Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam) + John Wicks (Fitz And The Tantrums) are Deaf Charlie

06-12-2023

Cover art

(The Syndicate) Deaf Charlie is Jeff Ament and John Wicks, and Catastrophic Metamorphic, the 12-track debut album from the Pearl Jam bassist and former Fitz & The Tantrums drummer, will be available on limited edition vinyl LP at pearljam.com and indie retail and DSPs on June 30.

Deaf Charlie AKA Orlando Hanks was a train robber with Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch who spent a fair amount of prison time in Deer Lodge, MT. He was called "Deaf" because he had such a beautiful singing voice.

The "Losing My Mind" single is out now - you can watch the video below. The track follows Deaf Charlie's 2020 debut single, "Something Real". Their first collaboration came during the pandemic as Ament/Wicks on Buzzcocks' "Sittin' Round At Home". Recorded in their home studios, the cover helped shape this collaborative project. They most recently collaborated composing the score (with Josh Klinghoffer) for the FX series, Under The Banner Of Heaven.

"There's a real optimism in this batch of mostly dystopian themes, and that comes from John's upbeat production and playing," explains Ament. "He infused a lot of pop and reggae elements into the songs, pushing my arrangements and rhythms into new territory. Most of these tunes had real journeys between our two visions."

Pearl Jam is set to embark on a five-stop run featuring nine shows across the midwest beginning in St. Paul, MN on August 31.

Following the Pearl Jam tour, Deaf Charlie will perform their first live set together at Ohana Festival in Dana Point, CA on Sunday, October 1.

Catastrophic Metamorphic LP art by Edgar Smith, a Missoula, MT-based artist. Smith also created the promo image below and the art for the Pearl Jam single, "Save You".