younger brother dynamic now. He was so into the band and I wanted to be into what he was into. Anyway...back to car ride. We’re driving in his car on these back roads and it’s this beautiful fall day. Windows down. Wind whipping through the car. And he’s playing the song Leatherman over and over and over again. And at the end of the song, after Ed sings “Give me some skin”, instead of singing Leatherman he inserts my first and last name because it fits syllabically and kinda rhymes. That was it. I’m on my way to a Tori Amos show and I realize that Pearl Jam has replaced her.
Why is your favorite band member (past or present) your favorite?
Stone was always the guy. Again, it goes back to my friend. Before he saw them for the first time in 98, he was all about Eddie. He comes back from the show and says, “Dude, there was this guy duck walking on stage and wearing green socks.” It evolved from there to ordering the Loosegroove shirt he wore in SVT, chatting on that message board, getting into Brad. We were all about giving credit to things that we deemed didn’t get enough of it and Stone fit that bill. I mean, he wrote the riff to DTE for crying out loud! He also has the best line from SVT, “I’ll be there for ya baby.” Jack Irons is a close second. His drumming on No Code and Yield are one of the main reasons why they are my 2 favorite PJ records.
What is your most special PJ related memory and why?
The day I got Touring Band 2000 early in the mail. I was commuting to school at the time and that particular day I had one morning class. I had ordered TB from the Ten Club and had been anticipating its arrival. Sidepoint: I bought a DVD player for the sole purpose of owning the DVD version of TB because there was no way I wasn’t going to see those bonus features. So I’m driving home hoping that it’ll be there. Sure enough, there it is in between the screen and front door. I rush to my room, tear open the box, gently open the case and immediately read what Ed has written insdie. It still chokes me up to this day. Pop the disc in, take off my shoes, take off my socks, press play and proceed to sing and dance for the next 2 ½ hours. My feet had blisters on them by the end of it. For the next 2 weeks, I emulated Ed shooting that half court shot on my front yard basketball hoop.
What is your most memorable PJ concert experience and why?
Washington DC 2008. For a variety of reasons, I hadn’t really listened to Pearl Jam or any music really in about 4 years. The only reason why I even wanted to attend the show is that my 2 closest friends were going to it and we hadn’t all hung out together in over a year. The ride to DC was so tortuous that by the time I arrived, I didn’t even want to stick around for the show. My Pearl Jam friend who I’ve already mentioned convinced me otherwise. 7 songs into the show I was still sitting down with my head in my hands cursing the fact that this band meant nothing to me anymore. Then they played “I’m Open” and…it was the first crack in this jaded wall that I had built around myself. It would take another 6 months to really embrace the band again but that moment was where it started.
What is your most treasured PJ item and why?
No Code on vinyl. I took this public speaking class in college and the teacher wanted us to bring our most treasured item into class and explain why it meant so much to us. I brought in my No Code vinyl. When explaining why I said, “This is the closest physical representation of what’s inside of me.” That’s not true anymore but it still means a lot.
Describe an instance where PJ’s music has gotten you through a tough time in your life
I didn’t have a great college experience and in the fall of 2003 I was feeling particularly low for one reason or another. So what happens? Lost Dogs and Live at the Garden are released on the same day. I get to Best Buy when it opens and snatch them both up. Because of my class schedule, I’m stuck on the campus the whole day. During my off hours, I’m walking around the school grounds, listening to Lost Dogs on my walkman and clutching the CD case like Linus clutches his security blanket. I get home that night and convince my friend to drive over and watch some of Live at the Garden with me.
Name one thing PJ brought to your life outside of the music it makes?
A love for vinyl. When I got my first XMAS single in 1999, my friend and I drove immediately to Radio Shack to pick up a record player so that we could hear it. It was all about CDs at that time and PJ’s love of vinyl rubbed off on me. I still can’t believe how much better records sound then any other format. If it weren’t for them, I never would have known that.
What one reason stands out above the rest as why you like the band? Explain.
They are the genuine article. That’s a hard thing to quantify but they say what they mean and they mean what they say. Everything they do comes from a real place. I mean, if they weren’t such awesome musicians it wouldn’t matter how genuine they were but the fact that they are takes their incredible music to a whole nother level for me.
If you ever met the band in person, what would you want say to them?
I wish there was a way I could convey to them that their life’s work has been such an integral part of my life. But words just can't carry that kind of weight. So I'd just let them know that the show they did in San Sebastian in 2000 really kicked ass.
If you could be summed up by a PJ lyric that lyric would be:
“Seek my part.”
I used to come to this board a lot of years ago. Especially the “All Encompassing Trip” section. Used to stay up all hours of the night talking to people about whatever. I guess that’s not really important but I recently joined the Ten Club again after a long hiatus and it got me thinking about stuff. There’s this thing called “Storycorps” where people are interviewed about their life and it is recorded onto a disc. Well, I used that framework to tell my Pearl Jam story. If you want to, feel free to answer my questions or tell your story however you want. I’m sorry if something like this has been done before. I just felt the need not only to do this but share it. This is where I used to do that so it seemed like the right place. I thought maybe others would like to as well.
