Jeff Ament doesn’t do things halfway. His latest project, Deaf Charlie, started as a casual collaboration with drummer John Wicks and spiraled into a full-blown album. “We didn’t even know we were making a record,” Ament admits. “We just kept throwing ideas at each other, daring each other to go further. Next thing we knew—boom, we had an album.”
That album, Catastrophic Metamorphic, is a controlled explosion of sound—sometimes chaotic, always compelling. “It’s messy, but it never feels like it’s falling apart,” Ament says. “And John hears things in my songs that I’d never hear in a million years.” He credits Wicks’ unorthodox drumming and willingness to push boundaries for making Deaf Charlie a wholly different beast from anything he’s done before. “He’d take a song I wrote and completely deconstruct it. At first, I’d be like, ‘What the hell did you do to my track?’ But then I’d sit with it and realize he made it better.”
The album’s lead single, Losing My Mind, has an eerie, disorienting quality, enhanced by comedian Marlon’s spoken-word delivery. “He’s basically playing the voice of the media,” Ament explains. “That constant noise that makes you feel like you’re losing it. We just leaned into the madness.” Then there’s Shed Man, a punk-fueled ghost story inspired by a whispered warning from a kid on the Blackfeet reservation. “It was their version of the boogeyman,” Ament says. “Only, instead of hiding under your bed, he’s the guy selling bad drugs and ruining lives.”
Ament is no stranger to tackling heavy themes—one track, We Are Doing It, is a grim observation on humanity’s role in its own demise. “We know we’re destroying the planet, and we just… keep doing it,” he says. “Like, we deserve what’s coming.”
Despite all the existential dread, he insists the album is still fun. “That’s John,” he laughs. “He brings this optimism that keeps everything from sinking into the abyss.”
On the Pearl Jam front, Ament confirms a new album is in the works but isn’t quite as ready as Stone Gossard seemed to suggest. “Stone thinks we’re at the finish line. I know we’re not,” he says. “We still have to sort through everything, figure out what belongs on the record, maybe record another song or two.” He hints that the band is in a unique phase of their career. “We’ve earned the right to do whatever the f*** we want. Why wouldn’t we take advantage of that?”
As for what defines this next Pearl Jam era, Ament says it’s about making the best use of everyone’s strengths. “If Mike McCready comes in and just blows the doors off with a solo, everyone else has to step up to match that energy. That’s when the best stuff happens.”
For now, though, he’s focused on Deaf Charlie—including an upcoming live debut at Ohana Festival. “We’re putting in a ridiculous amount of rehearsal for one show,” he says, shaking his head. “But hey, sometimes you gotta throw all your eggs in one basket.”
Watch the interview above and then check out the video below.
