rEd mozziE: MAD SEASON - a Mike McCready side project

MAD SEASON
Mike McCready's side project

THE BAND:

Layne Staley - [Alice in Chains]
vocals, guitar

Mike McCready - [Pearl Jam]
electric and acoustic guitars

John Baker Saunders
electric bass

Barrett Martin - [Screaming Trees]
drums, percussion, upright bass, cello, marimba, vibes

THE ALBUMS:
Above [1995]

MAD SEASON is .. Mike McCready's sideproject. This started out as a jam session amongst friends which later evolved to something a littl' more .. the end result of that littl' something being .. MAD SEASON. McCready called upon a coupla mates in Barrett Martin [drummer from the Screaming Trees] and John Saunders [a blues bassist McCready had met] for a get together for a bit of fun settin' up informal jam sessions. Anyways with all these sounds happening McCready called Layne Staley [Alice in Chains frontman] in on the action .. and with the arrival of he .. also came a head full of ideas .. lyric wise¡ =)
Like the members in BRAD, given the guys background .. what came out of these jam sessions was nothing like the sound the guys were known for in their respective bands. Instead MAD SEASON offers heavy rock with a touch of the blues blended into it .. the sound's unique and the guys had a good thang happenin' there.
These guys did call themselves "the Gacy Bunch" [homage to John Wayne Gacy] when they played at the local clubs .. but had their name changed to MAD SEASON [an English expression for the time of year when hallucinogenic "psilocybin" mushrooms are in full bloom] after realizin' that what they were doin' could be more than just getting together and having the odd gig at the clubs. And so with alls that .. recording was the next step¡ and can you believe it only took the guys 10 days to cut it¡¿ the result bein' the album "Above" with the 11 tracks you get on it .. it bein' recorded at Bad Animal Studios in Seattle and co-produced by MAD SEASON and Brett Eliason
.. the guys had MAD SEASON changed to DISINFORMATION and was said to be recording under the new name. Although the music was written it was just the vocals that was to be recorded .. Staley apparently dropped out and was said to be replaced by Mark Lanegan [Screaming Trees] .. unfortunately with that there were no new sessions arranged .. so's nothing came out of it. Their bassist, John Baker Saunders passed away on the 14^th, January 1999 in what was thought to be a heroin overdose. Layne Staley later passed away of a heroin/cocaine overdose on the 5^th April 2002 [coincidentally, on the anniversary of Kurt Cobain's suicide]

Here's an excerpt from McCready's tribute to Saunders, but if you wanna check out the full tribute you can do so HERE. It's a damn shame .. cuz I woulda lurved to have heard more of their music and whatever else they made have had out there for their listeners ..
"Baker gave me the confidence to start songwriting, something I had not experienced before. He also taught me the blues, encouraging me to explore this aspect of music, something I had not previously experienced. He could lead a dark side of music with intense feeling, but within that, a positive musical experience would bloom. I have fond memories of playing with him at the Crocodile Cafe, RKCNDY and the Moore Theatre. The local support we received blew all of our minds. He was very proud of "Above" [Epic, 1995], the record we created, and of those concerts, and would tell us so again and again."

BACK .. PEARL JAM .. BACK
".. we wash away with the rain .. see you all from time to time .. isn't it so strange .. how far away we all are now"
LONG DAY GONE
ABOVE

BACK .. PEARL JAM .. BACK

ALBUM: Above
RELEASED: 7^th March 1995
LENGTH: 55:38
TRACK LISTING:
Wake Up [7:39]
X-Ray Mind [5:12]
River of Deceit [5:04]
I'm Above [5:44]
Artificial Red [6:19]
Lifeless Dead [4:28]
I Don't Know Anything [5:01]
Long Gone Day [4:51]
November Hotel [7:07]
All Alone [4:13]

NOTES: PRODUCED BY: Brett Eliason and Mad Season .. RECORDED AND MIXED BY: Brett Eliason .. SECOND ENGINEERS: Sony Felho and Sam Hofstedt .. RECORDED AND MIXED AT: Bad Animals, Seattle, WA .. MASTERED BY: Howie Weinberg at Masterdisk, New York City, NY .. ADDITIONAL: Mark Lanegan [Screaming Trees] - vocals on "I'm Above" and "Long Gone Day" .. Nalgas Sin Came - saxaphone on "Long Gone Day"

WAKE UP
vStaley, McCready, Martin, Saundersv

Wake up young man .. it's time to wake up
Your love affair has got to go
For 10 long years .. for ten long years
The leaves to rake up
Slow suicide's no way to go, oh
Blue .. clouded grey
You're not a crack up
Dizzy and weakened by the haze
Moving onward
So an infection not a phase
Yeah .. oh
The cracks and lines from where you gave up
They make an easy man to read, oh
For all the times you let them bleed you
For little peace from God you plead, and beg
For little peace from God you plead
Ahhaahh .. Yeah .. Ahhaahh .. Yeah .. Ahhaahh .. Yeah
Wake up young man .. wake up .. wake up
Wake up .. wake up .. wake up .. wake up
Oh .. yeah
Wake up young man .. it's time to wake up
Your love affair has got to go .. yeah
For 10 long years .. for ten long years
The leaves to rake up
Slow suicide's no way to go .. oh
Slow suicide's no way to go
Wake up .. wake up .. wake up
Wake up .. wake up .. wake up