Eddie Vedder is the frontman for Pearl Jam on several levels: he's the band's emotive face, its primary songwriter and its ethical soul. His ability to channel fear, frustration and hope — on topics both deeply personal and politically liberal — and wrap his fiery bass voice around them, is what helped set Pearl Jam apart in the early-'90s Seattle music scene.
In addition to 18 solid years with Pearl Jam, Vedder has contributed to recordings by dozens of artists and played for numerous political and environmental causes. It's surprising that he's only recently stepped out with music under his own name.
Some of Vedder's more anguished, yearning songwriting has recently been showcased in films. It's an individual creative outlet that plays to his strengths and allows him to sketch freehand, without the constraints of a band dynamic. He paired with Pakistani qawwali singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan on music for the Tim Robbins-directed Dead Man Walking, and contributed solo to I Am Sam, both of which starred Sean Penn. For Into the Wild, written and directed by Penn, Vedder wrote a full slate of songs for the soundtrack that complements the haunting score by Michael Brook and Kaki King. At the request of its director and producer Phil Donahue, Vedder penned a pair of songs for Body Of War, a 2008 documentary about the human side of the Iraq war.
Provenance: Evanston, Illinois
Latest release: Music For The Motion Picture Into The Wild (2007)
© 2008 Nigel Music Media LLC. Used by permission.
Eddie Vedder
