Jeff Ament
Template:Infobox musical artist 2
Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963 in Havre, Montana) is an American rock bassist and, along with Stone Gossard and Mike McCready, one of the founding members of Pearl Jam. Ament is well known for his work in grunge rock bands based in Seattle through the 1980s prior to Pearl Jam, and is particularly notable for his work with the fretless bass, upright bass and twelve-string bass guitar.
Biography
Early life
Ament grew up in the town of Big Sandy, Montana, a town with a population of less than 700. Ament's father was mayor of Big Sandy for fifteen years, as well as a school bus driver.[1] Ament described his family growing up as "pretty poor"[2] and "hard-core Catholic."[3] Ament has one brother, Barry.
He began playing the bass guitar as a teenager, often playing along with Ramones, The Clash, and The Police records. Ament participated in basketball, football, and track at Big Sandy High School, from which he graduated in 1981.[4] He then went on to college at the University of Montana in Missoula, where he studied art and played basketball.[5][6] Ament quit college in the middle of his sophomore year after the university told him they were no longer going to continue its graphic design program.[7] Ament then relocated to Seattle in the early 1980s with his band Deranged Diction.
Musical career
Green River
Ament became acquainted with fellow Seattle musicians Mark Arm and Steve Turner, and he was asked to join their new band Green River in 1984. The band also included drummer Alex Vincent, with guitarist Stone Gossard eventually being added to the line-up. By the time the band finished the recording of its debut EP, Come on Down, Turner decided to leave the group, citing his distaste with Ament and Gossard's heavy metal leanings.[8] He was replaced by Ament's former Deranged Diction bandmate, Bruce Fairweather.
The band released the EP Come on Down in 1985 and followed it up with Dry As a Bone in 1987, the first release on Sub Pop records.[9] The bands only full-length studio album, Rehab Doll was released in 1988.[9] In-fighting within the band lead to the group's break-up during the recording of Rehab Doll. A stylistic division had developed between Ament and Gossard on one side, and Mark Arm on the other.[10] Ament and Gossard wanted to pursue a major-label deal, while Arm wanted to remain independent, viewing the duo as being too careerist.[8] Regarding the accusation, Ament later said that during his time with the band he had to work at a restaurant in order to pay his rent, while the other members were supported by their parents. He said, "Did I want to play music and have my rent paid for? Hell yeah."[11]
The band achieved a considerable local reputation in Seattle and proved to have significant influence on the genre later known as grunge. Green River is considered to be the first grunge band.[9][8]
Mother Love Bone
Following Green River's dissolution in 1987, Ament established Mother Love Bone in 1988 along with former Green River members Stone Gossard and Bruce Fairweather, former Malfunkshun frontman Andrew Wood, and former Ten Minute Warning and Skin Yard drummer Greg Gilmore. The band quickly worked on recording and performing locally and by late 1988 had become one of Seattle's more promising bands. In early 1989 the band signed to PolyGram subsidiary Mercury Records. In March of that year the group issued its debut EP, Shine.
In late 1989 the group returned to the studio to record its debut studio album, Apple. It was planned for a March 1990 release. Only days before the release of Apple, however, frontman Andrew Wood, who had a long history with drug problems, overdosed on heroin. After spending a few days in the hospital in a coma, Wood died, effectively bringing Mother Love Bone to an end. Apple would see release later that year.
Temple of the Dog
Following Andrew Wood's death, Ament and Gossard almost parted company, but eventually got back together along with a childhood friend of Gossard's named Mike McCready. The trio were attempting to form their own band when they were invited to be part of the Temple of the Dog project founded by Soundgarden's Chris Cornell as a musical tribute to Andrew Wood. Cornell had been Andrew Wood's roommate. Ament described the collaboration as "a really good thing at the time" for him and Gossard that put them into a "band situation where we could play and make music".[12] The band's lineup was completed by the addition of Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron.
