While Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron is out with Covid, the band has been using a bunch of different drummers to fill in for him on the road.

One of those fill-ins was local 18-year-old high school senior Kai Neukermans from Mill Valley. Kai is a student of Jay Michaelis, owner of Green Room Music Center and drummer for local band State Line Empire; and is also in a band called The Alive. He actually knows Eddie Vedder’s daughter, Olivia, who helped him get the gig. Kai got the message asking him to record a video of himself playing a Pearl Jam song as an audition, so he immediately checked out of school and raced over to record. He learned “Mind Your Manners” from Jay in one hour and the rest is history.

Later that night, he got to jump on stage and perform that song during Pearl Jam’s concert in Oakland.

The Alive are playing next weekend at BottleRock Napa Valley on Friday, May 27, 2022!