Editing Jack Irons (section)

==Biography==

===Early life===
Jack Irons was born and raised in Los Angeles. He is from a [[Jew]]ish background.<ref name="Fornication">{{cite book | last = Apter | first = Jeff | title = Fornication: The Red Hot Chili Peppers Story | year = 2004 | publisher = [[Omnibus Press]] | isbn = 1-84449-381-4}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Bloom|first=Nate|title=Jewish Stars 12/16 |newspaper=[[Cleveland Jewish News]]|date=December 15, 2011|url=https://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/archives/jewish-stars/article_7be302da-267e-11e1-b2fe-001871e3ce6c.html}}</ref> Irons grew up using his family's [[cutlery]] as drumsticks, playing along to whatever was on the radio. He talked his parents into buying him a drum set, and took a drum class.<ref name="Fornication"/> Irons attended Bancroft Jr. High School in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], where he met future bandmates [[Flea (musician)|Michael "Flea" Balzary]] and [[Hillel Slovak]]. He then went on to attend [[Fairfax High School (Los Angeles)|Fairfax High School]] in Los Angeles alongside Balzary and Slovak, as well as future bandmates [[Anthony Kiedis]] and [[Alain Johannes]].  He and Slovak were both fans of [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]], and they formed a tribute act.<ref name="Fornication"/> Irons was influenced by [[Jack DeJohnette]], [[Stewart Copeland]], and [[Keith Moon]].<ref name="modern drummer">Peiken, Matt. [https://pearljamhistory.no.sapo.pt/PJArticles_Interviews_06-xx-98_-_modern_drummer.htm "Jack Irons: This Inner Life"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110121083205/http://pearljamhistory.no.sapo.pt/PJArticles_Interviews_06-xx-98_-_modern_drummer.htm |date=January 21, 2011 }}. ''[[Modern Drummer]]''. June 1998.</ref>

===What Is This? and Red Hot Chili Peppers===
{{Main article|What Is This?|Red Hot Chili Peppers}}
<!-- Commented out: [[File:EarlyRHCP.jpg|220px|thumb|left|[[Red Hot Chili Peppers|Red Hot Chili Peppers]] in 1988 during ''The Uplift Mofo Party Plan'' tour; (left to right) Jack Irons, [[Flea (musician)|Flea]], [[Anthony Kiedis]], [[Hillel Slovak]]]] -->
As teenagers, Irons, Johannes, Slovak, and schoolmate Todd Strassman formed the band Chain Reaction in 1976. After its first gig, the band renamed itself Anthym. Slovak, dissatisfied with Strassman's bass playing, taught friend [[Flea (musician)|Michael "Flea" Balzary]] to play then replaced Strassman with Flea. After graduating high school, the band changed its name to [[What Is This?]] after a question often asked by people who heard the band play. Flea soon departed to play bass in the prominent Los Angeles punk band [[Fear (band)|Fear]]. What Is This? continued, performing many shows along the California coast.

In 1983, Flea formed a "one-off" band, Tony Flow and the Miraculously Majestic Masters of Mayhem, with Kiedis, Slovak and Irons. Their performance was a hit and, after deciding to continue past the single concert, they changed their name to [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]], quickly gaining popularity around Los Angeles. After six months, they earned a record deal with [[EMI]] and prepared to record its first album. Since What Is This? had signed a record deal two weeks earlier and Slovak and Irons considered Red Hot Chili Peppers a side project, they quit. With What Is This?, Irons recorded 1984's ''[[Squeezed (EP)]]'', 1985's ''[[3 Out of 5 Live]]'' EP, and a full-length [[What Is This?|self-titled album]] that same year. The band broke up following the album's recording as Slovak became frustrated with the band and rejoined Red Hot Chili Peppers. In the meantime, Irons played on several recordings by Walk the Moon, a duo made up of Johannes and [[Natasha Shneider]]. In 1986, after learning that drummer [[Cliff Martinez]] had resigned, Irons returned to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Irons played drums on Red Hot Chili Peppers' first demo tape and their third album, 1987's ''[[The Uplift Mofo Party Plan]]''. When Slovak died of a [[drug overdose|heroin overdose]] on June 25, 1988, Irons again quit the band because he did not want to be part of a group where his friends were dying.<ref name="kiedis" /> In 2006, Irons said Slovak's death had been such a huge shock that he had been suffering from depression ever since.<ref>[http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/chili%20peppers%20jack%20irons%20pays%20tribute%20to%20slovak_14_05_2006 "Chili Peppers' Jack Irons Pays Tribute to Slovak"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112164631/http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/chili%20peppers%20jack%20irons%20pays%20tribute%20to%20slovak_14_05_2006 |date=January 12, 2009 }}. [[Contactmusic.com]]. May 14, 2006.</ref>

On August 12, 2012, Irons and  Martinez performed "Give It Away" with Red Hot Chili Peppers at a Los Angeles concert. In 2017, Irons was an opening act for several dates on ''[[The Getaway World Tour]]''.<ref name="redhotchilipeppers.com"/>

===Eleven===
{{Main article|Eleven (band)}}
After Irons left Red Hot Chili Peppers, he went to a [[psychiatric hospital]] to receive treatment.<ref name="spin">Marks, Craig. [http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/spin0297.shtml "The Road Less Traveled"]. ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''. February 1997.</ref> After a brief stint with [[Joe Strummer]]'s backing band the [[Latino Rockabilly War]], Irons teamed up with Johannes and Shneider in 1990 to form [[Eleven (band)|Eleven]]. With Eleven, Irons recorded the albums [[Awake in a Dream (album)|''Awake in a Dream'']] (1991) and ''Eleven'' (1993). Midway through the recording of Eleven's third album, ''Thunk'' (1995), Irons left to drum with Pearl Jam, and [[Matt Cameron]] of [[Soundgarden]] played drums on the album's remaining four tracks. Irons returned to the band once again in 2002 prior to the recording of the band's fifth album, ''Howling Book'' (2003). Shneider died on July 2, 2008, following a battle with cancer.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1044912/elevens-natasha-shneider-dies-of-cancer|title=Eleven's Natasha Shneider Dies of Cancer|last=Cohen|first=Johnathan|date=July 2, 2008|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=July 3, 2008}}</ref> Prior to Shneider's death, the band was working on a sixth album due for release in the fall of 2008.

===Pearl Jam===
{{Main article|Pearl Jam}}
Bassist [[Jeff Ament]] and guitarist [[Stone Gossard]] invited Irons to join Mookie Blaylock, the band that became [[Pearl Jam]], in 1990, when the band was first forming and still looking for a singer and a drummer.<ref name="crowe">{{cite magazine | last = Crowe | first = Cameron | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10560431/five_against_the_world | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070519100135/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/10560431/five_against_the_world | url-status = dead | archive-date = May 19, 2007 | title = Five Against the World | magazine = [[Rolling Stone]] | date = October 28, 1993 | access-date = June 23, 2007 }}</ref> Although he did not join the band at that time because he was committed to Eleven, he did pass on a cassette of the band's work to a singer and local musician in San Diego named [[Eddie Vedder]]. Irons had formed a friendship with Vedder after meeting him through the Southern California music scene and played basketball with him.<ref>Wall, Mick. "Alive". ''Nirvana and the Story of Grunge''. ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' p. 95</ref> Vedder subsequently joined the band. Irons also called the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1991 and asked the band to allow Vedder's new group to open for the band on its forthcoming ''[[Blood Sugar Sex Magik]]'' tour.<ref name="kiedis">{{cite book
 | last = Kiedis
 | first = Anthony
 | author-link = Anthony Kiedis
 | author2=Sloman, Larry
 | title = [[Scar Tissue (autobiography)|Scar Tissue]]
 | date = October 6, 2004
| publisher = [[Hyperion (publisher)|Hyperion]]
 | isbn = 1-4013-0101-0
 }}</ref>

Irons became the drummer for Pearl Jam in late 1994 following the firing of drummer [[Dave Abbruzzese]]. His first recording with the band was "Hey Foxymophandlemama, That's Me" for ''[[Vitalogy]]'' (1994). Gossard said, "Jack entered the band right at the end of making ''Vitalogy''. Jack's a breath of fresh air, a family man. Everybody had a strong sense of friendship with him immediately. He was just there to play drums and help out."<ref name="tenpast">Weisbard, Eric, et al. "Ten Past Ten". [[Spin (magazine)|''Spin'']]. August 2001.</ref><ref name=fiveH>{{cite web|title=Ten Past Ten (archive on web site Five Horizons) |url=http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/spin801.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216031601/http://fivehorizons.com/archive//articles/spin801.shtml |archive-date=December 16, 2010 }}</ref> Irons made his debut with the band at [[Neil Young]]'s 1994 [[Bridge School Benefit]], but he was not officially announced as the band's new drummer until its 1995 ''Self-Pollution'' satellite radio broadcast, a four-and-a-half-hour-long "pirate" broadcast out of [[Seattle]], Washington which was available to any radio stations that wanted to carry it.<ref>Gaar, Gillian G. "Radio Free Vedder". ''[[Rolling Stone]]''. February 23, 1995.</ref> Irons joined the group and played Pearl Jam's live shows supporting the ''Vitalogy'' album.

Irons performed with other members of Pearl Jam on Neil Young's 1995 album, ''[[Mirror Ball (Neil Young album)|Mirror Ball]]'', and subsequently toured Europe as part of Young's backing band. Talking about the album, Young called drummer Irons "unbelievable."<ref name="mojo">{{cite web|last=Kent|first=Nick|date=December 1995|title=Neil Young Interview MOJO Magazine Pt#2|url=http://www.thrasherswheat.org/tfa/mojointerview1295pt2.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811221219/https://www.thrasherswheat.org/tfa/mojointerview1295pt2.htm|archive-date=August 11, 2021|website=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]}}</ref> He stated that he "played his ass off on every take at every session," and added, "I can't say enough good things about him."<ref name="mojo"/>

With Irons, Pearl Jam recorded its fourth studio album, ''[[No Code]]'', released in 1996, for which Irons also toured. The band subsequently released ''[[Yield (album)|Yield]]'' in 1998. "[[Do the Evolution]]" (from ''Yield'') received a [[Grammy Award|Grammy]] nomination for [[Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance|Best Hard Rock Performance]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/specials/1999/grammys/bigpicture.html |title=41st annual Grammy nominees and winners |publisher=[[CNN]].com |access-date=August 3, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080613094347/http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/specials/1999/grammys/bigpicture.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archive-date = June 13, 2008}}</ref> As a member of Pearl Jam, Irons brought a unique drumming style to the band, particularly in the way he played his fills and with his use of a trash can lid as a cymbal.<ref>''[[Single Video Theory]]''. [[Pearl Jam]]. Video. [[Epic Records|Epic]], 1998.</ref> Irons co-wrote the music for the ''No Code'' songs "[[Who You Are (Pearl Jam song)|Who You Are]]", "In My Tree", "[[Red Mosquito]]", and "I'm Open". He also wrote and sang on the Pearl Jam songs "Happy When I'm Crying" (from the 1997 fan club Christmas single), "<span style="color:red;">●</span>" (from ''Yield''), and "Whale Song" (from the 1999 ''[[Music for Our Mother Ocean Vol. 3]]'' compilation). He played with Pearl Jam through March 20, 1998. In 1998, prior to Pearl Jam's U.S. [[Yield Tour]], Irons left the band due to dissatisfaction with touring.<ref name="fiveH"/><ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/pearljam/articles/story/5928493/off_he_goes | title=Off He Goes | access-date=June 28, 2007 | author=Fischer, Blair R | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | date=April 17, 1998 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071002115935/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/pearljam/articles/story/5928493/off_he_goes | archive-date=October 2, 2007 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Pearl Jam's sound engineer Brett Eliason stated, "We went and did Hawaii and Australia with Jack. When we came back, Jack wasn't in a position to carry on. He made that decision more or less by himself. He can be a really great drummer but he had difficulty on tour putting out the energy for the length of shows they were doing. I don't know if he thought they'd put things on hold for him."<ref name="tenpast"/><ref name="fiveH"/> Vedder said, "I think that him deciding that he wasn't going to be in the band really hurt."<ref name="tenpast"/><ref name="fiveH"/> Coincidentally, Matt Cameron, from the recently split [[Soundgarden]], replaced him again as he did four years prior on Eleven's ''Thunk''.