source: The Music
American President Bill Clinton allegedly took Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder to one side to ask him whether he should address the nation following the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.
In an extract from Keith Cameron’s book Mudhoney: The Sound And The Fury From Seattle, which has been published on Spin, Mudhoney say that during a tour where they were supporting Pearl Jam the two bands were invited to the White House one day – the day after Kurt Cobain’s death.
After Mudhoney bassist Matt Lukin smoked a joint on the way to the White House (and freaked out a bit when he got there) Cameron retells the following:
Soon after arriving at the White House, the two bands got separated by officials. Pearl Jam were ushered into the Oval Office to meet Bill Clinton, which hadn’t been part of the original plan—apparently, the president wanted to seek advice on whether he should address the nation in the wake of Cobain’s suicide.
While the matter of apparent national importance was being discussed, Cameron says:
Mudhoney, meanwhile, were assigned a Secret Service agent who gave them a behind-the-scenes tour of the White House. As they were ushered past the velvet ropes, tourists waiting in line for a regular tour ran up and asked for autographs.
“Obviously word had got around that Pearl Jam was in the House, but these old ladies didn’t know what Pearl Jam looked like,” says [drummer Dan] Peters. “We’re saying, ‘Yeah, we’re not Pearl Jam.’ And they were like, ‘Ha ha! Just give us your autograph.’ Still, it was a nice diversion from the whole Kurt-blowing-his-head-off thing.”
The two bands’ paths eventually crossed in the White House Press Room, where [vocalist Mark] Arm and Vedder had their picture taken shaking hands over the presidential seal on the podium.
“It was a great private tour,” says [guitarist Steve] Turner. “The Secret Service guy was telling us about the different people that have been killed on the White House lawn. There was one guy dressed in full ninja gear who thought he was invisible, coming across the lawn. They finally just shot him. I don’t recall hearing about that on the news! It was a surreal day. I remember being almost troubled that the President of the United States of America is taking the time to meet Eddie Vedder. Like, that’s top of today’s agenda? Really?!”
The book, released later this month in America, was released last year in Australia through Omnibus Press.
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