Biography
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General Information: Full name: Jeffery Allen Ament Date of birth: Born in: Grew up in: Big College: Major: Graphic Design Influences: Kiss, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Ted Nugent, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and more. |
Instruments:
Other
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Bands: · Deranged Diction ·
· Lords of the Wasteland · Mother Love Bone ·
· Pearl Jam · Three Fish · M.A.C.C. |
Other: · Jeff is a vegetarian. · Jeff enjoys playing basketball and once tried out for the LA Clippers. · In Pearl Jam, Jeff is the band biographer. · Jeff enjoys art and photography. · Jeff appeared in the movies Singles and Dogtown and the Z-Boys. |
A Biography of Jeff Ament
Primarily
know for his work with the band Pearl Jam, Jeff Ament
got his start in music with the band Deranged Diction. Jeff had been playing
guitar since age 12 and took up bass as a teenager. Jeff attended college at
the
After quitting
Deranged Diction, Jeff was asked to join a grunge rock band with Stone Gossard called
Jeff and Stone then got together with singer Andy Wood and recorded a 16-song demo under the name Mother Love Bone. The band also included drummer Greg Gilmore and second guitarist Bruce Fairweather. After Mother Love Bone recorded their album Apple, singer Andy died from a heroin overdose before the album was even released in the spring of 1990. The band decided that Mother Love Bone could not continue without their compelling singer and decided to disband.
At that point,
Jeff considered giving up music altogether, but instead began writing songs
with Stone again and they began looking for a new drummer and singer. Jack
Irons from the Red Hot Chili peppers recommended Eddie Vedder.
Eddie wrote lyrics for the songs “Alive” and “Once” and was asked to join the
band. The band would also recruit lead guitarist Mike McCready
and drummer Matt Cameron to join the band. However, before Pearl Jam had even
entered the studio, the band worked together with Soundgarden
singer Chris Cornell on an Andy Wood tribute album with the name
Pearl Jam released their debut album Ten in 1992. By that summer, Pearl Jam had already achieved huge commercial success and they were deemed one of the most popular bands of the 1990’s. Together, Pearl Jam has released a total of 7 studio albums, including their newest release Riot Act. They have also released what seems like hundreds of live albums (which makes sense, since they are great live).
As his next project, Jeff formed the band Three Fish with singer/guitarist Robbi Robb and drummer Richard Stuverud. The side project gave Jeff a chance to put down his bass; because he not only plays bass in the band, but also plays guitar, percussion, organ, diembe, and also sings. Three Fish has quite a different sound from Pearl Jam’s “grunge” sound—incorporating Turkish and Egyptian instruments into their music to create a polyrhythmic beat. Jeff did the band’s photography and also produced the band’s second album entitled The Quite Table.
Jeff also collaborated with Mike McCready, Chris Cornell and Matt Cameron on a tribute to Jimi Hendrix called M.A.C.C., which stands for McCready, Ament, Cornell, and Cameron. In the midst of his work with Pearl Jam and Three Fish, Jeff also found the time to create a graphic design company with his brother, Barry, called Ames Bros.
Today, Jeff still
hasn’t forgotten his