where did pearl jam get their name from
Pearl Jam
With the addition of Dave Krusen on drums , the band took the name Mookie Blaylock , in reference to the then - active basketball player Mookie Blaylock . The band played its first official show at the Off Ramp Café in Seattle on October 22 , 1990 . They opened for Alice in Chains at the Moore Theatre in Seattle on December 22 , 1990 , and served as the opening act for the band 's Facelift tour in 1991 . Mookie Blaylock soon signed to Epic Records and renamed themselves Pearl Jam . In an early promotional interview , Vedder said that the name `` Pearl Jam '' was a reference to his great - grandmother Pearl , who was married to a Native American and had a special recipe for peyote - laced jam . In a 2006 Rolling Stone cover story however , Vedder admitted that this story was `` total bullshit '' , even though he indeed had a great - grandma named Pearl . Ament and McCready explained that Ament came up with `` pearl '' , and that the band later settled on `` Pearl Jam '' after attending a concert by Neil Young , in which he extended his songs as improvisations of 15 -- 20 minutes in length . 
With the addition of Dave Krusen on drums , the band took the name Mookie Blaylock , in reference to the then - active basketball player Mookie Blaylock . The band played its first official show at the Off Ramp Café in Seattle on October 22 , 1990 . They opened for Alice in Chains at the Moore Theatre in Seattle on December 22 , 1990 , and served as the opening act for the band 's Facelift tour in 1991 . Mookie Blaylock soon signed to Epic Records and renamed themselves Pearl Jam . In an early promotional interview , Vedder said that the name `` Pearl Jam '' was a reference to his great - grandmother Pearl , who was married to a Native American and had a special recipe for peyote - laced jam . In a 2006 Rolling Stone cover story however , Vedder admitted that this story was `` total bullshit '' , even though he indeed had a great - grandma named Pearl . Ament and McCready explained that Ament came up with `` pearl '' , and that the band later settled on `` Pearl Jam '' after attending a concert by Neil Young , in which he extended his songs as improvisations of 15 -- 20 minutes in length .
Mookie Blaylock soon signed to Epic Records and renamed themselves Pearl Jam. Ament and McCready explained that Ament came up with ``pearl'' , and that the band later settled on ``Pearl Jam'' after attending a concert by Neil Young, in which he extended his songs as improvisations of 15 - 20 minutes in length.
Mookie Blaylock soon signed to Epic Records and renamed themselves Pearl Jam . Ament and McCready explained that Ament came up with `` pearl '' , and that the band later settled on `` Pearl Jam '' after attending a concert by Neil Young , in which he extended his songs as improvisations of 15 -- 20 minutes in length .