Plagued by an unhappy, uncertain childhood, Vedder turned to music at an early age as a cathartic release for his worries. Drawn to the music of The Who’s 1973 “Quadrophenia” album, after settling in San Diego, California, the singer and musician joined a number of local bands including Surf and Destroy, The Butts, Indian Style, and the funk rock band Bad Radio. After becoming acquainted with Red Hot Chilli Peppers’ drummer Jack Iron, Vedder was invited to audition for a new band by Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament in Seattle. That band ultimately became Pearl Jam and released their debut album “10” in August 1991 on Epic Records. Aided by the singles “Alive”, “Even Flow”, and “Jeremy”, the album has sold over 10 million copies making it one of the most successful albums of the 1990s.
Vedder’s role in Pearl Jam’s success is of an indisputable nature and his songwriting and vocal prowess can be seen on all of Pearl Jam’s 10 album releases. On top of his Pearl Jam contributions however the singer-songwriter has crafted a host of soundtrack and compilation work including “Dead Man Walking” in 1995, “I Am Sam” in 2001, “A Brokedown Melody” in 2004, and “Body of War” and “Reign Over Me” in 2007. Also in 2007 Vedder provided the simplistic, heartfelt and folksy soundtrack to the Sean Penn directed film “Into the Wild”. His song “Guaranteed” subsequently won Vedder the Golden Globe award for Best Original Song, after which the singer embarked on his first solo tour in early 2008.
Continuing the simplistic theme of “Into the Wild”, Vedder’s sophomore solo album “Ukulele Songs” is a collection of simple original and cover songs performed on the ukulele. In addition, Vedder has contributed to the music of some of the highest profile music acts including The Who, Ramones, Neil Young, The Strokes, Cat Power, Bad Religion, and performed with the likes of Paul McMartney, Rolling Stones, U2, Jay-Z and Elvis Costello.
It’s that most relatable of woes again. You front one of the most commercially successful rock bands of the past twenty five years. A band that can be relied on to sell out arenas and stadiums the world over with their legendary blend of scything 90’s grunge rock and thunderous 70’s hard rock. However, just what is to be done when you want to take some time off from all that? The only way is down in terms of musical intensity and venue size but not necessarily in quality, as Eddie Vedder’s sojourn into ukulele led folk-rock magnificently shows. What’s more, it only gets better when he performs it live. Performing alone, for most part, on a stage strewn with ukuleles, acoustic guitars, suitcases and tape decks, Vedder captivates from the very start. That unmistakable voice more subtly deployed than in his day job but no less affecting. Playing songs from his two solo albums Ukulele Songs and the Into the Wild soundtrack dispersed with a multitude of covers that change from night after night, Vedder also finds himself joined onstage by a revolving cast of guests, artists like Roger Daltrey, Glen Hansard, Tom Morello, Cat Power and many more have performed with the Pearl jam frontman on stage and it’s electric every time. Even though you might know him best when he’s playing histrionic rock and roll, every side of Eddie Vedder is worth spending an evening with, and if you have any time at all for laid back folk then I can’t recommend a show of his enough.