"The
bottom line is that when we all plug in, Eddie can make us dance and
play like little molecules bouncing off the wall. And, for whatever
reason, we can make him feel like singing."
[Stone Gossard in Musician magazine, May, 1995]
"I
think in bands you have role playing, and for me it's riffs and
arrangements and songwriting. Eddie's the guy you're looking at on
stage, if I was in the audience I'd be looking at him - well, I might
look at me a couple of times as well."
"The journey begins like your favorite plant. Just add water...watch Pearl Jam grow.
" There will never be a replacement for the guitar in its ability to translate energy to a crowd."
"All of us are music fans who love to play music.
I think everyone in this band is engaged with life; we're all moving at
our own tempo, yet at the same time, we're all actively living. Nobody
is sitting at home spending long hours in front of the TV. So I think
as a human being, if you just remain fresh in your long-term commitment
to each other--like, 'this is home, this is what I like to go back to,
this feels good'--by having that in your head, when you do come back,
you're energized to make music and it comes naturally. The sanity and
happiness within this band is palpable--just the respect and feeling of
security the band provides. Everyone is aware of that."
" Ed's an amazing lyricist and the strongest stuff
is going to have his lyrical stamp on it. From a partnership feeling,
his desire to incorporate everybody's ideas in this band and embrace
other people's lyrics and songs is really exciting. It's not
necessarily the norm for someone who has that kind of artistic pull and
respect. He has maintained a sense that he's a team player, and I think
we've gotten better because of his openness."
"Since it's my birthday I get to sing to you. It's sort of, in a strange way...a punishment" [Mexico 3 '03]
'Is my band ready to kick it?"
