PEARL JAM's JEFF AMENT: 'I Don't Know If I Wanna Go Out And Do 30 Shows Where You're Checking Vaccination Cards'

In a new interview with Kyle Meredith, PEARL JAM bassist Jeff Ament discussed the band's plans for the coming months. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "We actually had a little bit of a play, like three weeks, four weeks ago in Seattle. We just got in a room. We weren't playing any songs. We just jammed, and it was so beautiful. I just missed that so much. And we talked a little bit just about how everybody was feeling.

"We have a few things penciled in for next year," he continued. "Hopefully this [COVID-19] variant and whatever's going on with the vaccinations and all that stuff, hopefully we've turned a corner. It feels like we're sort of still teetering on the edge of this thing. If we turn a corner, then hopefully we hit late winter, early spring with a tour, or a leg, at least. We're jonesing to do it. And most of the shows that we have to make up for — the two legs: the European leg and the U.S. leg — most of those shows, they're indoors. I just don't know if I wanna go out and do 30 shows where you're checking vaccination cards. Hopefully we can be smart enough that, again, we can just turn a corner and, by March, we're rocking and everybody can feel good about traveling and getting 20 thousand people into a space."

This past May, PEARL JAM released a digital collection of music from a staggering 186 live shows that included 5,404 individual tracks. Spanning two decades of shows, this drop consisted of the most sought-after bootlegs from fan-favorite tours during 2000, 2003, 2008, and 2013.

Continuing to engage those diehard fans worldwide while also appealing to fans who may not be familiar with the band's tenured live history, PEARL JAM also launched the immersive live web hub, "Deep", on Deep.PearlJam.com. By accessing this hub, fans may search their favorite shows by category and listen to fan-curated playlists, including "Best Of" tours, "Covers", a politically charged playlist "Know Your Rights" and many more. "Deep" will enable easier discoverability across the catalog and allow newer audiences to experience the best of the band suited directly to their personal preferences. Each live bootleg on "Deep" has the added bonus of show descriptions written by Ten Club superfans adding a personal fan story to each and every record.

Due to popular request, PEARL JAM also unveiled the ability to create your own personalized setlist, using the Custom Setlist Generator. Creating the setlist each night is usually reserved for Eddie Vedder and fans have long wanted the ability to create their own. By inputting your name and birthday, you can receive a custom streamable setlist playlist and setlist graphic generated in Eddie's instantly recognizable handwriting for sharing across your social media. The Setlist also transforms into a streamable, custom playlist that has the added bonus of various Ten Club superfans written personal descriptions for the bootlegs, adding a personal fan story to each and every record.

Over a year ago, PEARL JAM unveiled their latest album, "Gigaton", to widespread critical and fan praise and a Top 5 debut on the Billboard Top 200. It graced year-end lists by Mojo, Consequence Of Sound, Insider, and more.