It’s only Rock’n Roll but, after all this time, I still LOVE it! As I write this, I’m thinking about what an amazing month its been for me and how lucky I am to work and play in this magical rock world. I’m also equally honored to be able to share it with you! It started on March 23rd & 24th when the great Bon Jovi came to town. As you probably remember, Jon wanted to fulfill his promise (made on the Preston & Steve show) that if the Soul won the championship, the band would play a free, special show for our ‘MMR listeners. Not only did that happen but they also allowed us to broadcast it live and stream it around the country and around the world (via wmmr.com) to passionate Bon Jovi fans everywhere. If that weren’t enough Jon asked me to remain on the stage during the fully plugged in performance so they could pause every few songs for brief interview segments. Looking out into the faces of those wonderful ‘mmr listeners and die-hard fans I couldn’t stop smiling!

Then, shortly after-out of the blue-came a call from the Pearl Jam camp. Smitty, their tour manager, asked if I could fly out to Seattle to interview some of the musicians in some of the bands that were a vital part of the local Seattle music scene prior to Pearl Jam. This was all the brainchild of Stone Gossard. He wanted to have these bands play at a small club, film it, and conduct interviews with the various players (that’s where I came in). The idea was to tell part of the Seattle story and explain the family tree, the overlapping nature of that music. Although I thought I knew a fair amount of the story already, I immersed myself in all things Seattle and learned even more. A vital part of that saga involves two legendary bands from the rainy city: Malfunkshun and Mother Love Bone. They were fronted by an extremely charismatic singer by the name of Andrew Wood. He joined Mother Love Bone with fellow members Stone Gossard and Jeff Ament along with Bruce Fairweather on guitar and Greg Gilmore on drums. Unfortunatly, Andy Wood died at the young age of 24 right after MLB got signed to a major deal and was set to take off on tour. This led to Andy’s roomate, a great singer himself-Chris Cornell-forming Temple of the Dog in a tribute with Stone and Jeff. That of course led to Pearl Jam.

So, I got to interview several talented Seattle players including singer, songwriter Shawn Smith who would do an awesome job filling in for Andy during this show. The evening opened with another of Stone Gossard’s projects, The Hank Choir, comprised of a unique mix of musicians including Pete Droge. This was followed by Shawn’s band Sachel, then another of his groups, Pigeonhed. After that Brad (with Shawn once again on vocals and Stone Gossard on guitar) took the stage. The night concluded with the reuniting of Malfunkshun, followed by Mother Love Bone. The crowd ate it up! It reminded me, in a way, of when some of our legendary Philly bands like The Hooters and Beru Revue get together after some time, and how exited our audiences are to hear that music come alive again.

If all that were not enough, after the concert I was invited to the secret, surprise show two night later with Soundgarden. It was held at the same small club, The Showbox (similar in size and set-up to our own TLA on South St.). Seeing that amazing band reappear after a 13 year hiatus was cooler than cool! I’ve included their set list and a photo of the marquis of the club with the name “Nudedragons” (an anagram for Soundgarden). WMMR was the only station to send live reports, here to Philly. I played them back a few days ago but Jason has now put them on a podcast if you’re interested in listening. Even the New York Times wanted to attend but could not so we’re extremely greatfull that we did get in and that I was able to cover it for, and share it with, you!  By the way, I’ve included the setlist.  You’ll notice a lot of early materical which, as you can imagine, was warmly received by the Seattle crowd!

And coming soon: “MMR’s 42nd bithday! It’s April 29th and, as always, we’ll share it with you in a very musical way. We wouldn’t have been able to be here all this time if it weren’t for your friendship and support . Thanks again, and Long Live Rock!

Cheers!

Pierre

1.Spoonman
2.Gun
3.Searching With My Good Eyes Closed

4.Rusty Cage
5.Beyond The Wheel
6.Flower
7.Ugly Truth
8.Fell On Black Days
9.Hunted Down
10.Nothing To Say

11.Loud Love
12.Blow Up The Outside World
13.Pretty Noose
14.Outshined

15.Slaves And Bulldozers
Encore:
16.Get On The Snake
17.Big Dumb Sex
18.Waiting For The Sun (The Doors cover)