34th & Now

Very rarely are things are really as cool as they appear to be at first glance, but when they are, man, is it sweet. Here’s Eddie Vedder, lead singer of Pearl Jam, and Johnny Depp, better known as Captain Jack Sparrow, rocking out together at a Free Memphis Three rally in Little Rock, Arkansas this past Saturday. The two played Society off of the Vedder-penned Into the Wild soundtrack, with Depp playing lead guitar to Eddie’s rhythm.

As it turns out, Johnny Depp, A-list actor that he is, is also quite talented musically. He was featured as the slide-guitarist on the 1997 Oasis track Fade in Fade Out, and was also a member of the 90s alternative rock group “P”, whose lineup also included Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols.

So check it out. Because it is every bit as cool as it sounds.

Interesting Tidbit: Short lived though the band was, P will always hold a place in pop culture history for being on stage at the Viper Room, Oct. 30, 1993, when actor and icon River Phoenix went into seizures on the sidewalk outside the venue. Eerily enough, Depp, Flea and band members were in the middle of their song Michael Stipe when the incident began, a song which includes the lyrics, “but we didn’t have a part, not a piece of our heart, not Michael, River Phoenix or Flea or me.” As word spread through the venue of the goings-on outside, Depp and Flea left the stage to rush to their friend’s side. Phoenix was pronounced dead the following morning, and Depp, in honor of his friend’s memory, closed the Viper Room every October 31st until selling his share of the club in 2004.

(shoutout to Dave for showing me this video)