Matt Cameron
Matt Cameron
Matthew David "Matt" Cameronis an American musician who serves as the drummer for the American rock bands Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. After getting his start with the Seattle, Washington-based bands Bam Bam and Skin Yard, he first gained fame as the drummer for the band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986 and remained in until the band's break-up in 1997, triggered by creative friction. In 1998, Cameron was invited to play on Pearl Jam's U.S. Yield Tour. He soon became...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionDrummer
Date of Birth28 November 1962
CitySan Diego, CA
CountryUnited States of America
Many drummers who get into that style of playing and writing often end up being known for only their technique and not their feel.
My recording career has luckily run the gamut of recording environments.
When I first went on tour with PJ in '98, I was still in shock having gone through the Soundgarden break up.
Little things can make such a big difference during recording.
I think it's really important these days to be able to relate to how the music flows and be able to speak the same language as your bandmates and the producer, rather than just talking drums.
I've always liked to be the kind of drummer and musician who likes to go outside of what's expected of me.
I guess by taking lessons early on, and really trying to play all the rudimentary stuff, and try to have it sound as good as my teacher. It took a lot of practice, which I enjoyed, and still do.
Ben was more improvisational, and relied less on methodology, and basically is a guitarist who switched to bass, whereas Jeff has a more traditional approach to playing bass in a band, and has a great sense of what his band sounds like, and we lock up nicely.
Creatively, I thought we were still viable and could do more records. But our working relationship just wasn't happening at all, and our chemistry as people broke down because of that.
For me, I just try to make sure I eat enough and drink enough water and that's about it.
So, I just kind of played the way I played and then eventually we kind of figured out what worked best for the band. So, I definitely changed my stuff up and I think we're playing really tight now.
In my last band, Soundgarden, I had a couple of different drummers sit in on some stuff and it was fun for me to kind of take a break and watch the band.
I've talked to some drummers who seem to have a very hard time staying in shape on the road, including some drummers touring with high-profile acts that don't have to live on fast food every night.
A lot of times, when a band finds success with a certain style or sound, they have a really hard time breaking away from that to grow as artists.