I know, I know. It’s old news, Don. Tell us something we don’t already know, Don. No. I will just say that I was beyond excited and proud of Mr. Richard Stuverud for taking on one of the most stressful and daunting tasks with VERY little preparation: Playing drums for one of the biggest rock bands in the world to sold out arenas. After Matt Cameron tested positive for Covid-19 causing him to miss his first gig in over 20 years of being in the band, Pearl Jam took the “the show must go on” route and phoned in some friends to help including original Pearl Jam drummer Dave Krusen and Seattle music scene icon Richard Stuverud.
Richard is a teacher at Berkeley’s School of Rock and was also a member of Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament’s band Three Fish. Richard was part of the Seattle music scene running around with the likes of members of Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden to name just a few. Richard was also part of a band of peers to this growing scene called War Babies.
War Babies was a hard rock/metal band that featured former TKO vocalist Brad Sinsel and, for a short period of time, Pearl Jam bassist Jeff Ament. The band released their first and only album, the self-titled debut in 1992. War Babies had a minor hit with their song “Hang Me Up” which got regular play on hard rock radio and on MTV’s Headbanger’s Ball. The band hit the road touring with bands such as the Four Horsemen and a band that was just starting to go big at the time, Ugly Kid Joe.
Given his history and the fact that he grew up with the guys in Pearl Jam, it made sense that he was called in to lend a helping set of sticks for the band’s sold out shows.
“When everything went south with Matt not being able to do the Oakland shows, I guess it made sense for them to call me,” Stuverud told KCBS Radio. “I’m super grateful and honored to step in and save the day.”
The 57-year-old had previously played many small venues in his career, such as theaters and clubs, but nothing close to the size or magnitude of sharing the stage with Eddie Vedder at a packed 20,000 seat Oakland Arena.
Stuverud shared the drums with at least two other fill-in drummers, including an 18-year-old Bay Area high school student, during the shows on May 12 and 13. He said it was hard to learn 21 songs at one time, though he obviously was familiar with many of them.
“Last night and the night before for me personally has been the most incredible experience as a musician. Hands down,” he said. “There were a couple moments where I’m like ‘I might shed some tears of joy right now.'”
Richard Stuverud is also a very talented singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist in his own right and has released a new album called Hummingbirds which is a hearty dose of alternative/power pop reminiscent of The Replacements and many other greats. Check it out here: https://richardstuverud1.bandcamp.com
Congratulations, Richard. You did an amazing job, you brought energy, and you didn’t just save the day, but you carped the fucking diem. Good for you brother. Good for you.
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