Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready Names Favorite Songs to Play Live

2012-05-24

Story by Charles Ken

Pearl Jam guitarist says ‘Black’ holds a special place in his grunge rock heart

With so many great Pearl Jam songs out there, it’s hard to pick a favorite. That said, imagine how difficult it would be to pick a favorite tune if you were actually a member of Pearl Jam.

In a new interview with Artist Direct, Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready picked his five favorite Pearl Jam songs to play live, and while some are staples, others are lesser-known gems: “Alive,” “Black,” “Off He Goes,” “Inside Job” and “The Who’s Baba O’Reilly.”

“Black,” McCready says, holds a special place in his grunge rock heart. “Off of ‘Ten,’ I also really like to play ‘Black.’ For me, the solo definitely gives me space,” he said. “I stay to the one main part, and then I try to expand on that every night we play it. If I’m not thinking about it—I’m just going, my eyes are closed, and I can see the guitar neck in my head—that’s when I’m playing it the best. I can’t force that to happen though. That just happens sometimes. If I start thinking about it too much, I’m not doing it as well.

“It’s a weird paradox. I have to be spiritually motivated by it somehow [Laughs]. I could be keying off of Eddie’s vocals or the drums and bass we’re doing. The number one is to forget it and just go.”

McCready is currently keeping busy with his UFO cover band, Flight to Mars, who are touring the west coast this month. Meanwhile, Pearl Jam continue to work on their upcoming album, which the band are hoping to release in 2013.

 




Charles Ken
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