This year, for the first time in history, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is specifying which individual members of a band are being chosen for induction. It’s a tricky move, especially when applied to groups whose lineups have changed repeatedly over the years. Not surprisingly, the new rule has some musicians upset, one of whom is Dave Abbruzzese, one of the former Pearl Jam members who won’t be included when the band is inducted next year.
(Read: The 20 Worst Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Snubs)
Abbruzzese, who drummed with PJ from the 1991 tour behind Ten to the recording of 1994’s Vitalogy, sounded off on Facebook recently, as Alternative Nation points out. “The qualifications required for me to have been inducted with my former band mates certainly have been met,” he wrote. “I challenge anyone to justify why I am not worthy of a place in the history of Pearl Jam.
“The official reason given from the RRHOF makes it bullshit,” he added. “It make my years of hard work appear to be worthless towards the success born of the formative years of Pearl Jam. This is simply not the case. The milestones and the success obtained during my period in the band… The Grammy, AMA’s, MTV Awards, over 20 plus million albums sold. MTV Unplugged performance. SNL twice, etc. Over 275 shows.”
“For anyone to take a stand for denying my right to be recognized, I deserve to hear how you are possibly justifying such an absolute travesty,” Abbruzzese concluded. “Statistics and the opinions of the Pearl jam fans voiced on social media for the last 20 plus years will attest to that. Someone need only to pull their head out of their ass and add my name.”
Abbruzzese also shared a Facebook posting from his friend, Kari, who dubbed the Rock Hall institution, the “Rock & Roll Hall of Fucktardia:”
So… Rock & Roll Hall of Fucktardia. Ergh.
It makes absolutely zero sense to me…
I’m just gonna shove this statement up someone’s arse:
“As the original ballot is created, the members of each eligible band are determined by largely who was present and active during the most influential recording years.”
I’m not sure how 275+ live shows and 38% of record sales doesn’t fit their criteria…
I may write more about this as time travels on… As for now, I look forward to sharing my first solo album with you all. Thank you for sharing your opinions & for your love & support.
The Pearl Jam members being inducted next year are frontman Eddie Vedder, bassist Jeff Ament, current drummer Matt Cameron, guitarist Stone Gossard, founding drummer Dave Krusen, and guitarist Mike McCready. Abbruzzese previously called on the band members to stand up to the Hall’s decision to exclude him. “The members of Pearl Jam have got to know what’s the right thing to do,” he said when the nominees were announced. “They can’t justify ignoring my contributions. Like me or not. If there is still a part of that band that remembers how hard we worked, how much blood and how much sweat … They will do the right thing.”
The other RRHF inductees for the class of 2017 are Tupac Shakur, Journey, Electric Light Orchestra, Yes, and Joan Baez. The ceremony will take place in April.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly attributed Kari’s comments to Abbruzzese.
