In a recent issue of Guitarist magazine, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam shared insights into how Stevie Ray Vaughan’s music left an impact on his band’s sound.
McCready highlighted his love for Vaughan, noting that the guitarist’s performance of ‘Voodoo Child’ helped him grasp Jimi Hendrix’s style in the ’70s and ’80s when he was still learning guitar.
Revealing that cover’s influence on 1992’s ‘Even Flow,’ he commented:
“When he did ‘Voodoo Child,’ it was so bad-a**. He changed how I wanted to play, and if you listen to ‘Even Flow,’ you can hear me trying to emulate his stuff.”
Vaughan’s Influence On McCready’s Career
Before Pearl Jam was formed in 1990, McCready considered quitting music. In the ‘Enormous: The Gorge Story‘ documentary, he revealed that one of Vaughan’s concerts motivated him to continue playing after a year-long break.
Saying working on music was ‘a long struggle’ from the age of 11 to ‘about 22,’ the Pearl Jam guitarist explained:
“It was fun, but it wasn’t really happening, and I felt like, ‘I’ve got to figure out what I’m going to do here.’ I was kind of lost.”
Watching Vaughan on stage was a life-changing experience for him:
“After seeing him play here, that was an amazing kind of spiritual change for me. The next day, I was like, ‘I have to play the guitar again. I have to do it.’ That Stevie Ray Vaughan concert there at the Gorge put me back on the path to music. I know that for sure.”
McCready And Pearl Jam’s Years In Music
Pearl Jam’s first performance at the Gorge took place three years later in 1993, where they shared the stage with Neil Young and Blind Melon. This concert, occurring just before the release of their second album, ‘Vs.,’ gave fans a sneak peek of their upcoming music.
Decades later, in 2020, the band released their eleventh studio record and went on tour to support it. They are currently working on the follow-up to ‘Gigaton.’
