Ep. 250 - Mike McCready & 30 Years of Mad Season

Jason Kerepesi and Paul Ghiglieri discuss every aspect of Pearl Jam's music and the bands and communities they inspire. 👉 In this episode: Jason and Paul welcome Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready to the show to discuss the music of Mad Season's sole album Above. Mike recalls how the songs came together with John "Baker" Saunders, Layne Staley and Barrett Martin. He even plays a bit of one of the famous riffs from the record and explains how he got the guitar tone. Plus, Mike compares playing alongside Layne, Chris Cornell, and Eddie Vedder. And what about the music that was meant for the second record? Did any of that end up somewhere else? All that and more in this engaging chat with Mike McCready. ♥️ Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/SOLATpod?fan_... Buy Podcast Merch! https://solatpod-shop.fourthwall.com Follow the show on social media: Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/SOLAT_Pod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SOLATpod Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stateoflove... Email us: stateofloveandtrustpod - at - gmail dot com 📖 Chapters 📖 0:00 - Cold open 0:48 - Welcome & housekeeping 3:27 - Hello Mike, birth of Mad Season's name 5:44 - Mike meets John "Baker" Saunders 8:10 - Baker's friendship & musicianship 10:04 - Early songwriting & melding influences 13:52 - November Hotel backstory 14:58 - Chemistry & economy of sound 17:11 - Above vs. Dark Matter sessions 20:00 - Zeppelin influence, songwriting confidence 22:13 - Only guitar player... 23:35 - River of Deceit riff & gear nerdout 27:02 - Cutting room floor riffs & Ozzy 31:36 - Peter Buck cameo 32:53 - Barrett Martin's world beat influence 34:44 - Comparing November Hotel to WMA 35:30 - Significance of Above & The Rockfords 37:23 - Growing up on AC/DC, Judas Priest & KISS 39:21 - Layne Staley's bittersweet brilliance 43:53 - Playing with Layne, Chris Cornell & Eddie Vedder 47:56 - Mark Lanegan's contributions to Above 49:25 - Unable to help Layne & Mark 50:56 - Side projects & primary bands 52:57 - Love for Thunderpussy & Pete Droge 55:13 - Stages of grief over Above? 58:31 - Hypothetical reunion... 59:40 - Preparing for Pearl Jam's spring tour 1:02:09 - Thanks, Mike 1:02:51 - Final thoughts 1:03:41 - Housekeeping & goodbye #pearljam #rock #grunge #seattle #eddievedder #mikemccready #mattcameron #stonegossard #jeffament #music #podcast #madseason #laynestaley #aliceinchains #barrettmartin #screamingtrees #guitar #ozzy #ozzyosbourne #thunderpussy #petedroge #KISS #acdc