Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready recently reflected on meeting his musical heroes. He also shared how his former bandmate, drummer Matt Cameron, once received a cease and desist letter from KISS over a childhood cover band. McCready made the comments during a conversation with Chris Jericho.
McCready was asked whether he had the chance to meet any of his heroes as Pearl Jam began to explode. He was also asked whether he had ever crossed paths with KISS guitarist Ace Frehley.
“Did you get a chance to meet any of your heroes when Pearl Jam starts to explode? And did you get a chance to run into Ace Frehley or anybody or any of those guys?” the question read.
McCready described meeting Frehley years later. He recalled the moment Frehley joined the band onstage.
“I met Ace a little bit longer later on and he came out and did Black Diamond with us and Matt Cameron sang because Matt was in a in a KISS cover band in San Diego when he was a kid,” he said.
He then recounted how much attention Cameron’s teenage band attracted. That attention prompted a legal response from KISS.
“They actually got a cease and desist letter from KISS because they were getting so much attention in San Diego,” McCready said. “Can you imagine that? 16-year-old kids, and KISS was like, ‘These guys are gonna take our audience from us.'”
McCready noted that Cameron had been singing “Black Diamond” back then. He added that performing the song with Frehley was a lifelong milestone.
“Matt was would saying Black Diamond back then,” he said. “So when we met finally met Ace, we did that with him and you know it’s my dream come true. Like I known I was going to meet anybody from KISS when I was 14 or passed out. It doesn’t even make sense to me.”
He also mentioned meeting Keith Richards after Pearl Jam opened for him. He described the experience as part of the reward of a long career.
“So I did and I got to meet Keith Richards. Opened up for him, you know, and I’m just in awe of him and just you get around and so luckily, I’ve been able to meet a lot of a lot of my heroes, you know, and yeah, it’s just part of the thing that’s the icing on the cake again, you know,” he said.
The story of Cameron’s KISS cover band goes back to his early teens. The stage moment McCready describes has a well-documented history.
Frehley joined Pearl Jam at New York’s Madison Square Garden on June 25, 2008. He came out without his KISS makeup during the second encore for “Black Diamond.” Cameron handled the lead vocals. Frehley had also joined Pearl Jam onstage in 2005.
Cameron has spoken about the band himself. His neighborhood group played KISS songs at local events when he was a young teenager.
“I was in a neighborhood KISS cover band when I was 13, 14, something like that,” Cameron said. “We played local high schools, keggers, whatnot.”
That early band is part of a wider KISS influence within Pearl Jam. McCready has often named KISS as a formative favorite. Frehley’s guitar work shaped his playing. Frehley died at 74 in October 2025. McCready paid tribute to him afterward.
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