Although best known as a vocalist, Vedder also plays several musical instruments. He plays guitar on many Pearl Jam songs, beginning with "Rearviewmirror" and "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town" from Vs. He has also contributed performances on the ukulele, the drums, cowbell, harmonica, accordion, and sitar to various Pearl Jam recordings. At concerts Vedder often brings out a tambourine for the final songs of the show, and casts it into the crowd at the end. Vedder has two pedals for his guitar, one is marked "Soap" (Clean tone) and the other is "Dirt" (Distortion).[9]
On Pearl Jam records, Vedder uses the pseudonym "Jerome Turner" for his non-musical (usually design and artwork) contributions. He has also sometimes used the pseudonym of "Wes C. Addle" ("West Seattle").
Vedder began incorporating political statements into his performances early in his career with Pearl Jam. At concerts he often pauses between songs to engage in brief political commentary. During Pearl Jam's 1992 appearance on MTV Unplugged, Vedder stood atop his stool, took out a marker pen, and wrote PRO-CHOICE down his arm in large letters. Pearl Jam performed a Rock for Choice benefit concert in Pensacola, Florida in March of 1994, commemorating the one-year anniversary of the assassination of local abortion provider Dr. David Gunn. Pearl Jam were one of the headliners of the 2004 Vote for Change Tour.
Vedder is known for playing "presets" at Pearl Jam shows, coming onstage with just a guitar (sometimes with a harmonica) and playing one or two songs to warm up the audience for the opening band. The songs performed during this part of the set are frequently slower acoustic songs such as "Long Road" and Cat Stevens's "Trouble". Many of these songs are not frequently on the Pearl Jam set list, giving audiences a chance to hear material in a more intimate manner.
Other work
In addition to playing with Pearl Jam, and Temple of The Dog, Vedder has performed or recorded with numerous well-known artists, including Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, U2, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Ben Harper, Tom Petty, Neil Young, Neil Finn, Beck, Mike Ness, Lyle Workman, Presidents of the United States of America, Mark Seymour, Robert Plant, Bad Religion, Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M., Rolling Stones, The Strokes, Victoria Williams, My Morning Jacket, Kings of Leon, Sonic Youth, The Who, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Supersuckers, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Supergrass, Ministry, Chris Cornell, Jack Johnson, Ramones, Iggy Pop, Gary Heffern, Cat Power, Zeke, Peter Frampton, G.E. Smith, Wolfmother, Sleater-Kinney, Mike Watt and the remaining members of The Doors.
Vedder has inducted The Doors, Neil Young, the Ramones, and R.E.M. into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
He has contributed solo material to several soundtracks and compilations, including the soundtracks for the films Dead Man Walking and I Am Sam. Vedder wrote two songs for the 2007 feature documentary Body of War produced by Ellen Spiro and Phil Donahue: "No More" (a song referring to the Iraq War) and "Long Nights". He will also be contributing an album's worth of songs to the soundtrack for the 2007 film Into the Wild including a cover of the Indio song "Hard Sun".[10]
Vedder appeared in the 1992 movie Singles as himself, in lead actor Matt Dillon's backing band, Citizen Dick. In 2007, he will make a cameo as himself in the upcoming film Walk Hard.
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