While best known as the bassist for Pearl Jam, one of the biggest bands in the world, Jeff Ament has always pursued other musical outlets. So he never forgot about the random meeting he had with singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur back in 1999. And when the two finally got together again—this time with drummer Richard Stuverud and Pearl Jam engineer Brett Eliason—they did so with the intention of making an up-temp rock record, the recently released Acts, under the name RNDM. Watch them perform “What You Can’t Control,” recorded live from Music Hall of Williamsburg exclusively for The Bowery Presents Live channel on YouTube.
Variety is the spice of life, or so the saying goes. But it’s a true story when it comes to
Jeff Ament, who despite being Pearl Jam’s bassist since 1990, still yearns to do something different from time to time. And this time that thing is RNDM. The band name comes from the random meeting he and singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur once had at Wetlands in 1999. It took some time for them to reunite, but when they finally did—with the addition of drummer Richard Stuverud (previously bandmates with Ament in Three Fish)—they intended to make an up-tempo rock album, which was recorded over four days in a Montana studio with Pearl Jam engineer Brett Eliason. That album, Acts, was just released on Tuesday. Stream it below, watch the video for its lead single, “Modern Times,” above, and then go see RNDM live at Music Hall of Williamsburg tonight or next Thursday, 11/8, at The Bowery Ballroom.
You can’t predict rock and roll: Just hours prior to last night’s show at Terminal 5, the opening act for Gomez (Good Old War) had to bow out of the lineup due to an injury to one of its members. But the British didn’t let that ruin the night. They called on close friend Joseph Arthur to fill in and then put on a monster set of their own. Singer Ian Ball and guitarist-vocalist Tom Gray did their normal rotation of lead-singing duties from song to song, with Gray handling most of the looser, more melodic tracks (like “Waster”) while Bell handled the louder ones (like “Ruff Stuff,” which had fans literally running back from the bathroom to scream along). And as it was the last night of Gomez’s tour, the band had some crew members come onstage for a few of the shout-out choruses, a nice gesture to the people who help them play so well every night. —Sean O’Kane
