Stone Gossard interviewed on That’s What She Said with Sarah Spain.
Sarah talks to Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard about the band’s longevity, how he’s still trying to impress Eddie Vedder with songs to this day, how they viewed Soundgarden as their big brother, and how his new socially distanced super band Painted Shield came together.
Some Q/A from Sarah to Stone, thanks to Pap.
Q: What’s your desert island album? / A: Fun House by The Stooges.
Q: What habit or quality do you think it’s contributed more to your success? / A: Stubborn optimism.
Q: What would you consider your biggest failure? / A: Not really learning how to play guitar as well as I should, given how much time I had.
Q: Have you ever been in a fist fight? / A: I’ve gotten punched a few times, and it’s maybe the best thing that it’s ever happened to me, in my life. Because I was very sarcastic. I thought sarcasm was like a gift from Heaven when I was 15 years old.
Q: If you could switch lives with anyone for a day, who would it be? / A: Any caretaker on a rich guy’s desert island that he’s just there by himself right now.
Q: What’s the most embarrassed that you’ve ever been? / A: Crapping a Neil Young’s song.
Q: What’s the thing about yourself you’d most like to improve? / A: I should learn how to do something better than I’m doing it right now.
Q: If you could be commissioner of life for a day what one rule would you enforce that all of society had to adhere to? / A: Connect with your community (in person).
Q: What’s the most scared you’ve ever been? / A: I used to get scared as a kid. It’s been awhile since I was really scared.
Q: What three words would you most hope that people would use to describe you? / A: Generous, kind, and ridiculous.
Q: One of the songs you wrote that you love the most is…? All Night Thing, is like one of the most beautiful love songs ever written, in my mind… It’s written by a 24-year-old, but at that time we all felt like we were still 15… I don’t even know if I had a girlfriend at that point…
The full interview is available on espn.com.
Born in Reggio Emilia in 1980. He created pearljamonline.it in 2001 and wrote the first edition of “Pearl Jam Evolution” in 2009 along with his wife Daria. Since 2022, he is behind 2 podcasts: “Pearl Jam dalla A alla Z” and “Fuori Orario Not Another Podcast”. He has collaborated with Barracuda Style, HvsR, Rolling Stone, Rockol and Il Fatto Quotidiano. He continues relentlessly to try to find “beautiful melodies that say terrible things”.
Favorite song: Present Tense
Favorite album: No Code
Favorite bands/artists other than PJ: Tom Waits, Soundgarden, Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, IDLES, Fontaines D.C., The Murder Capital, Dead Kennedys, Mark Lanegan, Cat Power, R.E.M.