The dust connected with this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame controversy seems to have settled both for Pearl Jam and the band’s former drummer Dave Abbruzzese. Very recently, Dave has spoken out on his Facebook account about an unknown fact from his glory days with the grunge legends.
Turns out he suffered a serious back injury during that time – one that nearly put him out of the game. Fortunately, Abbruzzese found help from an older superstar drummer. It was Max Weinberg from The E Street Band – Bruce Springsteen’s backing band. Here is Dave Abbruzzese’s account:
Ah, yes… The old ‘signing an autograph while up to my armpits in ice’ trick! I joke now, but the amount of pain I experienced (and still experience) and functioned through is astonishing. And to think it all happened because I was forced to “air drum” for a damned camera shot for what turned out to be a useless and unused video for the song ‘Evenflow’. During the shot I tore a tendon. In the emergency room, the Doctor asked what I did for a living. I responded that I am a professional drummer. “Not anymore.” He replied. “You’ll be lucky if you can use a lighter.”
It was myself and Pearl Jam manager Kelly Curtis just looking at each other. I had to make the decision that moment as to whether or not I was going to pull it off, or follow the doctors orders and essentially quit. Needless to say, a few hours later, I boarded a plane to Europe with the band and our first European tour was underway. And so began my pain management rituals. I can never thank enough E Street Band drummer Max Weinberg for the techniques and support and My drum Tech Jimmy Shoaf for the compassion and nightly bengay applications… Ah, yes. Youth.
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