Thanks for the time.
Describe the moment that Pearl Jam became “your band”
It was fall of 1998. My friend and I were going to a Tori Amos concert. She was my favorite musical artist at the time. My friend loved Pearl Jam. A little backstory…We were friends in high school but because he was a year ahead me, we didn’t hang out much. That changed during this time period because: 1) We were in college. 2) Our respective schools were close to one another. 3) His girlfriend was studying abroad which gave him more free time. Whenever we hung out, he would play his Monkeywrench 98 bootleg, Single Video Theory on VHS, Yield and No Code. It feels like such an older brother/younger brother dynamic now. He was so into the band and I wanted to be into what he was into. Anyway...back to car ride. We’re driving in his car on these back roads and it’s this beautiful fall day. Windows down. Wind whipping through the car. And he’s playing the song Leatherman over and over and over again. And at the end of the song, after Ed sings “Give me some skin”, instead of singing Leatherman he inserts my first and last name because it fits syllabically and kinda rhymes. That was it. I’m on my way to a Tori Amos show and I realize that Pearl Jam has replaced her.
Why is your favorite band member (past or present) your favorite?
Stone was always the guy. Again, it goes back to my friend. Before he saw them for the first time in 98, he was all about Eddie. He comes back from the show and says, “Dude, there was this guy duck walking on stage and wearing green socks.” It evolved from there to ordering the Loosegroove shirt he wore in SVT, chatting on that message board, getting into Brad. We were all about giving credit to things that we deemed didn’t get enough of it and Stone fit that bill. I mean, he wrote the riff to DTE for crying out loud! He also has the best line from SVT, “I’ll be there for ya baby.” Jack Irons is a close second. His drumming on No Code and Yield are one of the main reasons why they are my 2 favorite PJ records.
What is your most special PJ related memory and why?
The day I got Touring Band 2000 early in the mail. I was commuting to school at the time and that particular day I had one morning class. I had ordered TB from the Ten Club and had been anticipating its arrival. Sidepoint: I bought a DVD player for the sole purpose of owning the DVD version of TB because there was no way I wasn’t going to see those bonus features. So I’m driving home hoping that it’ll be there. Sure enough, there it is in between the screen and front door. I rush to my room, tear open the box, gently open the case and immediately read what Ed has written insdie. It still chokes me up to this day. Pop the disc in, take off my shoes, take off my socks, press play and proceed to sing and dance for the next 2 ½ hours. My feet had blisters on them by the end of it. For the next 2 weeks, I emulated Ed shooting that half court shot on my front yard basketball hoop.
What is your most memorable PJ concert experience and why?
Washington DC 2008. For a variety of reasons, I hadn’t really listened to Pearl Jam or any music really in about 4 years. The only reason why I even wanted to attend the show is that my 2 closest friends were going to it and we hadn’t all hung out together in over a year. The ride to DC was so tortuous that by the time I arrived, I didn’t even want to stick around for the show. My Pearl Jam friend who I’ve already mentioned convinced me otherwise. 7 songs into the show I was still sitting down with my head in my hands cursing the fact that this band meant nothing to me anymore. Then they played “I’m Open” and…it was the first crack in this jaded wall that I had built around myself. It would take another 6 months to really embrace the band again but that moment was where it started.
What is your most treasured PJ item and why?
No Code on vinyl. I took this public speaking class in college and the teacher wanted us to bring our most treasured item into class and explain why it meant so much to us. I brought in my No Code vinyl. When explaining why I said, “This is the closest physical representation of what’s inside of me.” That’s not true anymore but it still means a lot.
Describe an instance where PJ’s music has gotten you through a tough time in your life
I didn’t have a great college experience and in the fall of 2003 I was feeling particularly low for one reason or another. So what happens? Lost Dogs and Live at the Garden are released on the same day. I get to Best Buy when it opens and snatch them both up. Because of my class schedule, I’m stuck on the campus the whole day. During my off hours, I’m walking around the school grounds, listening to Lost Dogs on my walkman and clutching the CD case like Linus clutches his security blanket. I get home that night and convince my friend to drive over and watch some of Live at the Garden with me.
Name one thing PJ brought to your life outside of the music it makes?
A love for vinyl. When I got my first XMAS single in 1999, my friend and I drove immediately to Radio Shack to pick up a record player so that we could hear it. It was all about CDs at that time and PJ’s love of vinyl rubbed off on me. I still can’t believe how much better records sound then any other format. If it weren’t for them, I never would have known that.
What one reason stands out above the rest as why you like the band? Explain.
They are the genuine article. That’s a hard thing to quantify but they say what they mean and they mean what they say. Everything they do comes from a real place. I mean, if they weren’t such awesome musicians it wouldn’t matter how genuine they were but the fact that they are takes their incredible music to a whole nother level for me.
If you ever met the band in person, what would you want say to them?
I wish there was a way I could convey to them that their life’s work has been such an integral part of my life. But words just can't carry that kind of weight. So I'd just let them know that the show they did in San Sebastian in 2000 really kicked ass.
If you could be summed up by a PJ lyric that lyric would be:
“Seek my part.”
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