Pearl Jem – tribute band surfing wave of success
Groove Tube with Jimi McDonnell – [email protected]
Paying tribute to one the titans of American rock music, Pearl Jem come to Monroe’s Live on Friday, October 12. Back in 1991, when a Seattle based band called Pearl Jam released their debut album Ten, it became a massive success, selling in excess of 10 million copies. With Eddie Vedder’s distinctive voice, the band went on to inspire devotion that has continued to this day.
Fifteen years later, another singer Nigel Connell took on the role of lead vocalist for a five-strong tribute band, having been invited to do so by cousins, bassist and guitarist Brendan and Andrew Reaburn.
The three had all played together in a band called The Cunning Stunts, so they had the chemistry that was needed to get the sound right.
“Brendan was the driving force in setting up Pearl Jem; he’s a massive fan,” Nigel explains. “He and Andrew, the guitar player, wanted to set up the tribute band. We were already doing Black in our set, but I wasn’t as big a fan as they were. I would’ve been more into Bruce Springsteen.”
Nigel had to get acquainted with Pearl Jam’s songs fairly quickly, but fortunately his job at the time allowed him to listen to music while he was working.
“The lads made me some copies of their CDs, so there was CD 1, CD 2 and so on,” he recalls “I was working as a car valeter at the time, so I’d listen to the songs on repeat. I must have learned upwards of 35 songs and some of them I didn’t even know the titles of!”
This new outfit stepped into a rock scene that was lacking a tribute group to Eddie Vedder and Co, so Pearl Jem found themselves with a ready-made crowd.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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