Drummer for Hire!
Is Pearl Jam about to fill their vacant drummer position by coming full circle?
When my wife told me the news of Matt “Fucking” Cameron aka “MFC!” leaving Pearl Jam after 27-years playing drums for the band as a songwriter on seven consecutive albums I was shocked. This is definitely a case of me not knowing how great something is in the world until it’s gone. Sure, I had a great respect for MFC while he was behind the drums for Pearl Jam and in addition, I thought his musical genius was out of this universe, especially the one we play in but did I ever really embrace all MFC had to offer? Close to it but that’s also what makes a legacy so appealing to explore. I can’t wait to revisit all the tunes played the drums on through the catalogs of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Wellwater Conspiracy, Mad Season, Temple of the Dog I have listened to intently during my life and Skin Yard, out of Seattle, a powerhouse of a band according to what I have read and one I need to discover.
A Pipe Dream from the Drum Kit
My friend who’s in a band and plays every musical instrument and sings also reached out to me with the news of MFC departing Pearl Jam. It was about that time ideas began to float around my mind like could Dave Abbruzzese, Pearl Jam’s drummer through 1991-1994 and co-creator of the album gems of “Vs.” and “Vitalogy” be somehow invited back? Now, it’s evident to me that is a pipe dream. Then, I thought possibly Dave Grohl, with all that’s going on his personal life including the death of his drummer Taylor Hawkins, that maybe because of his ties to the band, he seems to be close to Eddie Vedder and the Seattle scene to this day having lived there and maintaining those roots. But that Dave Grohl joining Pearl Jam has faded like another pipe dream.
Candidates for the Kit!
Finally, it hit me, could it be Richard Stuverud who filled in with Pearl Jam (PJ) for a few shows while MFC had COVID back in 2022 and who has ties to Pearl Jam bassist, Jeff Ament and their band together, Three Fish? Or, Josh Klinghoffer, the former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist, who plays all the instruments in his band Pluralone and this past Pearl Jam tour played percussion and drums for gigs on tour with the band as a multi-instrumentalist. In fact, Klinghoffer also filled in for MFC on the drums in 2022 when Cameron had COVID. According to Wikipedia, Josh Klinghoffer was indeed a member of Eddie Vedder's solo band, The Earthlings. He played guitar, keyboards, and percussion, and also contributed background vocals, on Eddie Vedder’s album “Earthling”.
Dark Horses of Percussion…
There is a dark horse from day one who’s campaigning could help him get the nod and rightfully so and that’s Pearl Jam’s drummer from their first album “Ten” Dave Krusen who has played with Candlebox and also drummed for Pearl Jam when MFC was out as well as the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame with Pearl Jam and former Red Hot Chili Peppers drum man, Jack Irons of “No Code” and “Yield” Pearl Jam albums, a true turning point in the band’s career in the albums four and five slots. The only other drummer I can think of right now on the short list is Matt Chamberlain who filled in when Kruse left and before Dave Abbruzzese, but Chamberlain left the band for a gig with Saturday Night Live sometime in the very early 1990s.
An article by Diffuser, has some interesting replacements including Jane’s Addiction and Porno for Pyros drummer, Stephen Perkins who makes a lot of sense due to his similarities with the sometimes tribal like drumming of Jack Irons but you could also say the same for Stuverud, Josh Freese who’s been in the news after recently being dismissed from the Foo Fighters and one I didn’t think of but makes a lot of sense, Brad Wilk of Rage Against the Machine (RATM) who actually auditioned for Pearl Jam when Krusen left the band after the Ten album, Pearl Jam’s first, in London of all places. Wilk and Vedder knew each other from their days growing up in San Diego before PJ and RATM. Check this article out on the subject, it’s the best I’ve found so far and very informative - https://diffuser.fm/ixp/366/p/original-pearl-jam-drummer-dave-krusen-whether-rejoin-band-matt-cameron-split/
Who Will it be Now?
Regardless who becomes PJ’s new drummer, hopefully they make it two studio albums with the band to make it 14 total PJ studio albums. Vedder did hint that the band, Pearl Jam has one to two good albums left in them. Hopefully they have many more studio albums but if not a run of 14-15 unique albums of music and lyrics is a great run for the guys.
By the way, that’s an artistic rendition of my cat, Chester playing the drums at the beginning of this Substack. 1-2-3-4, 1,2,3,4!