Despite leaving Pearl Jam shortly after the recording of their debut, Ten, Dave Krusen is being inducted with them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In a new interview, Krusen said it was "very exciting" to have been considered and will attend the ceremony, but refused to get sucked into the controversy over which of their drummers also deserved the honor.

"I'm staying out of that" he told Rolling Stone. "I do know this: Having been in that band, when you leave you are still representing them. That was a big part of how I got myself together. I felt like just because I'm not in that band, I'm still out there and people are like, "Oh, you played in that band?" You’re like an ambassador and you better keep your s--- together. That whole thing was instrumental in me getting my s--- together. The whole drummer controversy with the band, obviously Matt Cameron should be there. Beyond that, I guess I'll just stay out of it."

Cameron, who's also in Soundgarden, has held down the drum seat since 1998, but between Krusen's departure and Cameron's arrival, Matt Chamberlain, Dave Abbruzzese and Jack Irons have been in the band, and none of them will be inducted with the band. Abbruzzese, who played on Vs. and Vitalogy, took exception to the exclusion earlier this week, writing on Facebook, "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.”

Although he'll be at the podium with his former bandmates, Krusen doesn't think he'll be asked to perform with them at the ceremony in April. "I think the fans would dig that," he said. "I'd love to do it. ... I don't think it is likely, but I'm down."

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