Q & A with Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready in Guitar World Magazine

Q&A
MIKE McCREADY
"The Pearl Jam guitarist on smashed Stratocasters, screaming solos, and why his band need their "asses kicked".
Interview: Henry Yates

Digital painting by John Gallego. https://jbgallego.com

Narrated and commented on by PJ Pat. 

I've been a big fan of Pearl Jam and, by default, Mike McCready since day 1. I'd say he's the one guitarist that has influenced my playing the most. After all his trials and tribulations, it's so good to see him come out on top and kick ass. To this day, I still pinch myself that I actually met him and hung out for just a moment. Story in the video which I hope you enjoy.  

Transcript

Hello, rock and roll world. Thank you for joining the Insulin Louder podcast. I'm your host, PJ Pat. Now, if you're a Pearl jam nut like I am, this one is for you. I was so stoked to see A-Q-A article in the latest classic rock magazine around Mike McCready. Yes, the other guitar player outside of Stone Gossard.

It's Mike McCready. And believe it or not, before I get into the article, let me tell you a story. In October of last year, I actually met him. I met him. Now, you don't understand. Pearl Jam is my all time favorite band ever. I just got hooked as soon as I heard alive.

That really intrigued me. It was nothing like, um, previous to that. There was a long solo in the end, and the rhythm was just kind of not the four, four beat. Um, and, um. Eddie Van Halen. Eddie Vetter. Eddie Van Halen. Another great guy. But Eddie Vetter, um, his voice was just so haunting and it just gripped me right away.

And so since I heard alive, it just grabbed a hold of my heart and hasn't let go since many, many years later. So there's a friend of mine who years and years was trying to convince me to go down to Seattle and meet Mike McCready. And because of work, I wasn't able to.

And finally I had a window where I wasn't working. So you know what I decided? Let's do this. Pull the trigger. Went down to Seattle and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. First of all, just meeting Mike would have been amazing. But he actually played an intimate show at this event.

There was probably less than 2000 people for sure. Um, so I rushed to the stage when I knew he was going to play, rushed to the stage, and he pretty much rocked out in front of me for a whole hour. And he was pretty much 3ft away from me.

I was just vibing. I had goosebumps. I was in awe. I couldn't believe it. So that was an added bonus. And to see him and whip out his guitars. He just recently came out with, um, a Fender version

his beloved strat. He actually believed it was a 1959 strat for the longest time. But when Fender got a hold of it to replicate it, they actually broke the news to him that it was actually a 1960 strat. So all these years he was duped. But regardless, it looks awesome.

They did a custom strat of his, the exact replica, and it was just a ridiculous amount of money. But recently they did a run where, um, it was like a mass produced replica of his strat. That's about two grand, I believe. And

him being one of my guitar heroes, wanted to get it. However, I didn't want to get it before meeting him because you know how it goes, right? Meeting someone that you really admire and there's always this slight little possibility of them ruining it for you, right? Ruining that experience and ruining their image of how you think of them, right?

Because they could always be like an ahole or

They're human, right? So depending on how they're feeling that day, they may be having a bad day and just not giving you the vibes that you want. And so I actually told myself, like, all right, I'm going to meet this guy m. And you know what? I'm going to wait.

I'm going to wait to buy this guitar because what if he treats me like crap? It's not going to have a good feeling every time I pick it up.

I'm happy to say I am currently saving up to get that guitar and I will put it up on my wall beside the picture of me and Mike giving a thumbs up and him having his arms around me. It was unbelievable. First of all, he's just the nicest guy.

And I walked up to him and I had this leather jacket on. And the first thing he tells me is, hey, nice leather jacket.

And I was just, like, speechless. I was like, oh, my God. Here I am just about to tell him how he's my God. And he's the one that starts off first by complimenting me on something.

totally flipped the narrative. And, um, yeah, I just was so happy to look him in the eye, shake his hand and tell him, hey, thanks a lot for your music. Your solo for live changed my life. Your music changed my life. I'm so appreciative. Thank you. And you know what?

He looked at me and says, hey, man, thanks so much. I really appreciate that he meant it. He probably has heard this a million times, someone coming up to him, but he was just generally happy that I told him that. And, um, offered some picks. Said, hey, man, do you want some picks?

Reached into his pocket and offered me a ton of picks, which I'm going to cherish. And, um, said, hey, yeah, you want a picture? Put his arm around me and boom, budy of mine took the picture of my life and it was definitely a highlight of my life. I'll never forget it.

