Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament Says New Album Still a ‘Blank Slate’

2012-11-08

Story by Anne Erickson

Pearl Jam bass player Jeff Ament says grunge band’s new album is ‘still sort of a blank slate’

Some not-so-good news for Pearl Jam fans: According to bass player Jeff Ament, the grunge rockers have “no plans” to do anything in 2013, as of yet. “There really are no plans right now,” Ament told Guerilla Candy when asked about Pearl Jam’s 2013 schedule.

“We have a few shows in South America on the calendar and that’s about it,” he added. “I think that’s kind of by design. I think the idea is that everybody takes the holidays off and then at some point somebody will pick up the phone, maybe late January or early February, and that will kind of start the (recording) process over again.”

Ament added that, yes, he’s well aware fans are dying to know when the next record will grace the world. But that doesn’t mean it’s coming any sooner. “People want to know what’s going on with the next record and I think everybody has sort of talked about it, but it still really isn’t anything,” he said. “We still don’t really know exactly when we will finish it, so it’s hard to talk about it. It really could be anything at this point. Even though we have seven or eight songs recorded, it’s still sort of a blank slate, and that’s exciting.”

Thankfully, he says a new Pearl Jam album is inevitable. “I don’t think there’s any doubt we’re going to make a record, but when that’s going to be, and when everybody is ready to do it, well that’s another story,” he said. “And there’s no pressure. So if at any point the guys called up and said ‘Hey, we’re ready to do this,’ I’d have no problem dropping everything because that’s my first love…”

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Anne Erickson

Meet the expert - Author, writer and editor Anne Erickson is a Detroit-based music reporter and radio host. She has written for the USA Today Network, Consequence.net, Blabbermouth.net, Loudwire.com and many more. Anne holds a master's degree from Michigan State University. Contact Anne at anne@audioinkradio.com.