Mike McCready has written a rock opera about the history of grunge

The guitarist of Pearl Jam, Mike McCreadyannounced the release of a rock opera based on the Seattle music scene of the mid-’80s to mid-’90s, the era that saw the rise of the grunge movement. ‘Farewell to Seasons’this is the title, will also be published on October 6th as a graphic novel.

“Farewell to seasons” will be released on an album featuring the bassist of Guns N’ Roses Duff McKagan, Stefan Lessard (Dave Matthews Band) and Mike Musburger (Fastbacks, Posies), as well as Chris Friel of the Shadowthe band McCready led before he was invited to join Temple Of The Dog in 1990.

Interviewed by the US magazine Spin, the 59-year-old musician said: “I started working on it during Covid. I called Cameron Crowe and asked him some questions like: ‘Hey, I would like to work on a rock opera and I have this idea’, without thinking that it would turn into a graphic novel or something like that. Originally, it was supposed to be a musical theater show. Cameron gave me excellent advice and ideas, including “11th hour song”, designed to be a highlight of the show towards the end of a musical. So I started writing a screenplay with three characters, almost a historical novel set in the Seattle music scene from the mid-1980s to about 1995.”

Mike McCready he goes on to explain: “One of the main characters is David Williams, inspired by myself. There is a female character named Angela Sunrise and another named Jonathan Alexander, who represents our tragic figure. The idea came to me when I thought about all the singers who came from the Seattle scene and how many of them have since disappeared. Was it worth it for them? It’s a question I try to answer, but I don’t know the answer. Why did people become so passionate about the music that was produced in Seattle?”.

The graphic novel ‘Farewell To Seasons’ is published by the Z2 publishing house, which has already created works of the same genre based on “Holy Diver” Of God, “Screaming For Vengeance” of the Judas Priest And “Piece Of Mind” of the Iron Maidenas well as comics inspired by characters from the rock universe such as Pantera, Primus, Type O Negative, Joan Jett, Grateful Dead, Mötley Crüe, Doors, Anthrax, Public Enemy and others still.

Rantz A. Hoseleyeditor-in-chief of Z2, said: “Having been at the heart of the Northwest music scene as a journalist in the 1990s, I have wanted for years to work on a project that accurately reflects the experience musicians and fans had when ‘the world came to Seattle’. I can say, without any hyperbole or exaggeration, that I feel my entire creative life has led me to this book, and I feel truly fortunate to be able to help bring Mike’s beautiful and touching story to the world.”