With Election Day just around the corner, Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament welcome the 2nd Gentleman of the United States, Doug Emhoff, to Pearl Jam Radio for a conversation on activism and music. Article by Federica Vitelli.
Eddie: All right! Well, let go while we’re laughing!
Emhoff: Hey guys! Great to see you again!
Eddie: We’re on radio. We have a special special guest that Jeff and I are here to speak with candidly about music, current events, cause God knows we haven’t had a slow newsweek for some time, and most importantly, a fast coming and most important presidential election. So right now it’s Jeff Ament and myself, Eddie Vedder. Jeff, you there?
Jeff: Hey, what’s up, Ed?
Eddie: Well, what is up is the most special of guests that we have joining us, Doug Emhoff, would you please say hello?
Emhoff: What is up for Pearl Jam radio I listened for years and I’ve gotten to meet you guys. Just got to see you in concert so this is such an honor to be here on the show, and thanks for doing this. Thanks for having me.
Eddie: Well, incredible! And I know that you’rmoving at the speed of sound, doing good work every day and being out there, meeting people, finding out what’s important to them and, you know, putting that all into play as the time is now starting to hurdle quickly towards this Election Day. But one of the things I was so curious about, I I heard rumor and then the rumor turned out to be true -which doesn’t often happen these days!…but you know, people generally on a campaign they might be in cafes and barber shops classically, these kind of things, but you’ve been meeting a lot of people and visits across the country to record stores. Is this correct?
Emhoff: This is correct. I’m trying to highlight small business and talk about all the great things that Kamala Harris is going to do for the country and merge it with my love of music. And so it’s gotten me to local record stores across the country. I’ve gotten to, you know, meet you guys, but also Michael Stipe kind of came out of semi-retirement and Michael’s now done 2 events for us and he took me to the record store in Athens, GA, in which he formed the band and I got it’s still there and I kind of did a whole, you know, go through shelf by shelf with him. Jason Isbell came out and did a concert. I got to talk to him about music. You know, Bruce came out publicly…I haven’t got a chance to talk to him, Taylor Swift… So the music industry has come out in a way. You guys have always done this, it’s what you did from day one: using your voice not only to make this music we all love, but to talk about the truth and being engaged. And so to see that coming back and get to talk to some of the people I’ve listened to my whole life and then see how active they are. But to do that in a record store with Michael Stipe in Athens and pick out some records was pretty pretty damn cool, man!
Eddie: Well, that it actually I’ve got chills as you say that, ‘cause I know the story that that’s where…that would be the place where he and Peter Buck first met. And I, I think, over Patty Smith’s “Horses” record, etcetera. And that was when R.E.M. was being born.
Emhoff: Can I add one more thing, Ed?
Eddie: Oh yeah sure!
Emhoff: So he… he took me to…he’s got, like, a house there, a compound of various buildings in Athens, and he took me back there for a personal tour and he’s like, oh, yeah, right here is where I wrote Fables, like the whole album in three weeks, just walking around in a circle. And I: “What??” And right here is where Peter and I you know, talked about this, and I did an interview with Joe Scarborough in his guest house. It just aired on Morning Joe: actually he let us use his guest house to do that interview and then he played Driver 8 and Wendell G, which is the first time he’d played it in 30 something years to me and Joe. And then he played it in front of a crowd of 100…of people in Athens. And this is so surreal man, to be able to experience this! So… pretty crazy!
Eddie: OK.So you had Michael singing this song directly to you. Let’s hear it. It’s Driver 8, R.E.M., Pearl Jam radio on Sirius XM.
Jeff: This is Jeff with Doug Emhoff and Ed. So many great R.E.M. songs! One of my favorites.
Eddie: That’s incredible! And then the one last thing you know, I’ve always thought, you know, in the way people access music these days, you know, you just don’t have that community face to face, you know, asking the guy behind the counter or asking the customer next to you what they’re into or what they’re listening to, or you know what’s playing on the store speaker system as you’re coming through records. You know, you just think that a band like R.E.M. might not exist if it weren’t for that communal meeting place. So my last question before I turn it over to Jeff for one or two is: how much bigger do you think your record collection will be at the end of this campaign? ‘Cause records are heavy!
