Pearl Jam's Jeff Ament aids in cleaning Havre skatepark

Pearl Jam bass player Jeff Ament and members of Montana Pool Service came together Saturday with Havre Parks and Recreation Department personnel and local youth for a graffiti cleanup effort at the Havre skatepark.

Ament, who grew up in Big Sandy and now lives in Missoula, has been an avid skateboarder since his teenage years. He works with Evergreen Skateparks' Montana Pool Service, which develops skateparks for communities across Montana.

Jeff Ament's Army, another facet of skatepark development, describes itself on social media as "a fan-based, grassroots organization (and division of the Montana Skatepark Association) dedicated to supporting Jeff Ament's charitable and artistic activities."

And Ament stays active with the parks.

"I'm always looking for an excuse to come back to where I grew up," Ament told Havre Daily New Saturday. "I was here about a month ago and I ran into a bunch of kids that were skating here. I said, 'If I come back in a month, will you guys show up and help me clean the bowl out?'

"It's good community building," he added. "Part of what we're trying to do when we build these skate parks is we're trying to develop a skate community that takes ownership of the park. I think if they have ownership in the park, then they're going to take care of it and they're going to want to make it last."

The Havre Skatepark was originally created back in 2005, driven by an association trying to set an area where skateboarders wouldn't have to worry about being charged with trespassing or have other issues.

"I'm a community person. So I think this is absolutely amazing that somebody like this wants to come back to Havre and contribute," Parks and Recreation Director Chris Inman said.

"He has been not only a wonderful friend to me over the years, but a wonderful person for the whole state of Montana and building skateparks, and taking such pride in that, and this is what we need to do,  not only in Havre but other places. People don't need to be doing this (vandalism.) It's sad, but good for him to come home and want to come do this for our community," she said.

Ament and his foundation helped the Havre park expand substantially, starting in 2015. In 2019 Ament funded more work on the park, placing new obstacles on the concrete slab including a mound in the center of the park.

Ament has helped create or upgrade multiple skateparks, in addition to adding to the Havre park, including in Big Sandy, Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation and Hays on Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.

He said more work might be needed to clean up the Havre skatepark.

"We'll work on it a few hours today. If we can't get a couple spots lifted up, we might put a little bit of paint over those spots," Ament said. "I'll probably leave a bunch of the product with Chris Inman, the head of the parks department. So if they want to have another session on their own, they sort of have all the tools and the right stuff to put on it."

Ament's organization also is developing a new skatepark in Superior. He said his organization has helped develop 20 to 25 parks in Montana and South Dakota, with a focus on isolated areas, and Havre fit the bill perfectly

"I was born here, so I have history here. The original park, which was this slab and a little bit of that bank over there, I knew that that existed here. I knew that there were skaters here. That's when you know that there's a need for a skatepark or additions to the skate park," Ament said.

Pearl Jam also recently released a beer in collaboration with Missoula's KettleHouse Brewing Company, MPS Pool Ale, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting skatepark development.

Additionally, Pearl Jam announced on its website they will be streaming their Aug. 13, 2018, 29-song Missoula show performed at Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Pearl Jam's The Ten Club will be hosting "Stream In The Park," an in-person streaming event at Missoula's riverfront stadium, Ogren Park at Allegiance Field, Friday, June 18, at 8 p.m.

The pay-per-view event will be online from Friday through Monday, June 21, at 9:59 p.m. exclusively on nugs.net. 

Ament said money from the streaming event will go to the Poverello Center and the YWCA, which helps the homeless community in Missoula. He said Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines will be available as the band wants to do whatever it can to help people get back to a safe point where they can congregate.

The show will feature "never before seen footage, rare songs and memorable covers and was captured with multiple high definition cameras by videographer Blue Leach with additional editing by Pearl Jam archivist Kevin Shuss, making it specially edited for the best digital screening experience. Portions of the stream will be in glorious black and white," an announcement on the Pearl Jam website says.

"Feels like it's sort of a reintroduction to concerts, you know, like people aren't quite doing full-on concerts yet. So I felt like it was a good way for us to sort of like dip our feet back into getting people together," Ament said.

Exclusive Pearl Jam Missoula streaming merchandise will be available inside the stadium when doors open at 6:30 p.m. Mountain Time for the general public while supplies last.

"We're doing some cool things, making the beer with KettleHouse. I think all the proceeds to that will go towards the Superior skatepark this fall," Ament said. 

Aside from his music with Pearl Jam, Ament completed work on his solo album, "I Should Be Outside." He said the album, his fourth solo project, is the result of being at home by himself a lot during the pandemic. 

It is now being produced.

Pearl Jam was forced to cancel a planned tour in 2020 due to the pandemic but Ament said the band will soon be back to playing shows. 

Pearl Jam is booked at the Ohana Festival in Laguna Beach, California, and then we have a show at "Sea.Hear.Now Festival" on the New Jersey Shore. 

"That felt like the right time and the right environment for us to sort of, you know, get back into playing shows. It's outdoors so it's a lot safer, just get a couple shows and see how everything goes, make sure everything happens smoothly," Ament said.