You might not think of a Seattle grunge band as being politically and socially conscious, but Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam would prove you wrong. In fact, the band even has a section titled “Activism” in their official home page.
The band, many times through spokesman Vedder, has always been vocal on certain subjects and promoted their favorite causes. The band has supported awareness of Crohn’s Disease, in part because lead guitarist Mike McCready suffers from it. They have fought against Ticketmaster for what they see as a monopolization of concert venues. They also try to follow a carbon neutral policy. To help offset their carbon emissions, the band donated $210,000 last year to be spent in tree planting in Puget Sound, Washington.
Vedder has vocally supported the West Memphis 3, three men accused of killing grade-school children in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993. He gave writing credit on the song “Army Reserve” to Damien Echols, the reported mastermind of the murders.
Vedder wrote an article titled “Reclamation” for Spin magazine in 1992 in which he spoke of his pro-choice views of abortion. During a 1992 MTV Unplugged concert, Vedder wrote the words “PRO-CHOICE” on his arm. The band also supports pro-choice charities such as Choice USA and Voters for Choice.
Speaking of voters, Pearl Jam has encouraged voter registration through the Rock the Vote and Vote for Change organizations. The band played on the 2004 Vote for Change tour, which supported John Kerry. The band criticized the Bush administration in the songs “Bu$hleaguer” and “World Wide Suicide.” At the 2007 Lollapalooza concert, Vedder invited Tomas Young, an Iraq veteran featured in the Body of War documentary, on stage to talk about ending the war. The band has played benefits to help raise money for the United Nations (to fight world hunger), victims of Hurricane Katrina, Habitat for Humanity, and the American Red Cross.
Vedder, a surfer, supports The Surfrider Foundation, which tries to protect the world’s oceans and beaches including ecosystems and water quality.
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