While most people were happy to hear that Pearl Jam are ‘heavy favourites’ to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, some folks, including an ex-drummer for the band, are less than impressed.
The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame announced their shortlist earlier this week, the group’s founding members of Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, and Mike McCready are listed as eligible to be inducted. Likewise, original and current drummers Dave Krusen and Matt Cameron are also eligible for induction.
However, the group’s drummer from 1991-1994, Dave Abbruzzese was not listed as an eligible member, and has lashed out at the band to rectify this egregious oversight.
Taking to Facebook, Abbruzzese shared a couple of posts expressing his disdain. “If there is still a part of that band that remembers how hard we worked, how much blood and how much sweat… They will do the right thing”, he said. With another post stating that the group’s members “can’t justify ignoring [his] contributions.”
Abbruzzese was a member of the band following the departure of the group’s original drummer Krusen in 1991, playing on two of the best Pearl Jam albums, 1993’s Vs., and 1994’s Vitalogy. Abbruzzese was fired from the group in 1994 due to personality conflicts with the members.
Interestingly enough though, Abbruzzese’s replacement, Jack Irons, was also overlooked by the Hall Of Fame. However, whether Jack Irons’ current silence is due to the fact that he is already in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame due to his work as the founding drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is not known.
The 2017 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame inductions will take place in April of 2017, so we’ve still got a few months under our belt to see if either Pearl Jam make a statement or if the Hall Of Fame change their tune and let Abbruzzese in.
