Ongoing History Daily: The brazen Pearl Jam theft

March 11, 2022 Alan Cross 0 Comments

Back in 1996, Pearl Jam played a concert in Miami. At some point in the show, someone managed to steal one of Stone Gossard’s guitars right off the stage. It turns out that the culprit was a really drunk 18-year-old kid. He somehow eluded security, got up on the stage, and walked off with a guitar. And he would’ve gotten away with it had he not started bragging to his friends.

They ratted him out to Pearl Jam’s label, who then hired a private detective to track down the kid. But before he was found, the kid panicked and mailed the guitar back to Pearl Jam’s record label. Stone got his guitar back and no charges were filed.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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