Pearl Jam Supports Indy Record Stores With In-Store Concert
PePearl Jam played a surprise show Friday at Easy Street Records in West Seattle on Friday night, in support of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) and in celebration of CIMS 10-year anniversary.
The 120 independent record storeowners and managers who were in Seattle for the CIMS convention boarded a shuttle Friday night to attend what they were told was “a party at Easy Street Records.” At about 9pm, Pearl Jam appeared on a small stage that had been built in the store earlier that day and played a 1.5-hour sizzling set for the 200 people in attendance. The set included new songs from the band’s untitled, forthcoming studio album, as well as a celebratory rendition of X’s "The New World” with special guest John Doe.
"This was easily the best instore performance our members have ever seen. We all walked away stunned. The new songs were excellent and have us all looking forward to Pearl Jam’s highly anticipated next release," says CIMS president Don VanCleave. "This year’s convention and the tremendous support we received from the national music community is testament to the growth of CIMS over the past 10 years and the excitement we feel about what we can do for music in the next ten years."
Pearl Jam was just one of the many artists who performed or participated in support of CIMS during the Seattle convention last week.
Click below to see the week’s schedule of CIMS events.
- 4/27 Instore with Kings of Leon at Easy Street Records in Queen Anne, which was attended by 550 fans plus CIMS storeowners
- 4/28 Intimate performance with Charlie Sexton at Hotel Andra
- 4/28 Sub Pop Showcase with performances by Kinski, Fruit Bats and Helio Sequence at the Triple Door; at this event, members of the Postal Service presented each CIMS storeowner with a Gold Award for their help in making the band’s album "Give Up" such a success
- 4/29 Barsuk Showcase with performances by Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie with John Vanderslice, John Roderick of the Long Winters, Matthew Caws of Nada Surf and Jesse Sykes
- 4/30 Preview of Cameron Crowe‘s new film, Elizabethtown, hosted by the writer/director. This event, held at the North West Film Forum, alsoincluded a live performance by Jim James of My Morning Jacket.
- 4/30 Performance by John Doe at Chop Suey, with guest appearance by Nancy Wilson of Heart
About Easy Street Records
Easy Street Records has two Seattle locations, both owned and operated by local business owner Matt Vaughan. The West Seattle store, where Pearl Jam performed, was founded in 1988 and the Queen Anne store opened its doors in 2002. Easy Street is the only Washington state member of the Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS).
About CIMS
The Coalition of Independent Music Stores (CIMS) is a group of some of the best independent music stores in America. CIMS was founded in 1995; its current membership is made up of 28 accounts that handle 59 stores nationwide. Many of the accounts have been recognized by the music industry and their local communities for their outstanding dedication to customer service and developing artist support.
Each CIMS member is bound by its shared love of music, a reputation for great selection and customer service in each member’s community, yet each CIMS account is as unique as the market it represents. Most importantly, CIMS member stores continually seek to challenge the jaded, color-by-numbers advertising and marketing of other retailers.
Through its network, CIMS provides labels with a cohesive national marketing effort for their developing and established bands. So, instead of having to make 31 separate phone calls to set up promotions at key indie stores across the nation, a label may contact the CIMS office to coordinate their efforts. Whether it be an advertising program, an instore positioning or Adopt program, listening booth, or even a custom-made promotion for an artist, CIMS helps labels break through the clutter for their artists to be recognized by the early adopter music fans that constantly seek the best in new music. CIMS also coordinates promotions and purchases nationally with indie stores outside of its membership through its distribution company, junketboy.com. This entity buys many releases directly from bands and also gets unique content for the indie store community.
More information on CIMS can be found at www.cimsmusic.com.
