Former Pearl Jam Drummer Dave Abbruzzese Questions Band’s Integrity Over Hall of Fame Exclusion
Dave Abbruzzese, who drummed with Pearl Jam from 1991 to 1994, is still angry about having been left out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This time, he’s questioned the band’s integrity in not fighting for his inclusion.
He was expanding on what a friend of his wrote about how the decision to not induct Abbruzzese “discredits every member of Pearl Jam that receives it, as well as every other artist that has received an award from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.” Agreeing, Abbruzzese noted that “Pearl Jam has always seemingly had a perceived level of integrity and has been known to stand their ground & fight the good fight, but it seems the allure of being given this trophy is just too important for them to take a stand.”
Saying that “every award given to a band that celebrates the band's lifetime achievements should be awarded to every person that was ever a debt incurring, life sacrificing, blood spilling, member of that band,” Abbruzzese added that “whoever is ultimately responsible for the decision that deemed my work with Pearl Jam as an effort that was not important enough to grant me induction knows nothing of what we accomplished, and I am personally at a loss for words for how [the band] and [manager] Kelly Curtis are accepting of such an injustice.”
Abbruzzese replaced Dave Krusen shortly after Pearl Jam recorded their debut, Ten. He performed on Vs. and Vitalogy before being replaced by Jack Irons. Krusen, who is staying out of the debate, is the only former member of the band being inducted.
Still, he expressed his desire to play with the band one more time at the ceremony and relive his time with the band. “I was there and I am still proud to be a part of what Pearl Jam was,” he wrote. “My point in all of this is to share the fact that what Pearl Jam once was, is what is still, and will always be Pearl Jam.”
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