Today The Music Soup celebrates the birthday of the voice of Pearl Jam.
Eddie Vedder born, Edward Louis Severson III 60 years ago today on December 23, 1964 in Evanston, Illinois. The Music Soup loves Pearl Jam and Eddie Vedders' eerily intense vocals is the signature sound of this band, combined the drum talents of the great Matt Cameron. If not for Eddies unique voice (and the distinct beat of Camerons' drums), PJ would not have the sound it has been known for.
I became a fan of the band from the first minute Vedder opened his mouth to sing. It was a decade+ ago and I was credentialed to photograph the band for BAM magazine. I didnt know who Vedder was nor did I think at the time that I knew any of their tunes. But I was so wrong. I remember being in the photo pit at the venue in San Jose and I said to the photgrapher next to me, so who is this guy Eddie Vedder...he replied, "oh you'll know as soon as he opens his mouth". A couple minutes later Vedder took the stage and the intensity and unique sound of his voice knocked me out and I was a fan from that very moment. I have covered every Pearl Jam show in Northern California since then. I love this band and I can proudly say they are absolutely, without question in my top ten bands of all time. And that's a very hard list to get into! So I'm happy to be able to honor Eddie Vedders' 60th birthday on this day, the 23rd day of December 2024.
The last time I saw Pearl Jam was in May of this year, 2024. For me, this was the best PJ shoot, as I got to do it with my favorite music photographer, Danny Clinch. Kind of a dream come true for me. I have followed Dannys' work for many years as he is the main photographer for many bands including a few of my favorites like PJ and Springsteen. Danny and I chatted, compared photo gear and did the small talk thing before PJ took the stage. And then the band began and I continued to shoot alongside the one and only Danny Clinch. It was a fantastic and very memorable experience for me.
I am reposting a few photos from some PJ shows that I've had the priviledge of capturing. Check out a couple links The Music Soup had published of past Pearl Jam shows: Pearl Jam show 2024 - https://www.themusicsoup.com/post/three-days-of-music-at-bottlerock-24 Pearl Jam show 2022 - https://www.themusicsoup.com/post/pearl-jam-goes-on-but-covid-19-takes-matt-cameron-out-of-the-show Pearl Jam 2022 © Cheryl Alterman Photography 2022
Pearl Jam 2024 © Cheryl Alterman Photography 2024
Pearl Jam 2014 © Cheryl Alterman Photography 2014
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