Biography

Michael David McCready (born April 5, 1966) is an American musician who serves as the lead guitarist for the American rock band Pearl Jam, a band he co-founded. He has also been a member of the side project bands Flight to Mars, Temple of the Dog, Mad Season and The Rockfords.

McCready was born in Pensacola, Florida, USA, but his family moved to Seattle shortly after his birth. As a child, his parents played Hendrix and Santana, while his friends listened to KISS and Aerosmith; McCready would frequently play bongo drums. At the age of 11, McCready purchased his first guitar and began taking lessons—aiming to imitate Gene Simmons of KISS, by sticking his tongue out.

Shadow split up soon afterwards, and McCready lost interest in guitar for some time, before finally joining another band called Love Chile. A high school friend, Stone Gossard, heard the band, appreciated McCready's work, and asked if he wanted to join a band he was forming. The two worked together and recruited bassist Jeff Ament. Together with drummer Dave Krusen (who would later be replaced by Matt Chamberlain, then Dave Abbruzzese, then Jack Irons, and currently Matt Cameron) and Eddie Vedder, the group formed the band Pearl Jam (originally known as Mookie Blaylock).

It was during this time that McCready took a central role in the Temple of the Dog project, combining members of Soundgarden and Pearl Jam. Mikes first recording studio experience was recording the Temple of the Dog album, including an epic 4-minute-plus solo for "Reach Down." According to drummer Matt Cameron, McCready's headphone monitors flew off halfway through the recording of the solo, and he played the rest without being able to hear the backing track. McCready still considers this track to be his greatest achievement.

By the end of 1991, Pearl Jam became one of the most famous modern bands with the release of Ten. McCready frequently soloed, and added a blues touch to the music (influenced by Stevie Ray Vaughan). McCready's guitar style is usually an aggressive bluesy nature, and he never plays the same solo twice. His live renditions of songs have slightly different solos due to his fondness of improvization, and sometimes he treats the crowd to a full-on improv. He is extremely energetic live, and is commonly found dashing around the stage, playing to the crowd, throwing plectrums and soloing with the guitar behind his head.

The Beach Boys

(43 Votes)

6.674

A celebration of the legendary band that revolutionized pop music, and the iconic, harmoni...

Relase Date : 21 May, 2024

Documentary

Music

Trailer Details

You Gotta Believe

(52 Votes)

7.308

After dedicating the season to a teammate’s ailing father, a group of underestimated Ft....

Relase Date : 30 Aug, 2024

Family

Drama

Trailer Details

Fat Kid Rules The World

(44 Votes)

6.727

A dropout comes to the aid of a chubby and suicidal high-school kid by recruiting him as t...

Relase Date : 5 Oct, 2012

Drama

Comedy

Trailer Details

Gleason

(56 Votes)

8.357

At the age of 34, former New Orleans Saints defensive back Steve Gleason was diagnosed wit...

Relase Date : 30 Jul, 2016

Documentary

Trailer Details

The Story of Plastic

(12 Votes)

8.1

The Story of Plastic is a seething expose uncovering the ugly truth behind the current glo...

Relase Date : 3 Oct, 2019

Documentary

Trailer Details

Sadie

(19 Votes)

6.842

While her father is away serving in the military, Sadie battles to preserve his place on t...

Relase Date : 12 Oct, 2018

Drama

Trailer Details

Pearl Jam: Touring Band 2000

(21 Votes)

7.595

28 songs filmed entirely with handheld cameras by Pearl Jam crew members across 19 differe...

Relase Date : 1 May, 2001

Music

Trailer Details

Pearl Jam Twenty

(118 Votes)

7.75

Carved from over 1,200 hours of footage spanning the band’s career, Pearl Jam: Twenty is...

Relase Date : 20 Sep, 2011

Documentary

Music

Trailer Details

Pearl Jam: Single Video Theory

(16 Votes)

7.531

This video is not your typical collection of music videos. Rather than being simply a stra...

Relase Date : 4 Aug, 1998

Music

Documentary

Trailer Details

Pearl Jam: Let's Play Two

(25 Votes)

7.7

Let’s Play Two is a documentary film that chronicles Pearl Jam’s legendary performance...

Relase Date : 29 Sep, 2017

Music

Documentary

Trailer Details