Pearl Jam's whole drummer situation is still up in the air. The band has had a number of drummers over the years, and the longest-tenured of them just left the band last year. Matt Cameron, also of Soundgarden, announced that he was departing Pearl Jam after 27 years in July 2025. (Cameron has since rejoined Soundgarden and played sets at their Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction and the NFL's season opener, and there are rumors of a 2027 tour.) Pearl Jam, meanwhile, found a temporary replacement for Cameron, but they haven't yet named a permanent member of the band.
In September, Pearl Jam played two sets at Eddie Vedder's Ohana Festival, their first since Cameron left the band. For those shows, Pearl Jam brought in Abe Laboriel Jr., a 55-year-old session musician and a member of Paul McCartney's touring band. During the show, Vedder introduced Laboriel and thanked him for "helping us out on drums tonight." In a statement after the festival, the band thanked Laboriel for "sitting in on drums," which also seems to suggest that his time with the band was temporary. Now, bassist Jeff Ament has shed a little more light on the situation.
Ament recently published a new photo book called Since Forever, and that's why he did a recent Under The Radar interview. Naturally, the subject of Pearl Jam's drummer position came up. Apparently, Pearl Jam are still auditioning drummers. Ament describes "Laboriel as "such an incredible drummer," but the band is still trying to figure out future plans. He says:
We're not in any massive rush, but we want to play some shows next year. I'm 63, but I'm pretty fit. I think I can act like a young foolish guy up there for a few more years, but I feel a little bit more urgency in terms of getting out there to play shows when we are physically young-ish.
Ament also addressed Matt Cameron's departure:
I think when Chris [Cornell] passed, that was a massive hit for all of us, but in particular for Matt. I know there was a period of time where he wasn't sure he wanted to even play anymore, and pretty much since then he's been talking about winding it down and wanting to do some other things. He's got some other itches to scratch but it was a pretty fucking sad moment... You've got years of traveling the world and making music together, but I'm stoked for him.
Read the interview here.
