PEARL JAM'S MIKE McCREADY HONORED AT MUSICARES EVENT
Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready was honored last Thursday night (May 10th) at the Showbox in Seattle, where he was bestowed with the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award from MusiCares, the charity that supports musicians dealing with addiction. McCready was presented with the award by Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan, who said of his longtime friend, "Whenever I see you playing the guitar, I see the madness and beauty of an addict being set free.”
The all-star event also featured testimonials and performances from Heart’s Nancy Wilson, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Mike Ness of Social Distortion, Mudhoney’s Mark Arm and others there to celebrate McCready as well as their own sobriety. Many in attendance said that McCready helped get them on the path to recovery.
- McKagan said that McCready, his former high school friend, was the person he knew he could lean on if “the big red exit sign” of temptation was in sight.
- In his acceptance speech, McCready spoke of the multiple losses that the Seattle music community has endured over the last 30 years with the deaths of Kurt Cobain, Mother Love Bonefrontman Andy Wood and Soundgarden vocalist Chris Cornell.
- McCready also paid tribute to his late Mad Season bandmates, singer Layne Staley and bassist John Baker Saunders, by leading a performance of that band's "River Of Deceit."
- McCready performed throughout the evening, including numbers with his Stooges tribute band Raw Power and his UFO tribute act Flight To Mars.
Story source: Billboard
CHECK IT OUT: See a clip of McCready, Barrett Martin, Duff McKagan and Star Anna performing "River Of Deceit":
LINKIN PARK'S MIKE SHINODA PLAYS FIRST SOLO SHOWS SINCE CHESTER BENNINGTON'S DEATH
Linkin Park singer Mike Shinoda played his first solo shows since the death of the band's co-vocalist, Chester Bennington, on Saturday (May 12th) at the KROQ Weenie Roast in Los Angeles and Sunday (May 13th) at the Identity LA festival, also in L.A. Shinoda mashed up some Linkin Park songs along with his solo material, singing some of Chester Bennington’s parts from songs like “Bleed It Out.” He played “In The End” on piano and let the fans sing most of Chester’s vocal parts, though at times he came in and sang his parts.
Shinoda's set at the Identity LA festival was nearly twice as long since he was headlining, and featured a guest appearance from Linkin Pak DJ Joe Hahn during the song "Castle Of Glass." Shinoda and Hahn last performed together at Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington memorial show at the Hollywood Bowl in October 2017.
- Shinoda will release a new solo album, titled Post Traumatic, on June 15th.
- He has revealed that Deftones frontman Chino Moreno and rapper Machine Gun Kelly are among the guests who appear on the LP.
- Shinoda has said that he wants Linkin Park to continue, but that he isn’t sure how the band would go about doing that at this point in time.
Story source: Alternative Nation
CHECK IT OUT: Watch Shinoda's full set from the Weenie Roast: