Before they called themselves Pearl Jam, the band was known as Mookie Blaylock.

For their 20th anniversary this year and with help from their friend, director Cameron Crowe, Pearl Jam are gearing up for memorable celebration. They’ve rolled out deluxe reissues of Vs. and Vitalogy and are plotting an outdoor destination weekend party for the summer.

For the documentary, Crowe’s job is to dig through hours of video footage to trace the band’s entire history. The documentary won’t hit theaters until September, but they’re teasing PJ20 with a trailer.

Pearl Jam’s first promo is a fitting one: The footage reveals how the group abandoned their original name Mookie Blaylock (named after the NBA player) for Pearl Jam because of “legal problems.” There’s also shots of fresh-faced Eddie Vedder, some early club footage, and a quick pan of Alice in Chains‘ Layne Staley singing an autograph before a gig.

Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images

The new year brings a lot of things, most noticeably is the flood of people at the gym who will only last a month.

But let me offer you something that will help start the year out right. Check out these deals on KROQ music. Over 1,000 albums that are only $5 from Amazon. Hopefully not all of you are broke following the holidays like I am. Even if you are, you should find a way to scrounge up $5 to pick up one of these great albums including Broken Bells, MGMT, Weezer, A Day To Remember, Coldplay and more.

Remember, all of these albums are only $5. Now, we’ve linked each band to their respective Last.fm info page.

• Broken Bells by Broken Bells
• Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
• Hurley by Weezer
• Volume One by She & Him
• This Is War and A Beautiful Lie by 30 Seconds To Mars
• Manners by Passion Pit
• Congratulations by MGMT
• Flyleaf by Flyleaf
• Grand by Matt & Kim
• Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga by Spoon
• Siamese Dream by Smashing Pumpkins
• The Best Of Us For The Rest Of Us by Reel Big Fish
• Life Turns Electric by Finger Eleven
• Tell All Your Friends by Taking Back Sunday
• What Hits? by Red Hot Chili Peppers
• The Slip by Nine Inch Nails
• Cage The Elephant by Cage The Elephant
• One-X by Three Days Grace
• Scream by Ozzy Osbourne
• 7th Symphony by Apocalyptica
• A Rush Of Blood To The Head by Coldplay
• Fever by Bullet For My Valentine
• Because Of The Times by Kings Of Leon
• The Best Of Radiohead by Radiohead
• Greatest Hits and Live At The Roxy by Social Distortion
• Homesick by A Day To Remember
• Gorillaz by Gorillaz
• Time For Annihilation: On The Record & On The Road and To Be Loved: The Best of Papa Roach by Papa Roach
• Deja Entendu by Brand New
• Nothing Safe – The Best Of The Box by Alice In Chains
• Blur: The Best Of by Blur
• G N’ R Lies by Guns N’ Roses
• A Shipwreck In The Sand by Silverstein.
• Dark Side Of The Moon by Pink Floyd
• Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix
• The Very Best Of Prince by Prince
• Rubber Factory by The Black Keys
• Crazy For You by Best Coast
• The Social Network by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
• Musique Vol 1 by Daft Punk
• The Orchard by Ra Ra Riot

It’s too bad I don’t get a kickback from Amazon. I’d be rich.

Chino from Deftones shreading my ears at Gibson Amphitheatre

Last night was as satisfying as it gets for a lifelong Deftones fan like myself.

Songs “Change” (In The House Of Flies), “Be Quiet And Drive” and “My Own Summer” (Shove It) got the Gibson Amphitheatre crowd hyped up. Songs from the new Diamond Eyes album including the title track and an amazing version of “Sextape” reminded everyone that Deftones do a gig like no other. Frontman Chino Moreno still has one of the most amazing voices in all of rock. His soaring and hypnotic vocal for “Sextape” had the crowd standing still…almost concentrating on every word.

Original bass player Che Cheng remains in a minimally conscious state due a car accident a few years ago. Former Quicksand bass player Sergio Vega filled in nicely.  Deftones dedicated a song to their bandmate and friend, Che.

William Duval

Although it sounds crazy, I had never seen Alice In Chains.

There’s something to be said for catching a band with all original members live when they’re first coming up. Original bass player Mike Starr can be seen on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew - not playing bass.

Frontman Layne Staley passed away over eight years ago but Alice In Chains never officially disbanded. The thing was they were inactive for so long, that was the assumption. In 2005, singer William Duval joined and helped release Black Gives Way To Blue – their first album in 14 years.

“ we don't exist without you.
” Jerry Cantrell Opening with “Them Bones,” if you closed your eyes you would SWEAR Layne Staley was still fronting. Power chords and the amazing trademark harmonies with guitarist Jerry Cantrell sold me on William Duval.

Alice In Chains sound exactly the same and the faithful who sold out the Gibson let them know. Jerry Cantrell is one of the most respected and coolest guys in rock and made a point to thank everyone saying “we don’t exist without you.”

Are you a fan of deals? Well, Live Nation is hooking you up with an amazing deal to catch Alice in Chains, Deftones, and Mastadon.

So start searching your couches, cars or pockets for any change you have, run to the nearest Coin Star and head over to Live Nation to get tickets for the Black Diamond Skye tour.

This Sunday, October 10th, Live Nation is hooking you up with $20 tickets for the Black Diamond Skye concert happening October 12th at the Gibson Amphitheatre. Starting at 10am, and lasting 20 hours, $20 gets you in. An interesting fact: you know why it’s called the ‘Black Diamond Skye’ tour? All 3 bands took one word from the title of their most recent album, and collaged them together. I think I just got a little Aspergers there.

Check out ‘Lesson Learned’

OK music geeks! It’s your chance to cast your love or hate on some music. We want you to listen to a few songs and tell us which ones you like and which ones you don’t. Your honesty is required.

Everyone who takes our little music survey is entered to win a 4-pack of tickets to see Alice in Chains with the Deftones at the Gibson Amphitheatre on October 12th, an autographed ESP guitar and a backstage dressing room for the show. And, the first twenty-five people to take the survey will win Alice in Chains “Black Gives Way to Blue” or Deftones “Diamond Eyes” on CD. So, you get to prove you know more about music than we do and win some junk? What a deal!

START MUSIC SURVEY NOW

You’ve gotta be a member of the KROQ Street Team. Not a member? Sign up now!

This week’s survey ends at 11:00pm on 10/04/10. Survey is open to anyone who resides in the SoCal zip codes.

Get Linkin Park‘s new album A Thousand Suns for $6.99 here.

Get Weezer‘s new album Hurley for $6.99 here.

Get The xx‘s new album xx for $6.99 here.

Get Phoenix‘s Alphabetical for $6.99 here.

Get Muse‘s Black Holes And Revelations for $6.99 here.

Get Paramore‘s Riot! for $6.99 here and also get All We Know Is Falling for $6.99 here.

Get Gorillaz‘ Demon Days for $5.00 here.

Get Alice In Chains‘ Black Gives Way To Blue for $5.00 here.

Get Cake‘s Comfort Eagle for $6.99 here.

Get Suicidal Tendencies‘ Freedumb for $6.99 here and also get Free Your Soul…And Save My Mind for $6.99 here.

Get Nine Inch Nails‘ The Downward Spiral for $6.99 here.

Get Bad Religion‘s Stranger Than Fiction for $6.99 here.

Get 30 Seconds To Mars‘ self-titled album for $6.99 here.

Get Interpol‘s Turn On The Bright Lights for $7.99 here.

Quite nice isn’t it? And just out of curiosity…

Creepy and somewhat disturbing, Alice In Chains’ latest video is a must-see.

Conceived and directed by Paul Matthaeus, known for his groundbreaking main titles on the award-winning HBO series “Six Feet Under” and “True Blood,” and produced with Bobby Hougham and Sevrin Daniels of Blank Design, Lesson Learned is comprised of over 6,000 still pictures stitched together to create a visually stunning stop-frame animated clip.

Did you get all that? This is not a normal video. It’s thousand of still photographs, one after the other.  It makes for an old school Nine Inch Nails feel.

Using physical lacerations as a metaphor for lessons learned, the video sees a young man and woman plummet through a derelict industrial building. Tattered clothes dissolve off, revealing wounds that symbolize emotional learning. The video was shot entirely as a stop–frame animation, but with live actors on set.

The “Lesson Learned” video follows the recently released “Acid Bubble” clip, an interactive video produced by Spy Films and director Nick Goso in which users manipulate their perspective and experience 360-degree environments. Check it out here.

Alice In Chains is headlining BLACKDIAMONDSKYE, an incredible triple bill featuring Deftones and Mastodon. Here’s the latest BLACKDIAMONDSKYE tour dates, including an stop in LA.

• Wednesday, Sept. 22 Boston, MA Agannis Arena
• Friday, Sept. 24 New York, NY Madison Square Garden
• Saturday, Sept. 25 Camden, NJ Susquehanna Theatre
• Sunday, Sept. 26 Fairfax, VA Patriot Center
• Saturday, Sept. 28 Atlanta, GA Lakewood Amphitheatre
• Friday, Oct. 1 St. Louis, MO Scottrade Arena
• Saturday, Oct. 2 Kansas City, MO Sandstone Amp.
• Monday, Oct. 4 Denver, CO Red Rocks
• Thursday, Oct. 7 Vancouver, BC GM Place
• Friday, Oct. 8 Seattle, WA Key Arena
• Saturday, Oct. 9 Portland, OR Memorial Coliseum
• Monday, Oct.11 San Jose, CA SJSU Event Center
• Tuesday, Oct. 12 Los Angeles, CA Gibson Amphitheatre – buy tickets
• Friday, Oct. 15 San Diego, CA Viejas Arenas
• Saturday, Oct. 16 Las Vegas, NV The Joint

A new interactive video has been released by Alice In Chains for their song “Acid Bubble” off their latest album Black Gives Way To Blue.

The video lets you change your perspective for a full 360 degree experience. It’s actually pretty trippy, but for those of you who don’t want to indulge yourselves there is a non-interactive version as well.

See the interactive video here, or check out the non-interactive version below.

Check out Alice In Chains when they come to the Gibson Amphitheatre on October 12th. Get your tickets here or enter to win a set of 4 tickets and a signed Epiphone Les Paul guitar here!

Written by: Alex Serot

The Black Diamond Skye Tour, featuring Alice In Chains, The Deftones and Mastodon, is coming through LA on October 12th and we want to send you and 3 of your friends to see the show, hang out at the exclusive Gibson Guitar pre-party, and you’ll even receive an Epiphone Les Paul guitar signed by all the bands on the tour!

Get your buzz started early at the Gibson Guitar pre-party in the Heineken tent at the Gibson Amphitheater, then make your way into your sweet seats at the show and rock out to some pretty gnarly bands! When you get home, you can start building that case for your brand new Epiphone Les Paul guitar, signed by the members of all 3 bands!

So what do you need to do to win? Easy… just make sure you’re a member of the KROQ Street Team (join here) and it’s only a few clicks of a button. That’s it!

ENTER TO WIN HERE

We want your help. We’re gonna ask you to listen to a few songs and tell us which ones you like and which ones you don’t. Carve out 15 minutes for our little survey and we’ll reward you handsomely.

The first 85 people to take the survey will instantly win a copy of Linkin Park‘s “Road to Revelution: Live at Milton Keynes” CD/DVD, LCD Soundsystem‘s “This is Happening,” or Slightly Stoopid‘s “Chronichitis.”

EVERYONE who completes the survey is qualified to win a pair of tickets to Alice In Chains at Gibson Amphitheatre October 12th.

START MUSIC SURVEY NOW

You’ve gotta be a member of the KROQ Street Team. Not a member? Sign up now!

This week’s survey ends at 11:00pm on 8/01/10. Survey is open to people ages 18-29 who reside in the So Cal zip codes.