FUV Essentials: Greg Graffin on Pearl Jam
Greg Graffin (photo by Rennie Solis, PR)
As frontman for Bad Religion, Greg Graffin and his bandmates have toured with Pearl Jam since the early '90s, notably when Bad Religion supported the Seattle rockers for 1995's Vitalogy tour (which was cut short due to conflicts with Ticketmaster) and more recently in 2009.
Vedder, a longtime fan of the iconic punk band (according to a Bad Religion fan page, there's apparently an early promo photo of him wearing the group's t-shirt), collaborated with Bad Religion on their 1993 album, Recipe of Hate.
Graffin, who has a brand new solo album out, the loping, country-tinged Millport (listen to his FUV Live session here), wrote a personal recollection of his friendship with Vedder and Pearl Jam for FUV Essentials:
My Pearl Jam experience is a special one. Songs that Ed [Vedder] and I have sung together remain the most vivid memories. I asked him if he could lend a voice in the studio when he was vanning around the west in 1992 and we were recording Recipe For Hate at Brett [Gurewitz]'s studio in Hollywood. Ed's voice and mine blended perfectly; in fact, to this day a lot of people can't tell which verse is his and which is mine on "Watch it Die."
He also sang with the group on "American Jesus." Their great studio album, Ten, began to blow up soon after that episode (even though it was released the year before) and I remember loving two songs particularly: "Even Flow" and "Jeremy" which of course are standards for them today.
We were the guests of Pearl Jam during their legendary Vitalogy tour, appearing as the only other band at gargantuan stages in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park (75,000 attendees) and at Soldier Field in Chicago (over 100,000 in attendance).
When we have had the opportunity to play live together, it's been a wonderful experience. Ed sometimes has joined me onstage to sing his part on "Watch it Die" and I had the pleasure to see my favorite song of theirs, "Better Man," from the wings of the stage.
- Greg Graffin
May 2017
Catch up on all of our FUV Essentials and Five Essential Albums and Songs.