Mike M was so, yeah, uh, you know, the bonus on top of that, I actually got to meet his beautiful wife, saw his kids there. Got to hang out for a bit.

it was just such a magical night.

it's something I can always go back to right whenever I'm not getting any good vibes or whatever, I can always look back to that, look at that guitar, look at that picture, hopefully, and just get reminded of that moment and why life is great. Life is great that you have these moments of inspiration, and we all have something that we love and a passion that we're into.

And just having these moments of reminders of, hey, this is why you live. This is what makes you feel alive, is just amazing.

I know you're never going to watch this video, but

Thank you so much for your music, first of all, and thank you for such a beautiful experience. It was only a couple of minutes of my life, but it was definitely a highlight of my life and a moment that I'll never forget. So thank you, Mike. And so that's why

this means a lot to me, just reading this and being able to bring this article to you all.

let's get right into the article. Thanks for listening. Just wanted to share that with you.

Q. A Mike McCready, the Pearl jam guitarist, on Smashed Stratocasters, screaming solos, and why his band need their asses kicked. Interview by Henry Yates. Let's get into quit.

As the Rolling Stones reminded us with this year's long awaited new album, Hockney Diamonds. The bigger the band, the slower it moves. With four years elapsed since Pearl Jam's last studio release, Gigaton, they might be positively stately these days compared to the early 90s alt rockers who spat out almost an album a year.

as guitarist Mike McCready tells us, with a north american tour in full swing and new music mooted for 2024, they're still alive and kicking. Oh, awesome. That is awesome. They're coming out with one this year. I was wondering about that. Really cool.

feels like a long time since the release of Prill Jam's 2020s album. Gigaton

Gigaton, are the band less prolific than they used to be, or is that just what happens to big bands?

Mike responds. Late Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell once said something to me,

he passed, we did a mad season concert with the Seattle Symphony, and he said, you can get 80 musicians to show up in an orchestra all on time, but you can never get five guys in a band to show up. When we get together in Pill Jam, the music is a priority, but we all have our own lives, but we still play as a unit like no other five guys do.

It's because we've been through so much for 30 years. The history, the dynamics, the stupid jokes, all that stuff comes back. I got to say, they are so tight as a band when you go see them. Obviously, I've seen them a ton of times, but what I love about Pearl Jam is that they leave room within their set and within some songs for some jam time and a lot of improv and just to see where the music goes.

So that's what I love about Pearl Jam. It's just great. There are tons of people who follow them, just kind of like the Grateful Dead, that kind of follow them on tour, city to city.

around 30 years, that tends to happen.

when can we expect the next Pearl Jam album?

hoping it's going to come out next year. We have a bunch of sounds tracked. We worked with Andrew Watt, who is a younger pop producer type guy, but he's really a rock guy at heart. I think we're his favorite band.

Andrew Watt is a hot

producer right now. I believe he did Odyssey, Osborne's latest album, and also Eddie Vetter's last solo album. So he's a pretty wanted guy right now. When we were in the studio with him this past year, he really kicked our asses, got us focused and playing song after song. It took a long time to make Gigaton, but this one didn't take long.

Angela was like, you guys take forever to make records. Let's do this right now. What does the new material sound like? It's a lot heavier than you'd expect. Yes. Yeah. Yes. Come on, Pearl jam. Give us a vitalogy in there. Give us a. No, uh, code. Some anger. That's what I'm looking for.

There's a melody and energy of the first couple of records Andrew pushed us to play as hard and melodic and thoughtful as we've done in a long time. I feel like Matt Cameron's drumming has elements of what he did in Soundgarden.

For better or worse, you're gonna hear a lot more lead guitar from me. Stuff I haven't done in a long time. All right, Mike. Yes. That's what I've been missing. His long ass solos. I feel like they went away from that as of recent albums. But, man, that's really good to hear.

I went crazy, like, with Chris Cornell and Temple of the Dog on reach down, 1991, all those years ago. Wow. Reach down. There's a song you need to stream right now. Pause this video and go listen to reach down by Temple of the dog. Chris Cornell and Mike McCready exchange solo licks back and forth, back and forth for at least ten minutes.

It's freaking amazing. Orgasmic is what I would describe that song.

got to do it again. Wicked. Usually the first or second takes are best.

that, I start thinking about it, and it doesn't have the feel. But Andrew caught the lightning in a bottle, as they say. Wicked. Man, I can't wait to hear that.

This year, Fender issued a seriously beat up, uh, Mike McCready signature guitar? Yeah. Like I was saying earlier, in the beginning,

based on my 1960 Stratocaster.

know, that thing is a workhorse. I really get into it when I'm playing live, and I'm not faking it, I'm feeling it. So I'll start picking really hard, and then I'll take the top off the paint. For 30 years, I really beat that thing down, but not to the point of breaking it.

It's even got a chip out of the top where I tried to take out a speaker once.

not far off 60 now. Do you still check in with your inner punk kid?

think that kid still comes out, but he's a lot less full of anxiety now.

in the early days on the first couple of records, when everything was blowing up, it was always like, oh, shit, it's all going to fall apart. I feel like we've got to this point now where we can do whatever we want.

Yes. The elder statesman.

band's frontman, Eddie Vetter, is a socially conscious man. The state of the US must be killing him.

Mike responds, oh, yeah. I think Ed has always been very aware of everything that's going on and always fighting for the underdog. Certainly America has got so many fucked up issues. Guns, racism, that idiot trump, all that stuff has always been there. But you have to be aware of it and consciously fight it, because you want this to be a better world if you're a good human.

And I see Ed as that. And hopefully we are. We try to be proactive and solution oriented and not sit back and do nothing. You know, one thing I really admire and inspires me about Pearl jam is that they have this foundation called the Vitality foundation, where each band member picks a couple of charities that they feel really strongly about.

And throughout the year, for concerts and through their website and through all these activities that they do, they raise money and contribute to all these charities. Man, I'm telling you, man, can't beat that.

Jam are out on the road right now. How's it going?

passion of the crowd and the excitement of playing, there's still nothing like it.

want to be the best you can be. It took a second to get into it, you know, I played even flow, not as well as I wanted to the other night, so I was kind of pissed.

I just want to keep getting better.

Playing Chicago was exciting because Ed's from there. And we brought Chris Cellios from the Blackhawks hockey team up on stage and surprised him by telling him they were retiring his number. Wow. Very cool. Little memories like that.

You know what? Eddie Vetter deserves a number up there in a stadium. That's how important he is.

Okay, all right, I might be biased. I might be biased.

How many guitars do you reckon you smashed on stage during your career? Over my lifetime, maybe 50 this year. I haven't smashed any, but the year is not over yet. Never say never,

You know what? Smashing, uh, a guitar is definitely a prerequisite for any really cool rock guitar player and rock star, so. Hey, Mike, you know what? You go, Mike, you go.

what's the best thing you've heard in rock and roll this year? I've been listening to deep sea diver pop rock band based in Seattle a lot this year. I'm excited about the new Thunder pussy record they're putting out, but I'm mainly stuck in historical stuff. Like, I'll say, okay, I'm going to listen to the Beatles until I figured it out.

Good luck there, Mike. I've always listened to english bands because everything from England is the best in my mind. Yeah, speaking of Thunder Pussy. So when I went to see Mike, he played with Thunder Pussy. Actually, he didn't play with Pearl Jam, uh, when he was, like, 3ft away from me and just sweating all over me.

Um, but that was cool. If you haven't seen Thunder pussy, they're an amazing all girl band that Mike is really promoting.

not sure he's producing them, but he's definitely kind of, like, managing seriously promoting them. But regardless, outside of that, this really cool, legitimate rock band, Thunderpussy. Go check them out.

What do you think are the best and worst things that could happen in 2024? Mike responds, oh, God. Well, if Trump got elected, that'd be the worst thing in the world to me. I'd rather think about the best things that can happen.

we have to come together. We have to be compassionate. We have to take care of the environment. We have to not be racist. We have to not be idiots. There's all these things we can do, but we have to choose to think that way. All right, Mike,

says here the fender Mike McCready Stratocaster Guitar is available now via Fender.com. Yeah, it's been out for a while now.

you go. That is the interview. Short and sweet. I gotta say, out of all the videos, this has got to be my favorite interview. Mike McCready, my guitar hero.

McCready is really teasing me with this latest Pearl jam album here. He's making it sound like it's going to be awesome. You know what? The last couple of Pearl Jam albums, they were okay, but I think they're due for, like, a really freaking rocking one. Energetic bunch of solos.

Kind of like the first four untouchable albums. If it's, like, remnants, even if it's half as, uh, similar to the first four albums, man, they would make my year. I can't wait. Obviously, I really enjoyed this article. I hope you did, too. Um, I doubt you enjoyed it as much as I did.

I'm a little biased, obviously. But if you did enjoy it, smash that, like, button hit. Subscribe. I'm going to do my best to bring you all these articles from our favorite at rock stars, all right? So in the meantime, rock one louder.

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