A lot of touring artists are testing positive for COVID, from noted anti-vaxxer Eric Clapton to the Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron. For the latter, the band reached out to former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, Richard Stuverud, and original Pearl Jam drummer Dave Krusen who left the group after the first album.
Krusen is the most recent talent to serve as the replacement at the band’s show in Fresno, California last night. On stage, he stated that he didn’t get to play many shows with Pearl Jam when he was actually in the band. “It looks like this week we’re going to get to make up for it,” he said. After exiting Pearl Jam in 1991 because of issues with alcoholism, he went on to play in bands like Candlebox, Hovercraft, Unified Theory, and Sons Of Silver.
This also follows Pearl Jam recruiting a high school student named Kai Neukermans to fill in for Cameron. Eddie Vedder introduced him by saying, “He hasn’t graduated high school yet. This is the year, right? Everybody, this is Kai. Kai, this is everybody!” Neukermans later said of the experience: “It was surreal, the amount of people that were there. The arena lit up and everyone was screaming.”
Watch Pearl Jam with Krusen on the drums perform the song “Once” above.