The band started rehearsing songs written by Cornell on tour previous to Wood's death, as well as re-working some existing material from demos written by Gossard and Ament.[13] This project eventually featured vocalist Eddie Vedder, who sang a duet with Cornell on the song "Hunger Strike" and provided background vocals on several other songs. Vedder had arrived in Seattle to audition to be the singer for Ament and Gossard's next band, which later became Pearl Jam. The band decided that it had enough material for an entire album and in April 1991 Temple of the Dog was released through A&M Records.
Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam was formed in 1990 by Jeff Ament, Stone Gossard, and Mike McCready,[14] who then recruited vocalist Eddie Vedder and drummer Dave Krusen. The band signed to Epic Records in 1991. Drummer Dave Abbruzzese joined the band a few months later following the completion of the band's debut studio album, Ten. Ten broke the band into the mainstream, and became one of the best selling alternative albums of the 1990s. The band found itself amidst the sudden popularity and attention being paid to the Seattle music scene and the genre known as grunge. Upon its release, the band's sophomore album, Vs., set at the time the record for most copies of an album sold in a week,[15] and spent five weeks at number one on the Billboard 200.
Feeling the pressures of success, the band decided to decrease the level of promotion for its albums, including refusing to release music videos.[16] "Ten years from now," Ament said, "I don't want people to remember our songs as videos."[14] In 1994, the band began a much-publicized boycott of Ticketmaster, which lasted for three years and limited the band's ability to tour in the United States.[17] Ament took an active role during Pearl Jam's dispute with Ticketmaster in 1994 over prices and surcharges. Along with fellow Pearl Jam member Stone Gossard, Ament testified before a congressional subcommittee, arguing that Ticketmaster's practices were anti-competitive.[18] Later that same year the band released its third studio album, Vitalogy, which became the band's third straight album to reach multi-platinum status.
Following the firing of Dave Abbruzzese in 1994, drummer Jack Irons joined the band. The band subsequently released No Code in 1996 and Yield in 1998. The band once again changed drummers in 1998, with Irons leaving the band due to dissatisfaction with touring.[19] Irons was replaced by former Soundgarden drummer Matt Cameron, who has been with the band ever since. In 1998, Pearl Jam recorded "Last Kiss", a cover of a 1960s ballad made famous by J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers. It was first released on the band's 1998 fan club single, however, by popular demand, the cover was released to the general public as a single in 1999. "Last Kiss" peaked at number two on the Billboard charts and became the band's highest-charting single. In 2000, the band released its sixth studio album Binaural and initiated a successful and ongoing series of official bootlegs. In 2002, the band released its seventh studio album Riot Act and in 2006 the band released its eighth studio album, the eponymous Pearl Jam.
Aside from his musical contributions for the band, Ament has made significant contributions to the band's album artwork. His photography can be found throughout the majority of the band's releases.
Songwriting and influences
Ament makes a major songwriting contribution to Pearl Jam. He penned the music for one of the band's biggest hits, "Jeremy", as well as "Nothingman". His contributions to Pearl Jam's songs have not been limited to music with Ament having written the lyrics for the songs "Pilate", "Low Light", "Gods' Dice", "Nothing As It Seems", "Help Help", "Other Side", and "Sweet Lew". As well as bass contributions, Ament has often provided backing vocals and has played guitar on two of the songs he had written musically: "Smile" (No Code) and "Bee Girl" (Lost Dogs). He performs lead vocal duties on "Sweet Lew" (from Lost Dogs).
Ament has cited The Who, The Beatles, Aerosmith, Kiss, AC/DC, the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, The Clash, and Black Flag among his influences.[20][2][7][21] In an interview, Ament stated:
I have to be able to feel the bass. I've worked hard with our producers to make sure that when you play our records on your stereo, you can feel the bass. You might not necessarily be able to hear it all the time, but if you turn it up you can feel the movement in the low end -- that it's moving the song. And when it's not there, it should be creating a dynamic.[20]
Other musical projects
Three Fish
Ament had a side project band named Three Fish, which he formed in 1994 with Robbi Robb of Tribe After Tribe and Richard Stuverud of the Fastbacks. Three Fish released two albums, Three Fish (1996) and The Quiet Table (1999).
Mirror Ball
Ament performed with other members of Pearl Jam on Neil Young's 1995 album Mirror Ball, and subsequently took part in an eleven-date tour of Europe as part of Young's backing band. This tour proved very successful with Young's manager Elliot Roberts calling it "One of the greatest tours we ever had in our whole lives."[22]
Other work
Ament had a brief acting cameo in the 1992 movie Singles, along with Stone Gossard and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. He appeared as himself, playing bass in lead actor Matt Dillon's backing band, Citizen Dick.[23] Most of Matt Dillon's wardrobe in the movie actually belonged to Ament.[24] During the making of the film Ament produced a list of song titles for the fictional band. Chris Cornell took it as a challenge to write songs for the film using those titles, and "Spoonman" was one of them. The title of "Spoonman" is credited to Ament in the liner notes for Soundgarden's 1994 album Superunknown. Ament was also interviewed for the 2001 skateboarding documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys.
With his brother Barry, Jeff Ament runs Ames Bros., an art production company that produces tour posters and album artwork for many bands, including Pearl Jam.
Personal life
Ament currently lives in Seattle, Washington, and Missoula, Montana. Aside from music, Ament's interests include skateboarding, basketball, graphic design, snowboarding, and wakeboarding. He has been a fan and season ticket holder of the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics. Ament assisted in financing the construction of Missoula's Mobash Skatepark.[25] He and his partner, Pandora, climbed Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro in support of Save the Children.[26]
Ament is a supporter of Organic farmer and United States Senator Jon Tester. Tester grew up near Big Sandy and Ament knew of Tester before either were famous. Ament campaigned for Tester in 2006.
Discography
Green River
| Year | Title | Label | Track(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Come on Down | Homestead | All |
| 1986 | Deep Six | C/Z | "10,000 Things" and "Your Own Best Friend" |
| 1987 | Dry As a Bone | Sub Pop | All |
| 1988 | Motor City Madness | Glitterhouse | "Searchin' (Good Things Come)" |
| Rehab Doll | Sub Pop | All | |
| Sub Pop 200 | Sub Pop | "Hangin' Tree" | |
| 1989 | This House Is Not A Motel | Glitterhouse | "Swallow My Pride" |
| Sub Pop Rock City | Glitterhouse | "Hangin' Tree" | |
| Another Pyrrhic Victory: The Only Compilation Of Dead Seattle God Bands | C/Z | "Bazaar" and "Away In Manger" | |
| 1990 | Endangered Species | Glitterhouse | "Ain't Nothing to Do" |
| Rehab Doll/Dry As a Bone | Sub Pop | All | |
| 1992 | Afternoon Delight: Love Songs From Sub Pop | Sub Pop | "Baby Takes" |
| 1996 | Hype!: The Motion Picture Soundtrack | Sub Pop | "Swallow My Pride" (1987 demo) |
| 2000 | Wild and Wooly: The Northwest Rock Collection | Sub Pop | "This Town" |
| 2006 | Sleepless in Seattle: The Birth of Grunge | Livewire | "Come on Down" |
Mother Love Bone
| Year | Title | Label | Track(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Shine | Stardog/Mercury | All |
| 1990 | Apple | Stardog/Mercury | All |
| 1992 | Singles: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack | Epic | "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns" |
| Stardog Champion | Stardog/Mercury | All | |
| 1993 | Thrash And Burn: The Metal Alternative | Sony Music Special Products | "Capricorn Sister" |
| The Best Of Grunge Rock | Priority | "Stardog Champion" | |
| 1995 | Alterno-Daze: Natural 90s Selection | MCA | "Stardog Champion" |
| 1997 | Proud To Be Loud | Debutante | "Bone China" |
| 2001 | Alternative Moments | Sony Music Media | "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns" |
| 2007 | The Road Mix: Music from the Television Series One Tree Hill, Volume 3 | Maverick | "Chloe Dancer/Crown of Thorns" |
Temple of the Dog
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Temple of the Dog | A&M |
Pearl Jam
Three Fish
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Three Fish | Epic |
| 1999 | The Quiet Table | Epic |
Contributions and collaborations
| Year | Group | Title | Label | Track(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | M.A.C.C. (Mike McCready, Jeff Ament, Matt Cameron, and Chris Cornell) | Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix | Reprise/WEA | "Hey Baby (Land of the New Rising Sun)" |
| 1995 | Neil Young | Mirror Ball | Reprise | All |
| 1997 | Tribe After Tribe | Pearls Before Swine | Bulletproof | Some |
| 1998 | Clodhopper | Red's Recovery Room | My Own Planet | "Café Joli" and "900 Miles" |
| 2004 | Jack Irons | Attention Dimension | Breaching Whale | "Dunes" |
| King's X | Live All Over the Place | Brop! Records/Metal Blade | "Manic Depression" |
References
- ^ Chaney, Rob. "Pearl Jam to play benefit in Missoula". Missoulian. July 14, 2005.
- ^ a b Vaziri, Aidin. "Q & A With Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament". San Francisco Chronicle. October 29, 2000.
- ^ Weisel, Al. "Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam". Rolling Stone. August 8, 1996.
- ^ "Interview with Jeff Ament, Bassist for Pearl Jam". digital-noise.net. May 25, 2003.
- ^ "The Sky I Scrape: Pearl Jam FAQ". theskyiscrape.com.
- ^ Heaney, John. "Meet: Jeff Ament: Pearl Jam's Ament Plays for Love of Game". Missoulian. January 6, 2008.
- ^ a b Ho, Jeff. "Interview with Jeff Ament". Juice Magazine. 2006.
- ^ a b c Huey, Steve. Green River Biography. Allmusic.
- ^ a b c Sub Pop Records biography
- ^ Azerrad, Michael. Our Band Could Be Your Life. Little Brown and Company, 2001. ISBN 0-316-78753-1, pg. 422
- ^ "Pearl Jam Podcast". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Nicholls, Justin (1991-04-14). "KISW 99.9 FM: Seattle, Radio Interview by Damon Stewart in The New Music Hour with Chris Cornell, Jeff Ament and Stone Gossard". Fivehorizons.com. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Alden, Grant. "Requiem for a Heavyweight." Guitar World. July 1997
- ^ a b Crowe, Cameron (1993-10-28). "Five Against the World". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Pearl's Jam". Entertainment Weekly. 1993-11-19. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Ashare, Matt. "The Sweet Smell of (Moderate) Success". CMJ. July 2000.
- ^ DeRogatis, Jim. Milk It!: Collected Musings on the Alternative Music Explosion of the 90's. Cambridge: Da Capo, 2003. ISBN 0-306-81271-1, pg. 58
- ^ Van Schagen, Sarah "Jam Session" - Interview with Stone Gossard. www.grist.org. July 21, 2006.
- ^ Fischer, Blair R (1998-04-17). "Off He Goes". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-06-28.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ a b Coryat, Karl. "Godfather of the "G" Word". Bass Player Magazine. April 1994.
- ^ Hiatt, Brian (2006-06-16). "The Second Coming of Pearl Jam". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2007-06-22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ McDonough, Jimmy. "Shakey: Neil Young's Biography", Anchor, 2003. ISBN 0-6797-5096-7 [1]
- ^ "Jeff Ament". Internet Movie Database.
- ^ "Northwestern Exposure". Entertainment Weekly. March 5, 1993.
- ^ Woodhouse, Murphy. "Riding a vision to reality — Success of Mobash skatepark is the triumph of determination over inexperience". Western Montana InBusiness Monthly. October 2007.
- ^ Kelley, Steve. "From Malawi to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro". The Seattle Times. August 20, 2004.
External links
- Pearl Jam's Ten Club
- Ames Bros Homepage
- Ament Jeff Ament at AllMusic
- Jeff Ament at IMDb
- Given to Wail – Information on Jeff Ament's equipment in the Gear section of the site dedicated to fellow Pearl Jam member Mike McCready
