Mad Seasons [Abandoned Story]

43. The Problem Is ...

In 93, Pearl Jam was at the height of its popularity, as was Nirvana, flooding the airwaves and establishing themselves as the new rock stars, the gods of grunge. Eddie found himself the media's fan, the voice of a generation he found hard to take on, thinking it was all a load of crap and just wanted to make music. Ten had put them in a very uncomfortable position, for while they had become ultra-popular, the band had also been mocked by a section of the press and, of course, Kurt Cobain, who took the piss out of them in the media every chance he got before Eddie and Kurt Cobain made a kind of peace.

Ten relied on a production that drew its inspiration more from the most hateful rock than from the punk cherished by Nirvana and Mudhoney. Their exceptional debut album opened doors for them, thanks to their arsenal of ambitious work. Green River was the first band in which Stone and Jeff were involved. But with another member, Steve Turner and Mark Arm, future Mudhonians, they were entirely devoted to the punk cause. It was a split that no one today regrets, given the way the story unfolded.

Eddie was still the punkest of the bunch, worshipping the Ramones, Dead Boys, Dead Moon and the Who. Living simply, on the ocean, with his surfboard under his arm, did him far more good to recharge his batteries than being surrounded by groupies. As a result, he found it hard to cope with his sudden overexposure, and sank into paranoia. Pearl Jam decided to cut ties with the press, stop making video clips and work on a second album, which they hoped would be very different from Ten. In "Us against the rest of the world" mode, Eddie would rather be with an animal, and was at times as enraged as the sheep on the cover trying to escape the pen.

His malaise over his supposed status as the new spokesperson for a generation was partly exorcised on Leash.

"I am lost, i'm no guide, but i'm by your side."

A screaming track that had already been played in 1992, and imbued with the liberating rage felt throughout most of the record.

During the recording sessions, Dave and Eddie were not always in the best of moods, as far as I could tell. The former felt very comfortable in an ultra-modern studio, whereas Ed felt the need to take a breather, which he did, since for a few days he was nowhere to be found, off to recharge his batteries with his van.

On Glorified G, he poked fun at Dave for being a bit too gun-loving for his taste, having once told them he'd bought two guns. Dave also liked the star system, and this was one of the points of disagreement that became less and less bearable for Eddie. It was because of this, among other things, that Dave was kicked out of the band.

But before that happened, the most important thing to remember about July 1993, the 16th and 17th to be exact, was the band's growing popularity, as evidenced by the fact that they had to play that day in Rotterdam at the Sportspaleis Ahoy. Given the size of the stadium, Eddie was happy, as were the band who had been waiting for this kind of opportunity, but seemed anxious to play in front of a monster crowd. However, Pinkpop in 1992 had been a foretaste and their performance unforgettable, including Eddie's crowd surfing as he dove into the audience from the removable metal structure on which the cameraman was filming.

His character could be quite difficult, which was often partly justified by various factors. Such was the case in this interview with the journalist who had come to interview them.

Ahoy Sportpaleis was quite impressive, with over sixteen thousand seats now and 9500 in 93, all around the stadium. Seeing it empty seemed even more immense as a place. The band looked around, wondering if it was real, not having been used to performing in intimate venues. The thought that they were going to play here was rather intimidating, even though they were quite capable of doing so. Marianne cheered them up, telling them that this was their moment and that their monster stage presence would do the job.