by Ellen Walsh

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be in a band? It is hard and fun but Mike McCready can help people too. Mike McCready is the lead guitarist for the band Pearl Jam. Pearl Jam is a rock and roll band from Seattle that started in 1990. They have released many albums and they were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

As the lead guitarist Mike has many responsibilities. First, he needs to know how to use the equipment properly. Second, his main job in his band is to play guitar but he also helps with lights, art work and interviews on television. Finally, he needs to write and record songs with his band mates.

Mike mostly plays guitar but he also plays piano and bass. He has a lot of other projects that he works on. He makes music for movies and television shows, and plays with other musicians, mostly for charity. He also plays music with Kate Neckel and she paints and then they switch. He says, “My job takes discipline in order to write songs and play shows.’’ He plays his guitar almost every day. As you can see Mike has an interesting and busy job.

In his free time he likes to go to the beach, play guitar, play tennis and take photos. He wanted to be a guitarist because he liked the band Kiss and he wanted to be like them. He started playing guitar when he was 11 years old. Every day Mike hangs out at his house, picks up his kids at school and then takes his kids to soccer. When he is on tour he visits cities all over the world and plays guitar at performances.

One of his challenges is traveling because he misses his family. His job helps the community because he raises money for homelessness and companies like Treehouse. Treehouse helps kids by supporting them in foster care to go to college. His goals for the future are to play guitar better, keep learning, help people and be a better dad. It is really special that he can help people while playing guitar.