by Shadow, Mike McCready’s first band, will be taking the stage tonight as Easy Street Records in West Seattle at 7:45 to release something they recorded thirty years ago when, judging by the cover art, they were in the late teens, early twenties at the oldest. It’s great that McCready, with everything he has going in Pearl Jam, has kept in touch with the guys in the band, even better that they still play shows. After seeing them reunite at the Tractor in December 2011, there were rumors of them looking to release some of the old recordings, but they didn’t materialize. I spoke briefly with McCready at the debut show for Walking Papers at Slim’s Last Chance in August of 2012, and he indicated at that time that he hadn’t spoken to the Shadow guys in a little while and wasn’t sure when or if Shadow would release anything. It was disappointing because I liked the band. I had liked Rick Friel’s (Shadow bassist) enthusiam for the music. I asked him for a copy of the recordings back then, and though he was reluctant to give me one of the few remaining copies that were then only on cassette, he did offer to let me hear it in the comfort of his pickup truck while talking about the music. Can’t remember why, but I never did that and afterward regretted it as the music wasn’t released. I thought my opportunity missed.
Thankfully, Friel’s enthusiasm seems to have triumphed, which makes me very glad to say it’s finally here.
Hopefully, I’ll get the scoop from Friel tonight on how it all came about and what the future holds in store. Copies of the single will be available at Easy Street and also at the following locations online.
Pearl Jam Ten Club members can purchase it on vinyl here: Shadow vinyl
Also available in digital form in iTunes: Shadow. Digital Version
Easy Street performance starts at 7:45. See you there.
