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| Birth Name(s) : Eddie Vedder |
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Full Eddie Vedder Biography
Pearl Jam, Surf and Destroy, The Butts, Indian Style, Bad Radio, Temple of the Dog, Hovercraft, The What, C Average, Neil Finn and Friends
Eddie Vedder (born Edward Louis Severson III on December 23, 1964 in Evanston, Illinois) is the lead singer and one of three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. He is notable for his deep baritone vocal style, and for being a cultural icon of alternative rock.
It was not until after the divorce that Eddie learned the truth about his parentage. Mueller was really his stepfather. Eddie had met his biological father briefly as a child, but had believed that Severson was merely an old friend of his parents. By the time Eddie learned the truth, Severson had died of multiple sclerosis. Eddie's already bad relationship with his stepfather became increasingly strained. He eventually dropped out of San Dieguito High School and joined the rest of his family in Chicago. He also changed his name to Eddie Vedder, "Vedder" being his mother's maiden name. This is expressed in the song "Alive" on the album Ten.
In 1984, Vedder returned to San Diego with his girlfriend, Beth Liebling. He kept busy recording demo tapes at his home and working various jobs, including positions as a night attendant at a local gas station and a contracted security guard at the La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla.
Vedder had several stints in San Diego area bands. One included future Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave drummer Brad Wilk. Another one was a Red Hot Chili Peppers cover/tribute band. In 1988, the rather shy singer became the vocalist for the San Diego progressive funk-rock band Bad Radio. During his time with Bad Radio he penned and performed the song "Better Man", a song based on the relationship between his mother and his stepfather. This song would later become a hit for Pearl Jam.
After leaving Bad Radio in 1990, Vedder's friend and former Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Jack Irons gave him a demo tape from a band in Seattle that was looking for a singer. Vedder recorded vocals for three of the songs, which later became Pearl Jam's "Alive", "Once", and "Footsteps". Vedder wrote the song lyrics as a mini-opera which he called the "Mamasan trilogy". The songs tell the story of a young man who, like Vedder, learns that he had been lied to about his paternity and that his real father is dead ("Alive"). He grows up to become a serial killer ("Once"), and is eventually imprisoned and sentenced to death ("Footsteps").
After hearing the tape, guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament invited Vedder to come to Seattle to audition for the band that soon became Pearl Jam. They were instantly impressed with his unique sound and the fact that he knew of Andrew Wood.
Very soon after joining Pearl Jam, even before recording Ten, Vedder was brought in to provide backing vocals on the Temple of the Dog album, a tribute to late Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood that featured members of both Pearl Jam and Soundgarden.
On Pearl Jam records, Vedder uses the pseudonym "Jerome Turner" for his non-musical (usually design and artwork) contributions. He has also sometimes used the pseudonym of "Wes C. Addle" ("West Seattle").
Vedder began incorporating political statements into his performances early in his career with Pearl Jam. At concerts he often pauses between songs to engage in brief political commentary. During Pearl Jam's 1992 appearance on MTV Unplugged, Vedder stood atop his stool, took out a marker pen, and wrote PRO-CHOICE down his arm in large letters. Pearl Jam performed a Rock for Choice benefit concert in Pensacola, Florida in March of 1994, commemorating the one-year anniversary of the assassination of local abortion provider Dr. David Gunn. Pearl Jam were one of the headliners of the 2004 Vote for Change Tour. During Pearl Jam's 2007 Lollapalooza headlining show, Vedder and the band played a song telling the crowd in Chicago to boycott the oil company B.P. Amoco because they had been polluting Lake Michigan and had not planned to stop after they received approval from the government when they enlarged their factories.
Vedder is known for playing "presets" at Pearl Jam shows, coming onstage with just a guitar (sometimes with a harmonica) and playing one or two songs to warm up the audience for the opening band. The songs performed during this part of the set are frequently slower acoustic songs such as "Long Road" and Cat Stevens's "Trouble". Many of these songs are not frequently on the Pearl Jam set list, giving audiences a chance to hear material in a more intimate manner.
Vedder has inducted The Doors, Neil Young, the Ramones, and R.E.M. into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Eddie attended San Dieguito High School, now called San Dieguito Academy, and donated more than $10,000 from a local concert towards the construction of a theater for the school.
Vedder shows his support for environmental activism by sporting an Earth First! tattoo on his right calf. The logo is of a monkey wrench crossed with a stone hammer. Vedder is also a vegetarian and animal rights activist.
Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media - "Guaranteed" from Into the Wild |
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