Mike McCready Talks About Chris Cornell and his Friendship with Eddie Vedder

Interview originally aired on June 7, 2017. Mike McCready was promoting his book “Of Potato Heads and Polaroids: My Life Inside and Out of Pearl Jam”.
Full interview:
www.salon.com/2017/06/09/watch...

[@reinaldyroyani7718]

realize that Mike had work with 3 legendary grunge singer, Eddie Vedder, Chris Cornell, and Layne Staley! that's amazing!

[@juicymama462]

Reinaldy Royani ....and Mark Lanegan.

[@markwhincup7916]

Avtar Bansel yeah,lanegan is badly underated,so much great material from his solo and trees stuff,have all of it

[@reinaldyroyani7718]

oh sorry, my bad :( lanegan's such an underrated singer

[@bungle0261]

Reinaldy Royani oh well... at least we still get to see him in small, intimate venues :-)

[@JustinNoOriginBand]

And Andrew Wood. Without Andrew, there'd be no Pearl Jam.

[@michaelwiley5889]

McCready as always a total classy and nice guy. He has never once came off as a "rock star" even tho he plays lead guitar in one of the greatest bands of all time

[@sadieyoung1801]

Totally, always super polite and humble. He doesn't get enough recognition.

[@michaelwiley5889]

Sadie Young absolutely. to me the most underrated guitarist of all time. eddies voice is so legendary that people forget it's mikes hooks that pull people in at the beginning of the songs

[@Sea_witch_]

Michael Wiley definitely! he's always been pretty chill and such a huge part of that era and PJ itself, and now you can even tell that youthful and timeless attitude he's got. Yet they never mention him as one of the best guitarists of all time.

[@Joe1839]

Stone G. said something like that in the 20 documentary...he knew just who to recruit b/c McCready was such a natural, fantastic player. So great.

[@9foramusicalWorld]

He's my guitar God

[@Mysterywhiteboy78]

I like McCready....good guy.

[@brandinsaurusrex]

Great guy and awesome guitarist

[@StraightPunkEdge93]

Mysterywhiteboy78 He is the coolest dude ever.

[@brandinsaurusrex]

I K never was. Alcohol and Prescription med addictions in the past.

[@owner-mary-don4212]

Brandonsaurus64 : And with all that going against him, one of the most brilliant and soulful rock guitarist ever. nothing to spit on, just because of his life style. He did his job, and beautifully!

[@SuperStrik9]

Mike's always been my favorite member of PJ. Love his guitar playing.

[@jamesjacobs2029]

A Legend talking about a Legend.

[@podzimnice3547]

I think he hit the point. Apart from his musical talent and exceptional voice Chris was so unique because of his kind heart and beatiful soul.

[@Misrabelle]

I love how genuine he is when answering. So many 'celebrities' would pull out some stock standard answer, and leave it at that.

[@kat1york]

Love you Mike. You're such a sweetheart. God bless you all. Sorry for your loss. Sorry for our loss.

[@mdg3631]

Kudos to this interviewer... Sooooo many times I watch videos and they ask the question and constantly interrupt, she asked then hands them the mic... sure most of y'all would agree..

[@lcdguitar59]

Agreed. "I'm overanswering that", that's the kind of thing we're looking for in an interview, and she made it happen.

[@0BAAC0]

The hardest (and best) thing I learned as a journalist was knowing when to shut up. (Which is almost always.) No one wants to hear from you, and 9 times out of 10, you cut off an interesting train of thought by interrupting.

[@briankennedy7404]

0BAAC0 very true my friend the old less is more it would be nice to see more ppl in general adhere. Every body has to get there two bobs worth in.

[@bhobo09]

Mike McCready is and always was a class guy ..not boastful or arrogant, just class..

[@zritamoe7528]

Pure Class. McCready. When PJ played Saint Paul, MN, October 2014, Mike wore an Eclipse Records t-shirt onstage that night-- he had shopped the local record store that day. Absolute legend. The kind of celebrity you actually WANT on your bucket list, but know you'll never meet, so can only hope you'll cross paths in heaven someday. #Respect

[@pearljammersvideos]

go to seattle in may when he plays in flight to mars , he walks out of the venue after practice and talks to fans and takes pictures with you

[@PrecursorLegend]

I love Mike, what a cool and nice dude.

[@darthlazlo]

I got to meet Mike back in April of 92 before they got huge and he was the coolest guy. he talked to everyone that waited to meet them. even in his deepest drinking he was still a rad guy.

[@paulsinob]

I miss Chris, he was a beacon for me and now I feel kinda lost at sea.

[@richardherzog5405]

paulsinob Calm down and STOP idolizing

[@dlynn101]

why not you calm down and stop worrying about how total strangers live their lives? Better advice,

[@TXPRiNCEZZ09]

i feel lost too.

[@theonlyegg]

Same here. It's tough.

[@vinyldiary6664]

Mike McCready = Pure Class! One of the guys who tries to keep rock & roll alive! I drink to that!Is completely crazy, if we think of the quality that emerged from Seattle in those days! It was these bands that kept and saved rock! Just like anti-mainstream attitude, I love it! Pure class! No longer do bands like that, now they are trying to break sales records, with shitty music, and become millionaires!

[@Stormchaser189]

Love Mike and P.J. Great tribe of genuine humans. They all had such an unbreakable brotherly bond that I really envy. Respect to Mike for holding it together. I still get so sad when I hear Chris's voice, but it also consoles me to know he is still singing to me and all of us when we need to hear that heart felt healing voice. x

[@chantelofarrell804]

Aw, he seems so lovely.

[@beckyr9246]

Mike, you were so very fortunate to have been so close to Chris Cornell. can hear it in your voice how much you cared for him. I don't feel any of us will ever get over or accept his death. a one of a kind, Chris, a beautiful rare human being, missing you💗😢🎸✝💗

[@skeetschuler1859]

RIP Chris You're missed.

[@-jb89-35]

McCready and Cantrell were the best guitarists of the 90's

[@veroluisacarra4364]

👏👏

[@stoopid_goopid]

Veroluisa Carra kim thayil aswell

[@rumblefish9]

Jake B No offense to McCready but Cantrell is a GOD! Amazing songwriter too.

[@colgrey438]

@@rumblefish9 Cantrell is a God. But McCready is a bad man. Just listen to the Mad Season album, Mike is very reserved playing with PJ but he was really able to shine on the Mad Season album. His playing on that album to me is what makes it so great.

[@aavila1206]

Uh you’re forgetting Temple Of The Dog

[@petecatalano3843]

Its funny that Mike was like a nutso soundgarden fan, but when he played on temple of the dog Chris had the reaction to mikes playing. He didn't know mike was that talented and mentioned I feel like I've got a legit rockstar who can play anything!

[@MKYeahBuddy]

What a legend! Mike is such a true legend. He got to work with EVERYONE!

[@miless544]

Saw Mike play with Chris and the rest of TotD at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle on November 20th, 2016. All the guys looked to be having such a great time on stage, and put on one of the most memorable concerts I have ever seen. Six months later Chris was gone...

[@Mastercraft091]

I've really come to appreciate Mike and his talents more lately. I've never been a huge PJ fan, but Temple of the Dog and Mad Season are in my top 5.

[@Ljwinter77]

Thank you Mr. McCready!!!!!

[@LuvsDebbie]

Love McCready....awesome musician. :)

[@NicolePoliskey]

Mike definitely didn't over answer, I wish more musicians were this open. What he said is so relatable and such a beautiful reflection of Chris as a Human.

[@Sea_witch_]

Amazing Mike, what would PJ and the whole Seattle rock era be without you ♡

[@josephvalla155]

from down under australia with the whole Seattle's scene of rock welcomed in Melbourne especially...thank you to pearl jam Soundgarden auidioslave the brilliant songbook tour 2011 Chris Cornells and other bands,qotsa,kyuss,mark lanegan band,tool,Ben harper and the innocent criminals,songbook 2011 at the forum Melbourne billy bean cover and rest Soundgarden sydney Myer music bowl the best . r.I.p Chris Cornell..+

[@briankennedy7404]

Joseph Valla um she's talking Seattle crowd not Melbourne.

[@rse1113]

You can really tell how much Mike admired Chris and how much he misses his friend. Like he misses his big brother.

[@aschule5684]

Chris is a musician I'll never get over missing!

[@countvond233]

Class act that Mike. His fan boy comes shining through - genuine. He has a UFO cover band too. Aces in my book. Good people.

[@Sitnubs]

Mike is an awesome guy. I love PJ and miss Chris Cornell.

[@valhalla7408]

Sitnubs Seriously. I was lucky enough to meet Mike, he's so fucking cool it will blow your mind.

[@XxMrRoachxX]

So glad you kicked your bad habit Mike!!! What Layne couldn't achieve, you did, and I'm very glad about it because we still are able to enjoy your riffs and style. Love Mad Season and everything before and after with PJ and what not. Keep on rocking dude!!!

[@calbastian]

Mike seems so humble, he can shred with the best of them.

[@TheKillerQueenfan]

PJ + Soundgarden = ❤❤❤ forever! !!

