Eddie Vedder is big into environmental activism and shows it with a tattoo on his right calf. The tattoo is a logo of the group Earth First!, a monkey wrench crossed with a stone hammer. Earth First! is a radical environmental advocacy group formed in the late seventies. The logo for the organization indicates their commitment to "ecotage" or sabotage undertaken in the defense of the environment. They believe that all forms of life on Earth have equal value in and of themselves without regard for their utility to human beings. To them, this justifies an ecocentric view of the world.
Eddie Louis Severson III (born December 23, 1964) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. Vedder is his mother's maiden name and he changed his name to it after high school. He is best known as the lead singer and one of the three guitarists for the rock band Pearl Jam. In the mid to late eighties, Vedder did several stints in local bands like Rage Against the Machine, Bad Radio and Temple of the Dog. In 1990 he was hired to play in Pearl Jam and they were signed the next year. Their debut album, "Ten" began one of the best selling alternative albums of the nineties. They went on to release several multiplatinum albums throughout their career. Vedder is a political and environmental activist. He is also a vegetarian and animal rights activist. He married longtime girlfriend Beth Lieblin in 1994 and divorced in 2000. He is currently in a relationship with model Jill McCormick and they have two children.
