Former Red Hot Chill Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer recently talked about playing in Pearl Jam, which he joined after leaving RHCP. He stated that there are songs Eddie Vedder doesn’t want to play live, and that is where Klinghoffer comes in.
Klinghoffer left RHCP after John Frusciante returned to his old band. There weren’t any hard feelings between the band members due to this change. Klinghoffer had stated that the energy between Flea and Frusciante was too good to deny. Therefore, he thought it would be good for RHCP to continue with Frusciante instead of him.
The fans weren’t disappointed because they will see Klinghoffer on stage with Pearl Jam. He joined the band this year and became their third touring guitarist. Pearl Jam already had two guitarists, so they didn’t really need another one but, the relationship between the band and the guitarist was so good that they wanted him anyway.
Recently he talked about his position in Pearl Jam and explained what he does as a third guitarist. He followed by revealing that there are songs from their 2020 album ‘Gigaton’ that Vedder doesn’t want to play on stage. Here is where Klinghoffer comes in and plays his parts in the live shows. He also stated that even though his role is not as crucial as the other guitarists, Stone Gossard or Mike McCready, he fills in for Vedder when he doesn’t like to play some songs.
Here is what he stated about Vedder not wanting to play songs from their newest album:
“I’m never taking a guitar part that’s more essential than Stone or Mike. And Eddie plays guitar quite a bit in the band, but not as much on the newer stuff. He played a lot of guitar on the songs that he wrote, but he doesn’t play in those live. So, one of the ones I play on is a song where on the record there’s Eddie, Stone, and Mike playing. Eddie doesn’t want to play that song live, so I’m playing one of the little parts.“
The guitarist went on to say that there are times when the audience hears four guitars on stage at once. In the songs’ Superblood Wolfmoon’ and ‘Seven O’Clock,’ all the guitarists meet on stage and play together. He also stated that there are points when he gives his guitar to his tech and performs back vocals for the band as he thinks having four guitars on stage might be an unnecessary abundance.
Here is what he stated about being the fourth guitarist:
“I play on ‘Superblood Wolfmoon,’ ‘Seven O’Clock’ – and that’s the one song where four of us are holding guitars at one point. But I honestly don’t think Eddie plays until the latter verse – right before the final chorus. So, when he starts playing, we almost crisscross. There might be one chorus where there are four guitars at once.
But then the minute the last chorus is over, and the outro begins, I hand my guitar to my tech. I could just hold it, but I feel like I want there to be one less guitar. So then I just sing from that point on. I might be forgetting one, but I know I do a little part in ‘In My Tree.'”
It seems like Pearl Jam is in good sync with their latest guitarist, and even though they already have a lot of guitar players, they have found a way to adapt him to their rhythm. The band released their ‘Gigaton’ album in March 2020, and Vedder wrote seven out of the twelve songs. However, as stated by Klinghoffer, he might not want to play some of those songs on stage and concentrate on singing them instead.
