Jun. 28, 2006 - Issue #558: Fantasticks

Distant Replay

Holden Daniels discusses Pearl Jam's Ten

It’s not often that musicians profiled in this column come close to being apologetic for picking the albums that most influenced their musical careers.

But that’s the case with Holden Daniels, one half of Edmonton’s My Sister Ocean, a minimalist drum-and-bass combo. Daniels goes with Pearl Jam’s Ten, the straight-ahead rock album that got tagged as “grunge” simply because the band broke out of Seattle in the early ‘90s.

"I know Pearl Jam isn’t the band that indie bands are supposed to like, but there was a time when to me they were like gods," Daniels says. “My favourite rock bassist would be Flea [of the Red Hot Chili Peppers], and he’s a huge influence, but [Pearl Jam bassist] Jeff Ament’s tendency to stay with the root notes and simply hold the low end for the band has been a style I’ve adopted and loved for years.

"Eddie Vedder isn’t my favourite singer of all time, and as individuals, the guys in the band aren’t the best players or songwriters in the world, but combined, Pearl Jam has something that I don’t see in a lot of bands,” he continues enthusiastically. “I’ve been waiting since 1991 for another album from any band that has the same energy that Ten does ... I’m definitely a product of the early ‘90s Seattle Scene, and I’ve gone through periods of being both proud and ashamed of it. Pearl Jam’s new album is good and all, but I sometimes wish for more riff-based songs like “Garden,” “Deep” and “Even Flow,” although now I wonder if I’d like them or think they’re too much like Creed. I guess we’ll never know!"

Pearl Jam was formed with the addition of transplanted San Diegan Eddie Vedder to the ashes of Seattle band Mother Love Bone. Because of their long locks and the fact they came out of Seattle shortly after Nirvana and Soundgarden broke, they were immediately tossed into the grunge pile.

But Ten is actually just a tight melodic rock effort. Sure "Alive" speaks of isolation and "Jeremy" is the tale of the lonely schoolkid gone crazy, but the truth is that Pearl Jam was even more successful than Nirvana when it came to connecting with the rock mainstream. If it wasn’t for geography, there’s no way that the word "grunge" would have been used to describe the band at all.

Yes, Pearl Jam is still filling arenas now, but even their most hardened fans would admit that Ten is still the band’s ultimate achievement.

As for My Sister Ocean, you can check out new songs on the band’s website, mysisterocean.com, in anticipation of a brand-new CD to come, or you can catch the band’s CD release party at the Sidetrack on Jul 15. V

New comments for this entry have been turned off and any existing ones are hidden. We apologize for any inconvenience.