[@davidmendenhall5888]

McCready is so versatile. He has his influences like SRV and Kiss that he stays connected to, but he is right there the whole way when the band wants to do punk or acoustic or whatever - even writing a bunch of their best songs

[@jillursich9737]

YOU rock MIke...Your guitar is par none!!..amazzzing....I MISS HIM SO MUCH..it hurts!!..I loved Temple...yrs ago..!!

[@chrissimpson6701]

A TRUE FRIEND OF CHRIS'. MUCH RESPECT FOR MIKE.

[@brettcomstock1156]

I saw Soundgarden. My God. The talent - effortless talent - that Chris Cornell had was dominating. I was already a “fan” of his, but to fully appreciate how incredible his voice and his presence were/are? You had to hear it live. And to me; Cornell is the greatest voice I have ever heard in music. Any genre....

[@inegma]

classy dude as always!

[@darthlazlo]

Chris and Andy are together again.

[@debby631]

Mike is amazingly kind& gifted in so many ways bless your heart & soul Mr. McCready. You are the gift that keeps on giving.😍😷🤘

[@pjokkenroll]

One of ny favourite guitarists. Seems like a nice guy too.

[@michaelrhodes192]

Met Mike at pj20( where’s the bootleg:))the pic of us is on the wall, what can I say amazing man .

[@marylupo3656]

What an amazing guitar player and great person!!!

[@ldahui]

What a great era for music that was, and still is

[@GIBKEL]

I bought the first Sound Garden Lp I saw come into our ma and pop record store in the later 80’s…Ultramega OK. Sometimes you buy a record just because you like the art. Needle touches down and I was hooked. I sure miss that Chris is not of this world anymore, but thankful for his art and that is immortal.

[@christianmeza4529]

Their sound was amazing. So many incredible voices that came out of that time. Hopefully we'll hear some great singers soon.

[@makeitstopthanx]

this made me cry...again. such a loss💔

[@phillyg9697]

Thanks for the music, Mike! Been a fan since day one. ✌

[@ETBlair]

Total class act! Great man.

[@tammyh.1769]

awesome, interview.

[@instruMENTAL183]

Great question, great answer. Don't understand why anyone would give this a thumbs down

[@spjfrat]

5 months later and still in pain over this. I haven’t been able to listen to an entire cd yet. RIP

[@Oneironaut9]

One of the best to come out of Seattle of that era?! He was the best to come out of anywhere just about any time. Underrated if anything.

[@christopherdougherty7740]

My mentor guitar player!! Mr Mike McCready!

[@Kyle-dj2gv]

Mike McCready is one of the greatest guitarist ever. Definitely a major influence and inspiration for me as a guitar player.

[@wassuhmufusaLOL]

RIP bb

[@100078kz]

his sound is incredible,no denying that.!!!!!!

[@luvpants2012]

For anyone that hasn't discovered Euphoria Mourning yet, give the entire album a listen. You're in for a real treat. Just found it a couple of months ago and haven't stopped listening to it. Start on track 3.

[@brendaluna173]

how shitty is life, getting old and losing the people you hanged out with in your youth, like Andrew,Layne and now Chris you have all those memories and you realize how much they meant to you.

[@thejohnson9204]

Mike is a boss!!!

[@craigdavies8971]

Love this guy amazing guitarist

[@j9andphoenix]

Thanks for the upload - lovely interview -never heard anyone say anything bad about Chris.

[@erikgettig]

j9andphoenix Yeah u hit it on the head...Chris helped, soothed, related, inspired so many people, not just musicians. Nice post

[@emanuela9765]

Great Man ❤️

[@zamm9580]

Appreciate your opinion greatly #MikeMcCready. I'm still grieving over Chris. It definately will leave a scar on my heart.

[@tophergreen5095]

McCready geeking out? Awesome.

[@daveb4841]

Mad Season

[@blackcircle96]

McMelty is a real one! Love him! .. and we miss Chris too! Sad 😕

[@danthefisherman3996]

Why is it our that genre(grunge)the greatest and most pure has been wiped totally clean out of existence(except for Pearl Jam) and yet there are people like Keith Richards that are still around. It's a rotten shame,and for Chris Cornell who by leaps and bounds is the greatest rock singer to have ever step up to a microphone to be brought down while still singing at a very high level is devastating. I'm a grown 42 year old military veteran and I still haven't fully recovered from his death. Something has to be brought to light on this. I don't mean stuff like investigating his death.i mean look into the many shady circumstances that have happened to all of these guys who we have lost. I don't know,I guess I'm just lost looking for something that has all but ended. Thanks for reading!

