Ralph Notaro/Getty ImagesPrior to their induction into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last week, Pearl Jam published a note publicly inviting all of the band’s past drummers to attend the ceremony. David Abbruzzese doesn’t see it that way. In fact, he says neither Pearl Jam nor the Rock Hall invited or contacted him.
“The band tweeted that they welcomed the idea of the event granting the possibility of all the drummers to be in the same room,” Abbruzzese writes in a Facebook post. “That isnt [sic] an invite.”
In their career, Pearl Jam has had five drummers: Matt Cameron, Dave Krusen, Matt Chamberlain, Jack Irons and Abbruzzese. However, only Cameron, PJ’s current drummer, and Krusen, who played on Ten, were inducted along with the band into the Rock Hall. Abbruzzese, who drummed on Vs. and Vitalogy, previously called his exclusion an “absolute travesty.”
Technically, Pearl Jam’s note didn’t use the word “invite” — rather, the band called their past drummers “individually great players,” and said that they were “looking forward to seeing them.” Abbruzzese says that if even if he was explicitly invited to the ceremony, he still wouldn’t have gone.
“IF THEY HAD invited me to be there to witness the bands induction? Nope,” he writes. “To do that would justify the mistake and disrespect the core fans that took this band to heart back when all we were to become, we had to earn and also, most importantly, we had to prove we deserved every single time we took the stage. And we did that.”
“We, the Pearl Jam band & original crew, deserved to be inducted & respected,” Abbruzzese concludes. “I’m proud of my old friends for managing it all so well. I dont [sic] know if I heard anyone say it, but you’re welcome and thank you, too.”
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