After nearly three decades, Pearl Jam’s drummer Matt Cameron says he is stepping down from the band.
“Much love and respect to Jeff [Ament], Ed [Vedder], Mike [McCready] and Stone [Gossard] for inviting me into the band in 1998 and for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, filled with friendships, artistry, challenges and laughter,” he was quoted as saying on Pearl Jam’s social media pages.
“I am forever grateful to the crew, staff and fans the world over. It’s been an incredible journey. More to follow. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”
Founded in Seattle in 1990, the Vedder-fronted crew began their rise to fame a year later alongside the genre they helped launch into the mainstream: grunge. Cameron was also an early figure in the music space; he played with rockers Soundgarden from 1986 to 1997, and then again starting in 2010, simultaneously drumming in both groups until Soundgarden’s breakup in 2017.
Upon joining Pearl Jam in 1998, he became the fifth drummer for a band that had already released five studio albums, following a four-year tenure by Red Hot Chili Peppers’ former drummer Jack Irons. Before that, there were stints by Dave Abbruzzese, Matt Chamberlain and original drummer Dave Krusen.
But Cameron was by far Pearl Jam’s longest-serving percussionist. After first arriving as a temporary replacement, he added much-needed stability to the rapidly shifting lineup and has been their sole studio drummer since 2000’s Binaural. Cameron became such a staple, he and Krusen (who performed on the band’s first and most successful album, Ten) were the only two drummers inducted alongside the other core members for the band’s entry in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
That lead to a terse message from Abbruzzese, who was infamously fired in 1994 after a series of disagreements, including over their highly publicized conflict with Ticketmaster. After claiming the band misrepresented his departure by initially saying it amicable, he called his exclusion from the Hall of Fame a “slap in the face.”
Cameron just finished a tour with the band supporting their 12th studio album, Dark Matter. He will also be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Soundgarden at a ceremony scheduled for November of this year.
In the same social media post, the band’s other members credited Cameron as one of their early musical heroes, and a subtle contributor since their beginning, as he also played on the early demos in 1990. They made no mention of a possible replacement.
“Matt Cameron has been a singular and true powerhouse of a musician and drummer,” the band wrote.
“He has propelled the last 27 years of Pearl Jam live shows and studio recordings. It was a deeply important chapter for our group and we wish him well always. He will be deeply missed and is forever our friend in art and music.”