Emhoff: It’s gotten so big and it’s good because our kids Cole and Ella, who are really into music, got back into the whole turntable thing 10-12 years ago. So we started helping them build their record collections back up with vinyl, so every birthday. And Kamala loves music too, and again, is part of getting out into the country, going to small business. She’s been to a lot of record stores as well, so she’s brought back records, I brought back records for them, and now I’m I building this massive collection and I do have a turn table back home in LA. So I’ve got these three big bags ready to go back and I’m really trying to fill in the ones that I originally got when I was a kid, Just when I started going to the record stores. And what were those seminal records? And so, for me, it was London calling: it was like that was the one that was like, wow, this really changed my life to a kid in suburban Jersey where everyone was. And I love Bruce, but it was kind of that classic rock, and then it was like I never heard anything like this: oh, look at Elvis Costello, look at Talking Heads! And so when I moved to LA in early 81 and you guys know K Rock, that whole K rock music explosion, I was ready for it. But that’s really what got me going. So I’ve really been trying to fill in some of the classic iconic music that really was the soundtrack of my life, that’s what I’ve been trying to do and then share it with Cole and Ella and say, “hey, this is what my dad did for me!” He loved music, he’s still around and his records were all the classics from the 60s, and so I got to listen, to listen to all his records. And then it got me into music, and honestly, it’s why I became an entertainment lawyer because it got me into wanting to be in this industry somehow with no musical talent OR acting talent but I loved it so much. It really paved the way for my career as an entertainment lawyer.
Jeff: What are the records still left in your list? You know what are the ones you’re trying to fill in?
Emhoff: So I’m making my way and I’d say I got to start like with Pixies and progress to Nirvana and Pearl Jam. And then I want to get into, like, Radiohead and and things like that. So I’ve got a whole kind of list of iconic records that I still listen to, and I can actually go back and say, wow, why do I keep going back to these same records with all these long plane flights and all this stuff that’s on my mind, I’m mostly just listening to music to kind of keep myself centered so I can stay out here and get getting the word out for comma, And it’s just interesting. I’m just going back to these iconic albums that just meant something to me all those years, my goal is to just refill in vinyl that that entire collection.
Eddie: Well, it’s important too, because you need new copies, your original copy is not going to sound good on that nice new turntable you got!
Emhoff: Yeah! And then there is a box, I have several boxes of CDs so I I want to also find those boxes once the election’s over and then I want to mark again some of those that were important to me 203035 years ago and then you know, get those as well. So it’s going to be a project, but it’s it’s fun because both kids are into it as well as is Kamala.
Jeff: Well, it should be easier from the White House to get those records!
Emhoff: Yeah, it’s just going to be a massive turntable on the South Lawn and it’s going to…I was going to say it’s going to be national Fantasy Football day! I’m going to do a few things as first gentleman that are going to, you know, just reflect some of my my interests.
Jeff: Awesome! London calling is one of my favorite records too, let’s play the title track London calling.
Eddie: All right, so that was London calling! So many great songs on that record: Brand new Cadillac, Rudie can’t fail, Clampdown ! OK, well, we let’s get back with Doug. We’ve got him here.
Emhoff: So do you mind if I ask you guys a question?
Eddie: Yeah that’s…Jeff.
Emhoff: Or a comment, this is more so. You were gracious enough to invite me to your show in Philadelphia, and I had never been, like, backstage at a big rock show. Like, I didn’t know what to expect, and the community that you guys create back there was stunning. I I’ve talked about it a lot and it’s a reflection of your character and who you are. But the fact that you see families and longtime employees and good food and in separate rooms for working and all the things that you had back there was really… I didn’t…I had no idea what to expect and that that it was just that sense of community. And then you went on stage and it just felt like it was just a continuation of what the vibe was back there. Can you speak to that at all ‘cause that was really, really awesome to see.
Jeff: We’re we’re pretty proud of our community and our crew, and, I mean, a lot…a lot of the folks, George and Carrie and Smitty, I mean they… they’ve been with us from since day one. So when we haven’t been on tour for a while and we get back together, it is like getting back together with with our family and it’s what, you know, It’s what makes it tolerable ’cause it’s… it’s… it’s a grind as you know, getting on planes and buses and vans and all the in between time, but when you’re out there with people that you really care about, there’s a lot of great conversations, a lot to catch up on. And I think to a person, we all really look forward to it when we haven’t done it in a while. So it’s nice that you saw that.
Emhoff: You could see, again, you saw it translate to the camaraderie on stage and the connection with the fans. And it really felt like it started before you got on stage, it was really great to see that.
Jeff: Thats awesome.
Eddie: Well, that’s very kind, and then they were also very excited to meet Secret Service people for the first time! So that was very nice.
Emhoff: That’s always fun, t’s always a little bit more than people expect, but believe me, we all loved it because we’re all used to hustling, being behind stage and and you know getting ready to go up on stage and so we have our whole process and I’ve got my process that so it was…it was also interesting to see how you guys were to get yourself ready to to put on show. Which was this like as good or better than it was when I saw you back in the day. The energy, the passion, and again it was that connection to your audience was so strong and you just felt it. So thank you for still doing this, it’s really amazing!
Eddie: And Philly is one of the…I mean, I… I… I can’t think of one place that is not a great crowd, but Philly is and can be a little even extra special. And of course, knowing you were there, let’ s find one from Philly, this Is us being energized by your presence.
