Editing Mike McCready (section)

===Early life===
Mike McCready was born in [[Pensacola, Florida]], but his family moved to [[Seattle]] shortly after his birth.<ref name="The Rock FM">The Rock FM. [http://www.therock.net.nz/Pearl-Jam-interview/tabid/431/articleID/6488/cat/175/Default.aspx Mike McCready interview on The Rock radio station] ''The Rock''. November 19, 2009.</ref> When he was a child, his parents played [[Jimi Hendrix]] and [[Carlos Santana|Santana]]; while his friends listened to [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]] and [[Aerosmith]], McCready would frequently play bongo drums.<ref name="Rotondi, James">Rotondi, James. [http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/gp194.shtml "Blood On the Tracks"]. ''[[Guitar Player]]''. January 1994.</ref> At the age of eleven, McCready purchased his first guitar and began taking lessons.

In eighth grade, McCready formed his first band, Warrior, whose name soon changed to Shadow. Originally a cover band playing during free periods at [[Roosevelt High School (Seattle, Washington)|Roosevelt High School]], the band eventually began writing original material and recording demo tapes.<ref name="goldmine">Greene, Jo-Ann. [http://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/gm082093_2.shtml "Intrigue and Incest: Pearl Jam and the Secret History of Seattle" (Part 2)]. ''[[Goldmine (magazine)|Goldmine]]''. August 20, 1993.</ref> After high school, McCready worked at a pizza restaurant where he befriended musician [[Pete Droge]].<ref>Alvarez, Tina. [http://emol.org/music/tina/droge.html "Pete Droge"]. EMOL Music. 1996.</ref> In 1986, Shadow relocated to Los Angeles and attempted to cut a record deal.<ref name="goldmine"/> However, according to McCready:

<blockquote>We played to a couple bartenders down there, but even though it was a bad scene, it was a good experience. Basically, we weren't that good of a band, and we didn't realize it until we got down there. I guess we lost our focus, got really bummed out and came back to Seattle.<ref name="Rotondi, James"/></blockquote>

In 1988, Shadow returned to Seattle and split up soon afterwards.<ref name="goldmine"/> McCready lost interest in playing guitar for some time, stating that he was "so depressed about life".<ref name="aledort">Aledort, Andy. [http://www.giventowail.com/new/mike/articles/gw700.php "Aural Exam"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050210155325/http://www.giventowail.com/new/mike/articles/gw700.php |date=February 10, 2005 }}. ''[[Guitar World]]''. July 2000.</ref> He cut his hair, enrolled in a local community college, and spent his nights working at a video store.<ref name="Rotondi, James"/> He credits a friend named Russ Riedner for getting him "out of my college mode and back into playing guitar".<ref name="Rotondi, James"/> McCready was inspired to pick up his guitar again after attending a [[Stevie Ray Vaughan]] concert at [[The Gorge Amphitheatre]] in [[George, Washington]]. McCready said:

<blockquote>As soon as he started "Couldn't Stand the Weather", these huge clouds rolled in overhead, and rain began pouring down. When the song ended, the rain stopped! It was like a religious experience, and it changed me. It lifted me out of the negative mindset I was in, and it got me playing again. I thank him forever for that.<ref name="aledort"/></blockquote>

McCready gradually went back to playing guitar and finally joined another band called Love Chile.<ref name="Rotondi, James"/> A childhood friend, [[Stone Gossard]], went to one of the band's shows and appreciated McCready's work after hearing him perform Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Couldn't Stand the Weather".<ref name="secondcoming">{{cite magazine | last = Hiatt | first = Brian | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/pearl_jam_the_second_coming | title = The Second Coming of Pearl Jam | magazine = [[Rolling Stone]] | date = June 16, 2006 | access-date = June 22, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090429081700/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/pearl_jam_the_second_coming/page/2 | archive-date = April 29, 2009 | url-status = dead }}</ref> Gossard had known McCready before high school when the two would trade rock band pictures with each other.<ref name="Rotondi, James"/> After the demise of Gossard's band [[Mother Love Bone]], he asked McCready if he wanted to play music together with him.<ref name="goldmine"/> After practicing with Gossard for a few months, McCready encouraged Gossard to reconnect with his fellow Mother Love Bone alum, [[Jeff Ament]].<ref name="secondcoming"/>