Jeff Ament
Jeffrey Allen Ament (born March 10, 1963) is an American musician best known as the bassist of rock band Pearl Jam, which he co-founded alongside Stone Gossard, Mike McCready, and Eddie Vedder. Ament wrote or co-wrote many of Pearl Jam's hits, including "Jeremy", "Oceans", "Dissident", "Nothingman" and "Nothing as It Seems".
Jeff Ament
Jeffrey Allen Ament
Al Nostreet
March 10, 1963
Havre, Montana, U.S.
Musician, songwriter
Bass guitar, double bass
1981–present
Prior to his work with Pearl Jam, Ament was part of the 1980s Seattle-based grunge rock bands Green River and Mother Love Bone. He is known particularly for playing with the fretless bass, upright bass, and twelve-string bass guitars. Ament is also a member of the bands Temple of the Dog, Three Fish, RNDM, Tres Mts., and P.E.S.T.
In 2008, Ament released his first solo album, Tone. His second solo release, While My Heart Beats, followed in 2012, and his third in 2018: Heaven/Hell. Ament was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Pearl Jam on April 7, 2017.[1] He was also recognized as one of the top hard rock/metal bassists of all time by Loudwire in 2016, being placed at #52 on the list.[2]
Biography[edit]
Early life[edit]
The first of 12 children, Ament was born in Havre, Montana to George and Penny Ament and grew up in the town of Big Sandy, Montana, a town with a population of less than 700 people.[3][4] Ament's father George was mayor of Big Sandy for fifteen years, as well as a barber and a school bus driver.[5] Ament described his family growing up as "pretty poor"[6] and "hard-core Catholic."[7]
He began playing the bass guitar as a teenager, often playing along with Ramones, The Clash, and The Police records. Ament participated in basketball, football, and track at Big Sandy High School, where he graduated in 1981.[8] He then attended the University of Montana in Missoula, Montana, where he studied art and played basketball.[9][10] Ament quit college in the middle of his second year after the university told him they were no longer going to continue its graphic design program.[11] In 1983, Ament relocated to Seattle, Washington with his band Deranged Diction. While in Seattle, Ament got a job working at a coffee shop in Belltown.[11]
Other work[edit]
Ament had a brief acting cameo in the 1992 movie, Singles, along with Stone Gossard and Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam. He appeared as himself, playing bass in lead actor Matt Dillon's backing band, Citizen Dick.[42] Most of Matt Dillon's wardrobe in the movie actually belonged to Ament.[43] During the making of the film Ament produced a list of song titles for the fictional band.[44] Chris Cornell took it as a challenge to write songs for the film using those titles, and "Spoonman" was one of them.[44] The title of "Spoonman" is credited to Ament in the liner notes for Soundgarden's 1994 album, Superunknown.[45]
With his brother Barry, Ament founded Ames Bros., an art production company that produces tour posters and album artwork for many bands, including Pearl Jam. The brothers won a Grammy Award in 2020 for "Best Recording Package" as a result of their work as art directors on the Chris Cornell posthumous compilation album titled Chris Cornell.[46]
In 2022 Ament scored, together with Josh Klinghoffer, the FX on Hulu television series Under the Banner of Heaven, adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s best-selling book. [47]
Personal life[edit]
A self-professed NBA fanatic, Ament is a lifelong supporter of the former Seattle SuperSonics NBA basketball team, and for 10 consecutive years he held season tickets to the team at Key Arena. The bassist is also an avid basketball player and his passion prompted him to suggest NBA player Mookie Blaylock as the name of the band that is now Pearl Jam.[47][51][52]
Ament is also an avid reader and has cited Mikhail Bulgakov and Cormac McCarthy as his favorite authors.[53] [54]
Ament currently lives in Seattle, Washington and Missoula, Montana. Aside from music, Ament's interests include skateboarding, basketball, graphic design, snowboarding, and wakeboarding. Ament assisted in financing the construction of Missoula's Mobash Skatepark.[55] He and his wife Pandora Andre-Beatty climbed Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro in support of Save the Children.[56]
Ament is a supporter of organic farming and United States Senator Jon Tester. Tester grew up near Big Sandy and Ament knew of Tester before either were famous. Ament campaigned for Tester in 2006 and 2018.
In April 2009, Ament was attacked at knifepoint by a gang of muggers. According to Rolling Stone, Ament had just pulled up outside the Southern Tracks recording studio in Atlanta, Georgia, when his rented jeep was attacked by several men, who smashed the vehicle's windows and demanded money. The magazine also reported that Ament was knocked to the ground while trying to escape the robbers. He sustained a head injury and was treated at the scene. His Blackberry and passport, as well as a sum of cash, were stolen.[57] The incident would lead one fan, Joe Hartgrove, with the idea of a charity in Ament's name, called Jeff Ament's Army, to be formed by Joe, Roger McDaniel and Joanna Traver, and with the approval of Ament, started in 2011; their work includes the promoting of skate parks in the state of Montana.[58] As of November 2021, Ament has helped build 25 skate parks in the state of Montana, including many on Native American reservations.[59]
On February 16, 2016, he married longtime partner Pandora Andre-Beatty.[60][61]