Nirvana may have the cultural cache, but Pearl Jam was absolutely the bigger band in the 1990s. They dominated their grunge peers on the charts, and were among the most popular acts in the world for a handful of years.
These years happened to align with the period in which Dave Abbruzzese was the drummer. He was brought in to replace Matt Chamberlain shortly after the release of Pearl Jam's debut album in 1991, and he remained with the band through 1994. Abbruzzese didn't drum on the aforementioned debut, but he was present when it exploded, and made him and his bandmates the face of the Seattle scene.
Dave Abbruzzese was fired from Pearl Jam in 1994
Abbruzzese played on subsequent Pearl Jam albums Vs. (1993) and Vitology (1994). Both were critical and commercial successes, and were certified 7 times and 5 times platinum, respectively. Then, the drummer's tenure came to an end. He was fired in 1994, and never played alongside the other band members again.
The official reason given for Abbruzzese's firing was "personality conflicts." It didn't take long for the other band members to delve into their issues with the drummer, however. Jeff Ament told Spin that Abbruzzese leaned further into the rock star decadence than anybody else in the band, which led to conflicting ideologies and priorities.
"There were a lot of things, personality wise, where I didn't see eye to eye with him. He was more comfortable being a rock star than the rest of us," the bassist explained. "Partying, girls, cars. I don't know if anyone was in the same space." Stone Gossard, the guitarist, was willing to spread the blame a bit more. He told the outlet that he felt there was a lack of communication on both sides.
Tensions with the band resurfaced in 2016
Dave Abbruzzese eventually broke his silence on the firing, and claimed that he does not harbor any ill will towards Pearl Jam. He admitted that he didn't get down with some of the stances the rest of the band took, like their boycott of Ticketmaster, and that was he was initially very angry with their choice to fire him.
Time heals all, however. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't furious and hurt for a long time," the drummer said to Spin. "But now I just wish there was more music from the band I was a part of." The friendliness did not last, sadly. Pearl Jam was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, and neither Dave Abbruzzese or original drummer Matt Chamberlain were invited.
The latter put out a scathing post on Facebook criticizing the band. Realizing they had slighted two crucial members, Pearl Jam ultimately invited Abbruzzese and Chamberlain to the induction. Neither drummer was inducted as a member of the band, though. Abbruzzese is currently part of the grunge band Pseutopia.