Pearl Jam fans spent much of the past year in suspense, waiting breathlessly to see who they’d hire as their new drummer following Matt Cameron’s departure after nearly 30 years. The big reveal was supposed to come at the third night of the Ohana Festival on Sunday when Pearl Jam played their first set since parting ways with Cameron.
“I love the mystery of it all,” Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard told SiriusXM’s Jonathan Cohen on May 21. “It’s so exciting. There’s not enough mystery in the world. I think the band is very excited that we’re actually getting to play. It’s been a while, and the fact that we get to do it at Ohana makes it even doubly exciting.”
As the days ticked by until the Ohana set, nearly every possible drummer on Earth was the subject of speculation in the Pearl Jam fan community, including Stephen Perkins of Jane’s Addiction, Abe Laboriel Jr. of Paul McCartney’s band, Josh Freese of Nine Inch Nails, and a loud group of two or three fans on the official fan forum convinced that Japanese drummer Kahokiss had the job, even though there wasn’t even a tiny shred of evidence suggesting this. (Before Ohana, we ran through every single possibility we could imagine, including Animal from The Muppet Show.)
The headliner for the first night of the three-day Ohana Festival was Eddie Vedder and Friends. They never spelled out who exactly these friends would be, but he took the stage alone and played solo acoustic renditions of Pearl Jam’s “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town” and his solo tune “Far Behind” before calling out Irish guitarist Simon Good for Glen Hansard’s “Song of Good Hope” and Billy Idol for the Who’s “I’m One.” Up next was Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament, who joined Vedder for the group’s 1993 deep cut “Bee Girl.”
At this point, Vedder called for an electric guitar and began playing the opening of “Corduroy.” “I feel like I would need some friends to join me tonight,” he said, as shadowy figures appeared on a large curtain behind him. “I would need some really good friends. Do I got any extra friends back there? Some more friends?”
The curtain then dropped to reveal Pearl Jam with Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums. There was a giant question mark on his bass drum, seemingly confirming he was the answer to the burning drummer question. The opening lines of the song (“The waiting drove me mad”) seemed to suggest the waiting was over, and headlines began popping up across the internet that Laboriel was the new Pearl Jam drummer.
But some skeptical fans urged caution, especially when Vedder said, “Helping us on drums tonight, Mr. Abe Laboriel Jr.” Was it possible this was a red herring? Were “Eddie Vedder and Friends” simply Vedder, the remaining members of Pearl Jam, and one-night-only guest Laboriel? Did the question mark on his drum kit mean the real drummer remained a mystery?
In all likelihood, it seemed, the definitive answer was two days away when Pearl Jam closed out the festival. If Laboriel was still on drums at that point, surely he had the gig, right? Weren’t we promised by Gossard the mystery would be resolved at Ohana?
Well, Laboriel was indeed the drummer when Pearl Jam played their first proper, billed concert since Cameron left on the last night of Ohana. That was enough for a Wikipedia edit to go through that listed him as a member of the band. But the next day, Vedder posted a letter on Instagram that we need to run in full.
“Hello good humans,” he wrote. “Just a quick note on this Monday morning to thank each and everyone who came out to Ohana Fest this year. Three days of great groups, all of whom were further energized by the pumped up vibes from a perfect crowd. You all made our tenth year so special and we are GRATEFUL. Also wanted to extend our further appreciation to Abe Laboriel Jr. sitting in on drums for PJ. It was a joy to play with him, and he’s obviously extraordinary at his craft. The man works and PLAYS hard. It is no wonder he’s been with the ultimate Maestro Paul McCartney and his mind blowing band for decades. Thank you so much for this weekend Abe. And thank YOU Paul. We owe you big time.”
Let’s examine a few key lines here, starting with “also wanted to extend our further appreciation to Abe Laboriel Jr. sitting in on drums for PJ.” When a musician is described as “sitting in,” that generally means they are guesting. That’s not what you say when a hire a new full-time member. It’s essentially the opposite of what you say.
Now let’s talk about “thank you so much for this weekend Abe. And thank YOU Paul. We owe you big time.” This isn’t “thank you for joining Pearl Jam, Abe.” This isn’t “you are our new drummer.” This isn’t “thank you Paul McCartney for letting us steal your drummer away.” This is merely thanking Abe for “this weekend.”
What the fuck? Did Abe get cold feet about walking away from a Beatle? Can’t he make time for both jobs, especially since both acts have a huge amount of downtime every year?
More importantly, we’re really still in a state of suspense? Pearl Jam doesn’t even have any concerts on the schedule. There’s no telling when we’ll know what is going on, and nobody seems to be saying a word beyond the Vedder letter. That means the Kahokiss truthers on the forum will continue to hold out hope.
Eddie, Abe, everyone involved … this is unbearable. We need to know what’s happening. The waiting is driving us mad.
