The news of Matt Cameron's farewell from Pearl Jam after 27 years has caught the fans by surprise. The separation is, at least in words, peaceful (“I am grateful to the crew, the staff and fans all over the world, it was an incredible journey”, reads in his press release).
Given the atmosphere of great revolutions that has been hitting the world of large rock drummers for months, and the amount of surprising free agent on the market (from Zak Starkey liquidated twice in a row by WHO to Josh Freese that hunted by the Foo Fighters, to Frank Ferrer put at the door by the Guns N 'Roses), the Toto-Sostituto has already started among the fans of the band. Having been Cameron the fifth drummer of Pearl Jam, of course his predecessors appeared among the first names: Dave Krusen, Jack Irons, Matt Chamberlain and above all Dave Abbruzzese.
Abbruzzese has a place of honor in the heart of the fans of the Pearl Jam since during his stay in the group, from 1991 to 1994, he participated in some of the most important records such as Vs. And Vitology. But the story between the drummer and the band did not end well (“they fired me to follow a philosophy incompatible with mine” he declared in 1994). Indeed, it ended so bad that between Abbruzzese and the other members there has been no real contact for 30 years. The situation then did not improve when, in 2017, Pearl Jam became part of the rock and roll hall of hunger without him (“I have no words for how we accepted such an injustice”).
Many fans (he talks about thousands) wrote him via social media to convince him to return with the band, thus pushing Abbruzzese to write a long press release. «To be clear, I don't have to reconcile with them. My dismissal from the band and the subsequent problems caused by the actions of the band's management and the old record label, which made me difficult things, have not been completely my fault. With the exception of some mean comments and actions that I have not understood or planned, I have never blamed nor fed resentment towards the members of the band », writes the drummer.
«Although he never really understood what there was so important as to destroy the musical agreement we had then, it went like this and I can't do anything about it. At least nothing that comes to mind. The years spent since 1995 have helped me to grow as a person and as a musician. It seems that the band's boys have matured and raised as much as me, but the fact that he has not had any personal contact with any of them leads me to believe that the water passed under the bridges is too deep and too freezing so that there may be a reconciliation or a rapprochement. He is a shame and saddens me a lot », continues Abbruzzese.
And then the closed: “I know I could make a great contribution if they really called me, but unfortunately I don't think it will happen.”
