Pearl Jam, the band that dominated American rock & roll in the '90s even as they fought the control and commercialism of the recording industry, is still rockin’ out, almost 20 years after their inception. They’ve just released their ninth studio album, Backspacer, and you can catch them live as they tour to support it.

Guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Ament had helped create a promising Seattle-based group called Mother Love Bone, which fell apart in 1990 after its flamboyant lead vocalist Andrew Wood died of a heroin overdose. When Gossard and Ament were ready to rejoin the music scene, they brought together Mike McCready on lead guitar, Dave Krusen on drums and Eddie Vedder on lead vocals. They named themselves 'Mookie Blaylock,' but to avoid legal complications of using the name of a living person, in fact, an active player in the NBA, they chose again, this time Pearl Jam. The formation of the new group had involved a demo record; many of its songs were packaged as part of their multi-platinum album, Ten, a year later.