Stereo Embers The Podcast 0211: Greg Gilmore (The Living, Mother Love Bone)

“Introspection and Awareness" The French born drummer Greg Gilmore landed in Seattle as a young man and what better way to punctuate those formative teenage years than with a punk band? Joining forces with John Conte, Todd Fleishman, and Duff McKagan Gilmore and his pals played speedbag punk that fell somewhere between the Clash and The Germs. They became local favorites, opened for DOA in Vancouver and Seattle and thanks to a quick studio session, recorded seven tracks which are now seeing the light of day for the first time. Released on Loosegroove Records which is owned by Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam and Regan Hagar of Satchel and Brad, the band’s set is called The Living 1982 and of the document, Gossard says, is "a reminder that the Living are ground zero for the Seattle sound.” The songs are fast and dynamic and played with a frenzied punk spirit and youthful momentum. The idea to put these songs out came from Gilmore, who actually unearthed the recordings. He says: “The Living was the beginning of all things Seattle for me --a turning point in my life. I joined a band and a community. These guys are still my brothers. I've cherished these recordings since the days we made them. This record is a fantastic document of a loaded moment. I love it.” Well, in music years, The Living really were only around in music years for about a moment. After the band, broke up, Duff and Gilmore landed in Ten Minute Warning, then the two pals went to LA. McKagan ended up joining Guns N’ Roses and Gilmore headed back to Seattle where he played briefly with Skin Yard before co-founded Mother Love Bone. After the death of Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood, Gilmore went on to collaborate with Seattle producing legend Jack Endino for a series of albums. He also played with Land, Doghead, and Steve Fisk. As a drummer, Gilmore plays with thoughtful muscle. He’s an introspective guy and his playing has the perfect blend of cerebral athleticism. We talk about that introspection here among a lot of other things: travel, friendships, self-awareness, intellectualizing ourselves in and out of enjoyment and the ins and outs of being social. https://www.instagram.com/loosegrooverecords linktr.ee/loosegroove www.alexgreenonline.com Instagram: @emberseditor Twitter: @emberspodcast