Photo: Hulton Archive
When Pearl Jam's drummer Matt Cameron announced he was leaving the band after 27 years earlier this week, theories quickly started buzzing about who could replace him and one of the names that came up was one one of the band's earliest drummers Dave Abbruzzese, who was part of the lineup from 1991-1994 and played on Vs. and Vitalogy.
The 57-year-old drummer addressed the buzz in a lengthy Facebook post. "Due to the announcement of the mighty Matt Cameron choosing to step down from the Pearl Jam throne he has had for the past 27 years, there has been much talk of my drumming, and the what if and would may never be, of late..." he began the long message.
After revealing he's received thousands of messages and emails from fans curious if he reconciled with his former bandmates, Abbruzzese clarified, "to be clear, I have nothing to reconcile with them about."
"My firing from the band and the subsequent trials and tribulations caused by the actions of the band's management and the band's old label that made things challenging for me weren't completely my doing," he explained. "With the exceptions of some petty comments and actions that I never quite understood or expected, I have never placed blame and harbored resentments towards the members of the band."
"Although I never truly understood what was so important to destroy the musical chemistry we had back then, it is what it is, and I can't do anything about it," he added. "At least nothing that I can figure out. The years since 1995 have served me well towards growing as a person and a player."
"It seems the guys in the band matured and grew up as much as I did, but the fact that I haven't had any personal contact with any of them leads me to believe the water under the bridge runs too deep and too icy for there to be any reconnection or reconciliation," Abbruzzese bluntly pointed out. "This is a shame and saddens me, greatly. I know I could and would have much to contribute if indeed the call came, but sadly, I don't see that happening."
He then went on to list all the projects he's been involved in over the last 30 years before concluding with one more thought about his former band before asking fans to stop contacting him about a potential reunion. "I wish Pearl Jam and its organization continued success and I do hope that there will come a day that we can again connect on some level," he wrote. "All that being said, I do ask that you please stop sending me messages asking & telling me to contact their management."
"I appreciate and understand your desire to see what could come out of that reunion musically," Abbruzzese concluded. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious, also."
See his full statement below.