Eddie Vedder is an odd bird. You never can be too sure about him. Where he was once so predictable grunge cool- he has in recent years turned into a bit of a pompous ass. I jokingly blame his affiliation with Neil Young for this turn of style. Who knows the real reason, it is what it is.
Since all cool rock stars need a cause Vedder chose the infamous West Memphis Three. The boys accused of a murder and sentenced under much scandal Vedder along with others were instrumental in the acquittal of the three and the massive funding something like that requires.
But in a recent chat with Rolling Stone Vedder said he was never really sure until he point blank asked. The following quote is also a great indication of Eddie's arrogance. Read this- there will be a quiz.
“To be honest, there came a point when we had raised a bunch of money on their behalf. We still needed funds for private investigators and DNA testing. I had to start calling and asking people that I had helped, and see if they could help us out with this cost.
“That’s when I went and talked to Damien. I just had to ask him straight up, face to face. The answer he gave me and the unflinching trust that I could see from human to human – that was when I truly, truly believed.
“Of course, I had wished and believed and done all the research, but I just didn’t know. Especially when I fooled some other people into it, people that trusted me. I needed to know.
“There’s a big difference, actually, between believing something and knowing something. I asked him face to face. And I was completely satisfied.”
Vedder reports that Echols simply replied “No” to the question, but adds: “the way he said it, you can tell. You can tell.”
So there you have it. Vedder is not only a humanitarian, the dude who gave us 'Vitalogy" and can whip out a mad ukulele tune but he is also a master at deciphering one word responses