Emhoff: The other thing I wanted to ask you guys from day one: you as a band, as a commercial entity would always push back on kind of how it was done. And I remember your epic, you know, fights for tickets. And you know, you were early adapter to putting concerts out there, having a station here at Sirius and building that brand directly to your fans, online and through touring and living your values out loud, always pushing for gender equity, reproductive freedom, encouraging people to vote. And you did that when it was hard to do and it was probably at some cost to you commercially and all that, but here you are all these years later still doing it stronger than ever, bigger than ever. I appreciate that as a not only a long time fan, but as an entertainment person. The fact that you kind of did it your way and it worked, and here you are. And you have no fear, where l others do sometimes when they sit on their hands and expect others to to fight for them. You’re always out there leading the fight, so I I appreciate that!
Jeff: Thanks! Yeah, we put on the first show at the… on the Coachella grounds, which I know, I believe there was an event there just a couple days ago, right.
Eddie: Well, you know, actually you bring that up Jeff and you know, as a group, you know, at one point when it was the Ticketmaster, we had to the reason why we were there on those grounds and we kind of were the first ones to plant a flag and we needed a place to play, we needed it. We actually had to come up with venues outside of Ticketmaster’s contracts, which left us with minimal or no place to play, and so we were actually having to kind of create venues and you know, Jeff and I were, you know, in management, our team, we’re all looking at, you know, where do we, You know, we weren’t talking about set lists or what songs we were to. We were saying: where are we putting Porta Potties? Where are these people going to park? And how are they gonna be seated? You know most importantly and that’s always been a huge part of what we do and and one of the toughest parts and it’s always a challenge and you need to kind of go the extra mile and it can be more costly. But people’s safety is the most important thing so you know when I read about this event that happened, a large group gathered for Trump in the thousands and there were 20 buses that brought them in. Intense heat in the in the desert valley there gets up to 102 during the day! Then there’ s the event, and then there was no buses to get them back, it went from 20 buses to three. You had a lot of elderly people, a lot of people insensitive, you know, with sensitive conditions. The quote was chaos and utter chaos. It’s extremely upsetting that there wasn’t more organization or they didn’t have an extra team just in regards to that transportation. So people were walking two to six miles to get back to a car in the middle of the night, and even at night it was 93° and not to mention the confusion. Again, chaos and some of the quotes are chilling. But I have to say it seems analogous to the election. I feel like this one candidate, former President Trump, unlike any other candidate in the history of our country, he’s got more at stake on a personal level: his personal freedoms, his future, all riding on this vote and he’s… I think he needs people and I think he uses people and I think that this Coachella’s situation is very analogous to what would happen if and when he would potentially win. He gets what he wants, uses the people as padding and then they’re left in other chaos to fend for themselves. That’s what we worry about.
Emhoff: And that’s exactly right, Ed and Jeff. This is what’s at stake. Chaos. Confusion. Somebody is only in it for themselves, doesn’t care about others, and we already saw that the first time that he was president and he was like that then, and he’s worse now. You know he’s a degraded version of what he was, and he was a pretty horrible president that time around, and he’s just gotten worse. He’ll be surrounded by people who are like him incompetent, who don’t really care about us, extremists. And that’s what’s at stake right now and that’s why I’m out here and Kamala’s out here each and every day, just trying to get people to see what’s right in front of them, you know, get away from all the gaslighting and and the distractions and the lies and the things that they’re trying to do. And just really look at both candidates: you’ve got Trump, which we just talked about. And Kamala, who is experienced, she has been in elective office, she’s been vice president four years. She’s ready to be president, she’s ready to be commander in chief and she’s ready to do it for us. She spent her entire life working for us, he spent his entire life focused on himself, and as you said Ed, the people will be left holding the bag if, God forbid, he ever gets back there. And that’s why we’re out here each and every day trying to get over the finish line.
Eddie: And that is also why this is my new favorite hat!
Emhoff: Oh man, I love when you put that on in in Philadelphia and it it’s got the Dodger logo! It’s literally just speaking right to my soul here, so thank you for wearing that and for your public support, and again, I encourage everyone out there to do what you are doing. It’s not enough to be against Trump, we got to be for Harris.
Eddie: Yeah!
Emhoff: And make sure we got a country in a world that, you know, we can all have a place in a leader we can be proud of, that’s focused on us each and every minute of every day and that’s why can’t appreciate you guys enough!
Eddie: Well, Doug, we can’t thank you enough for being here with us, reaching some people, reaching our folks out there listening and knowing, especially how hard everyone’s working right now, boots on the ground. This is precious time and we are very, very grateful that you spent it with us.
Emhoff: Thanks again, great to see you and hope to see you real time again soon. And thanks all your stars out there, of which I’m one of! So it’s good to see talk to my fellow Pearl Jam radio listeners.