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Artist News
Eddie Vedder feared nerve problems may stop him playing guitar
By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 1 October 2013
Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder has said that he feared that he might never play guitar again after a back problem last year affected nerves in his hand. It turned out it wasn’t actually that bad though, so it’s alright.
Vedder told Rolling Stone: “That was a major inconvenience that, when I look back, was really minor. But, you know, in the middle of it, I didn’t know if I would play guitar again. I could picture sitting there with [guitarists] Mike [McCready] or Stone [Gossard], calling out chords. ‘No, go to a B minor! Go to a B minor 7!'”
In the same article, interviewer Brian Hiatt also noted how bloody long Pearl Jam have been going now (he didn’t put it quite like that), with Vedder approaching his 50s, and asked if the singer could see the band still performing in their 70s, like The Rolling Stones.
Vedder said: “It’s actually really rare. The more you look at it, you realise how rare it is, and how difficult it is. I first saw the Stones in 1981, and at that point they were elder statesmen. So we’re lucky to see these old poets being able to read their work in their own voice, you know? I mean, they came from the same generation that said, ‘Don’t trust anyone over 30’. It reminds you to be open to the possibilities”.
So, that’s something to look forward to. The band are due to release their tenth album, ‘Lightning Bolt’, on 14 Oct. Here’s a short film about it:
