Before they were selling out arenas or collecting Grammys, Pearl Jam was just a group of scrappy Seattle misfits trying to make sense of their grief, channeling loss, anger, and hope into something louder, something that mattered.

Born in the shadow of tragedy and raised between basements and dive bars, they weren’t chasing fame. In fact, they spent most of their early years running from it, but sometimes you become your own spotlight whether you want it or not.

Fueled by raw energy and a refusal to play by the industry’s rules, they helped define the sound of the 90s without ever truly fitting into it.

These photos will take you back to the very beginning of one of the most important bands of the decade. This is Pearl Jam before the world was watching, their emotional beginning when it was still just about the music.