This is rock god Duff McKagan.
He is most well known for playing bass with these hooligans…
But the Seattle born musician had developed his musical chops with a few bands before landing in the unit that would propel him to the ultimate heights of rock stardom.
15 year old Duff would start a punk band called the Vains in which he played bass.
During that time, he also played guitar for another punk band called The Living. And for a 17 year old McKagan… opening for Husker Du and D.O.A. only solidified his path to rock.
Duff would go on to be part of the Fastbacks (as their drummer! showing how versatile he is as a musician). He also drummed for punk band The Fartz that eventually evolved into 10 Minute Warning.
And then in 1983 he moved to LA, met Steven Adler and Slash… and the rest is history as they say.
And while all that is known, not a lot of it is accessible to fans.
That’s why former The Living bandmate, and future Mother Love Bone drummer Greg Gilmore decided to release some recently unearthed The Living material.
“The Living was the beginning of all things Seattle for me – a turning point in my life,” Gilmore explains. “I joined a band and a community. These guys are still my brothers. I’ve cherished these recordings since the days we made them. This record is a fantastic document of a loaded moment. I love it.”
Considering Duff McKagan penned all seven of the tracks on “The Living: 1982”, it represents a solid chunk of material in the developing artists career.
Loosegrove Records (the label co-founded by Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard) plans on dropping the album in April of 2021.
When reached for a comment on this special release, Gossard said, “It doesn’t matter what year this music was recorded cause it is undeniable. But the fact that Duff, Greg, Todd and John created these fully realized songs in 1982 gives credence to the idea that this band, The Living, are ground zero for the Seattle sound.”
Check out some punk rock history:
