Pearl Jam‘s Eddie Vedder has surprised young musicians based in Hawaii with brand-new guitars for Christmas.
- READ MORE: Pearl Jam – ‘Gigaton’ review: one of the biggest rock bands in the world return to semi-brilliance
In a Facebook post uploaded by Coconut Grove Music teacher Harry Koizumi, who is based in Kailua, Oahu, the ‘Black’ singer swung by the music shop to buy three new guitars for three of Koizumi’s students.
“Early this week, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam came into Coconut Grove Music and asked the salesman if there was a guitar teacher who has taught there for many years. So I got a text to come out of my teaching room and say hello,” read the post.
A Christmas Story in Kailua,Oahu 2023Early this week, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam came into Coconut Grove Music and asked…
Posted by Harry Koizumi on Sunday, December 24, 2023
It continued: “He asked if I could help him choose some electric guitars that would be good for younger players. He then purchased three guitars and asked if I had three younger students that might need them and to help them be inspired! So I chose the three, called their moms and told them the story. I asked if they could play some of Eddie’s music in their home to secretly prepare them! All the moms were super excited because they are all fans already!
“When my students came for their next lesson, I surprised them with their guitars. I asked them to write a note back to Eddie. Later in the week, Eddie brought some personal notes for me to give to them! What a beautiful blessing and a wonderful experience to be involved as Santa’s helper! Eddie Vedder – You Rock with such Aloha spirit! Thank you for an awesome Christmas that we all will never forget!”
Back in July, Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament opened up about the band’s new album and said that it “doesn’t feel like a record yet”.
Guitarist Stone Gossard had confirmed in an interview last March that work had begun on the follow-up to 2020’s ‘Gigaton’ and that Andrew Watt, who has previously worked with Justin Bieber, is behind the production desk this time around.
While Gossard said they were going to try and finish the record “pretty soon,” Ament has revealed in a new interview that there’s still a way to go on the new LP. “The hardest part of [finishing] a record a lot of times is figuring out which songs go on the record and do we need to record another song and what’s the artwork and what’s the title and all that stuff,” he said.
He continued: “I think everybody hopes that we have a record out next year. If we have a record out next year, that means we’ll probably play a few more shows, and I think there’s a couple places we haven’t played in quite a while, so I think we have stuff penciled in.”
Elsewhere, back in October, Pearl Jam released a reissue of their second studio LP ‘Vs.’ in celebration of its 30th anniversary.
The physical release of the album featured a 2xLP ‘Dreamsicle’-colored vinyl as well as a clear cassette via the band’s official fan club named “Ten Club”. A Clear 1xLP will also be available via Target in the US and other international retailers as well as a classic 2xLP black pressing.
Recently, the band were announced as part of the first run of artists set to perform at the 2024 instalment of Mad Cool alongside Dua Lipa and Bring Me The Horizon.
This year’s edition of the long-running festival will run between July 10 and 13, and see the event return to the Villaverde site in Madrid.
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