Your FAVORITE PJ drummer?

While I give Matt the utmost respect and thank him for being the Lebowski rug that ties the PJ room together... As far as style, Jack has always been my favorite!

Jack in second, Abruzzese in third, and Kruson in last (sorry dave)

My favorite shows are 95-96 and my favorite albums of all time are no code and yield. Mr jack irons is the winner!

Last-12-Exit said:

Hands down, jack irons. This debate is over.

We agree on something?!?!

i voted Matt Cameron difficult choice between him and Dave A. nice poll should bring some interesting feedback

Jack Irons is my choice!

Dave was a beast & on a whole other level than the others listed. I do love them all dearly though.

As somebody who can't really appreciate the difference between drummers my vote goes to Matt as he's the guy in the seat right now. Drummers are interchangeable to me, I love all the albums that the others guys played on but I don't miss them as band members. If Matt was replaced tomorrow my vote would probably go the next guy, as he would be the one that kept the band together.

Rearviewrelease said:

I feel bad for disrespecting Matt Cameron in this way...but I feel VERY strongly about this.

Pearl Jam just is NOT the same band without Dave A. Listening to shows from his era, the songs had a fire, groove, and energy that has never come back.

Matt takes those songs and makes them...boring. Even higher tempo songs, like Go, he just doesn't have the same pocket that Dave A had. As a drummer myself, it's incredibly apparent and noticeable to me and I'm bummed I could never see Dave A. play with the band.

Not saying Matt Cameron sucks or the songs that he has recorded with the band are shitty. Quite the contrary, he fits the band's style more now, I think. but listening to him play songs from the Ten-Vs. era leaves a lot to be desired...

I yearn for the alternate timeline where Dave A stays in the band this entire time. He just had "it."

I agree!

I love the cymbal/hi-hat/snare work from the shows with Dave A... he just brought a different kind of intensity and funk to their sound... I never got to see them live with Dave A.... (my first show was with Jack Irons) - - I do love Jack Irons drum work though... No Code and Yield are tremendous... I think Jack came along at the right time and encouraged more experimental/transcendental/tribal type drumming and rhythms... whereas Matt is a work horse and reliable/steady... but doesnt seem to possess the same creative tendencies and intensity that Dave A had or the mysticism and experimental nature of Jack.... Matt came along at just the right time and helped hold the band together... He in large part is why I think the band is still together... and he does bring his own songs to the table which are usually very good... But from a drumming standpoint, I love hearing the older bootlegs and hearing Dave's contribution to the sound!

TBH, I'm not too picky one way or the other as far as sound goes. I think Jack is the only one who can do "In My Tree" justice, but other than that, I don't really hear this massive, meaningful difference that some of you do. Not with the albums, and not with the shows. I mean, I can tell there is a difference in drumming styles, but I don't think one is way better than the others. I think they are all excellent and all serve the band very well. I do hear a big difference between the feel of the boots from back then until now, but I don't feel like the big differences that I personally pay attention to are really about the drums. I think Eddie is the biggest factor there for me. If I focus in on the drumming from earlier days, I don't think WOW! Those drums are so incredible!! And I don't do that now either. I just don't really think that PJ is a big drummer's kind of bad generally, and none of their drummers have really been super duper A+ drummers. I reserve that kind of status for the likes of John Bonham with Led Zeppelin, where there are 20 minutes drum solos that fucking blow your mind. I think a drummer has to be that good before I really start paying attention. Less than that, and I get a lot less picky.

Anyway, my favorite albums are all post-Dave A and I never saw him play live either, so he wasn't even in the running (and I also find him rather unlikeable, so that doesn't help). Jack came close to getting my vote - never saw him live either, but I just like those albums more than Dave's. Matt really just got my vote because he's so damned likeable and the one who has persevered, and I think of him as Pearl Jam's drummer way before thinking of the others. He's as good a drummer as any of them, IMO, but he may not be utilized as well as he could be, because I've seen him play for SG, and I found myself way more drawn to him specifically than I would ever be for a PJ show... then again, SG doesn't have Eddie, Jeff, Mike, and Stone in it... I think they may be distracting me.