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<\/p>\nIn recent weeks, Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready, have appeared in very different interviews that, nonetheless, share a common thread: music as a vital force and the drive to turn personal struggles into meaningful action.<\/p>\n
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Eddie Vedder was a special guest in the broadcast booth during the so-called Vedder Cup, the baseball series that has pitted the Seattle Mariners against the San Diego Padres. The name was originally coined as a joke on social media\u2014without Vedder even knowing about it\u2014but over the years it has turned into a real event, recognized and celebrated by both Major League franchises. Sitting next to him was Michael Hund, CEO of the EB Research Partnership, the organization founded more than a decade ago by Eddie and his wife Jill to support research into Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), a rare and debilitating skin disorder that makes the skin as fragile as butterfly wings.<\/p>\n
Vedder proudly explained how the Vedder Cup has helped bring visibility and funding to a cause that was long overlooked, highlighting some extraordinary progress: more than $75 million raised, 150 active projects across 22 countries, and three FDA approvals in the past two years. Achievements that, as Hund pointed out, seemed nearly impossible not long ago.<\/p>\n
Of course, music also found its way into the story. The Vedder Cup trophy is actually a guitar, modeled after Vedder\u2019s own 1963 Fender Telecaster, an instrument he has played for 34 years. \u201cThe idea was for it to go back and forth like the Stanley Cup,\u201d Vedder explained, noting the many little Easter eggs hidden in its design. He also joked about the parallels between baseball and music: the timing required at the plate, he said, isn\u2019t so different from the timing needed to play music. Vedder revealed that he even has a batting cage in his warehouse at home, where he practices for about an hour before shows\u2014hitting 120 pitches from the machine\u2014as a way to warm up physically and mentally before stepping on stage with \u201cmy four assassins,\u201d as he affectionately referred to his bandmates.<\/p>\n
During the broadcast, Vedder also recalled Pearl Jam\u2019s two monumental shows at Seattle\u2019s T-Mobile Park in 2018, when the band played to more than 90,000 people over two nights. Those concerts weren\u2019t just about music: a significant portion of the proceeds went to organizations fighting homelessness in the city.<\/p>\n
\ufeff<\/p>\n
While Vedder showcased his activist side and knack for storytelling, Mike McCready chose a more personal path in his interview with Lowell. The guitarist opened up about his long battle with Crohn\u2019s disease, a chronic condition he has lived with since the age of 21. McCready admitted how difficult life on the road has been at times, but also how the unwavering support of Pearl Jam\u2014and the power of music itself\u2014have helped him endure.<\/p>\n
He described playing guitar not only as a profession but as a refuge, a way to confront both pain and fatigue. Along the way, McCready shared a glimpse into his musical passions: his favorite Rolling Stones song is Sway, from the 1971 album Sticky Fingers, while his Beatles pick\u2014at least that day\u2014was Tomorrow Never Knows. He admitted, however, that his favorite Beatles track often changes, reflecting the living and ever-shifting bond he feels with their music.<\/p>\n
Two very different interviews in style and setting, but deeply complementary in spirit. On one side, Vedder uses his voice and presence to shed light on a cause that brings hope to thousands of families. On the other, McCready speaks candidly about the hardships of chronic illness, finding strength in his guitar and creativity. Together, they remind us that Pearl Jam are not only a legendary band but also a group of men who, both on and off stage, continue to transform their struggles into a message of resilience and commitment.<\/p>\n
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Born in Reggio Emilia in 1980. He created pearljamonline.it in 2001 and wrote the first edition of \u201cPearl Jam Evolution\u201d in 2009 along with his wife Daria. Since 2022, he is behind 2 podcasts: \u201cPearl Jam dalla A alla Z\u201d and \u201cFuori Orario Not Another Podcast\u201d. He has collaborated with Barracuda Style, HvsR, Rolling Stone, Rockol and Il Fatto Quotidiano. He continues relentlessly to try to find \u201cbeautiful melodies that say terrible things\u201d.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In recent weeks, Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready, have appeared in very different interviews that, nonetheless, share a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15875,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[15734,15735,146,85,46,15736,409,15737],"class_list":["post-15874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-ccfa","tag-eddie-vedder","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-mike-mccready","tag-music","tag-vedder-cup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15874"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15874\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}