[@paullydon222]

Dan the Fisherman because so many of the greats of "grunge" have passed

[@thesiennasmusic]

The fast simple answer is when kurt died it all stopped, but not completly a massive force thats power trickled away slowly ( examples might are albulms after kurts death being made during or just after , its slowly trickled down into horse shit we hear now - cause kurts not around

[@baronfyrewhine]

The Sienna LOL

[@sarahboller5912]

Dan the fisherman idk why they aren't here anymore only God knows why, but we still can listen to Chris and the others..I want to say a big thank you for serving our country sir !*☆❤☆💙

[@Akva77]

Well KR must have been lucky he lives on borrowed time or how you say😱KC and CC killed themselves i suppose they were depressed and sad...dark and without joy inside etc thats why they are not here anymore :/ ...dont remember how LS died....i wasnt into grunge much it was more metal where i lived but i liked Black hole sun and spoonman its since after 30 i started to like and listen to grunge and CC....god i loved CC :( idk why they all die....we will all die but they died to young.

[@oldschoolhawking8191]

I think Mike's the best guitar player out there right now. OSH :-)

[@tracyhooks3631]

Love YOU Mike❤

[@philkearney0577]

Mike is such a fuckin master guitarist!

[@latetodagame1892]

Mike is so cool.

[@MsSquirl00]

We all miss him 😭😭😭

[@chrissimpson6701]

Mike was truly a friend of Chris'. I don't believe it about everybody.

[@awill891]

I love how all of these Seattle "rock stars" are the most down to earth people!

[@bigbabyheyzoos7233]

Hey Shirley, What was Mike McCreedy drinking in the clear plastic cup in this video?

[@rossraguse]

Great View (Interview) Thank You Amanda Thank You Mike, very very bright all said is true Chris was = GOD

[@jfb1188]

So many fake Eddie tribute to Chris Cornell videos by people searching for likes. This is the only video I've seen by a member of Pearl Jam commenting on the loss of Chris. Which is ok, grief should be private.

[@zeruchofficial]

Chris Cornell with a Fishbone hat...and a Mr Potato Head.

[@tsadkiel2008]

What 3 people dislike this? Oh, they hate their lives and they are pure shit of their surroundings.

[@user-eu7fq6hs6f]

My grandma looks like Mike.

[@wendymessina4462]

Never heard anything bad about Chris...he really must have been a great guy!

[@TheTestingGrounds]

Note to anyone who ever does an interview with someone who came out of the Seattle rock scene in the early 90's.....don't refer to the music as GRUNGE. When you put a label on it (or any music for that matter) you are limiting it. To McCready's credit he's played with three of the best vocalists to come out of Seattle.

[@seattleite6631]

TheTestingGrounds I'm not sure where that label came from, but nobody self-identified with it Seattle. I don't know where it originated. The media latched on to it though.

[@absea7918]

Supposedly, it was Mark Arm of Mudhoney - it was not intended to be a complimentary term, he was just being... Mark Arm. It became internationally known as the Grunge scene, though no one in it (including myself) thought their band played "grunge".

[@simonedevlin7710]

Chris and his gifts RIP.

[@EmilioExploring]

The hiking story is a funny one.

[@deedeesilvers3710]

Long live LAYNE STALEY.. Chris...Andrew..Kurt..Scott..and U2chester!!!....

[@Mkj8500]

He was the best to come out of Seattle.

[@bvalentineself812]

If only Vedder or any or them were the kind of friends who would come out asking the real questions!

[@conniehokanson119]

Yes!

[@russwilson2305]

Everybody had that Alice and Chains sun tattoo in the 90's.

[@AvaMaino]

what does it mean "sorry, he was" on 2:16 did M.Cameron leave or there's no more PJ?

[@ShirleyCobain]

He said "sorry, anyways".

[@AvaMaino]

thanks!

[@May-ve6sr]

This is always going to hurt.

[@rafaelrenno]

I wish Mike would overanswer more. :/

[@jacinto1477]

If your band has the blessing from chris cornell, it s guaranteed that kicks ass

[@ash-xr6ri]

they’d go on hikes :”)

[@melorafoy7109]

Does anyone know if Eddie said anything about Chris? Last I heard he hadn't, but I'm sure it was devastating for him.

[@ShirleyCobain]

He did. www.rollingstone.com/music/news/read-eddie-vedders-tribute-to-older-brother-chris-cornell-w486208

[@conniehokanson119]

Yeah Eddie smart to stay quiet because there is so much more to the stort

[@metalface8615]

can someone pls explain the eye anomaly on chris cornells eye because it looks bad weird!

[@lightpinkclover8230]

So crazy to know what all came from Seattle and how ALL of grunge ended.

[@TheNorthwestWind]

RIP

[@petecatalano3843]

Its been bothering me more than usual that chris, curt and layne all ended up victims of what depression can lead to! Three brilliant artists who were robbed of realizing their full potential!