2012.08.13 - Grantland - Seattle Supergroup Walking Papers: Duff N' McCready N' Screaming Trees Jam

Seattle Supergroup Walking Papers: Duff N' McCready N' Screaming Trees Jam

By Steven Hyden

Only four years separate the release of Guns N’ Roses’ first full-length record, 1987’s Appetite For Destruction, and Pearl Jam’s 1991 debut, Ten. But in the narrative of rock history, these albums represent signposts for completely different eras; 20 years ago, GN-effin’-R and Pearl Jam might as well have existed in different dimensions. Time, however, has a way of erasing such distinctions. Today, Appetite For Destruction and Ten reside in the same general vicinity of reassuringly familiar classic rock. That one comes dressed in coke-splattered scarves and the other in bong-saturated flannel has been obscured by the sands of time.

Since these records already co-habitate comfortably in the popular consciousness, it makes sense that members of Guns N’ Roses and Pearl Jam have finally gotten around to playing in bands together. Blabbermouth reports that ex-GNR bassist Duff McKagan and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready are collaborating in a new band called Walking Papers. The Seattle-based group, headed up by former Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin and local singer Jeff Angell, describes itself (somewhat inauspiciously) on its Facebook page as “blues-rock,” and its forthcoming record, due in October, as a collection of “individual stories, but taken together as a whole, they tell a much larger narrative that conveys the tales of wandering souls, the collisions of will, and the dark beauty of the American heart that is ever searching for truth and meaning in a collapsing world.” You know, like GNR’s “Illusions” song trilogy, but with a dash of Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy” video.

McKagan is listed as the band’s bassist, while McCready is slotted in the “special appearances” section and credited simply with “guitar solos” — ironically, a far more Sunset Strip-y contribution, as it turns out. Eagle-eyed ’90s rock aficionados will notice that McCready last played with Martin (as well as late Alice In Chains singer Layne Staley) in Mad Season; Mad Season Above was released in 1995, and featured the incredibly okay single (and late-period grunge sorta-classic) “I Don’t Know Anything.” (Mad Season fans, take note: A new record is supposedly on the way with vocals by Mark Lanegan, which somehow makes a new Mad Season record in 2012 at least slightly compelling.) As for McKagan, his roots in the Seattle music scene are well-documented, with a history of playing in area punk bands going back to the early ’80s. You can hear Walking Papers’ incredibly okay new single “Your Secret’s Safe With Me” here.

https://web.archive.org/web/20120816013012/http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/55183/seattle-supergroup-walking-papers-duff-n-mccready-n-screaming-trees-jam

Blabbermouth, Sept. 19, 2012:
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Duff McKagan To Tour With Walking Papers

Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready and ex-Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver bass player Duff McKagan are working with Walking Papers, a new Seattle band launched by former Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin and longtime Seattle musician Jeff Angell. McKagan plays bass on the band's entire debut disc, while McCready contributes lead guitar solos. Mixed by Jack Endino, the record is due out on October 16 via Boredom Killing Business/Sunyata Records and the first single, "Your Secret's Safe With Me", is streaming at the band's Facebook page.

"Walking Papers" track listing:

01. Already Dead
02. The Whole World's Watching
03. Your Secret's Safe With Me
04. Red Envelopes
05. Leave Me In The Dark
06. The Butcher
07. Two Tickets And A Room
08. I'll Stick Around
09. Capital T
10. A Place Like This
11. Independence Day

Commented Martin: "Walking Papers is excited to play our first international dates in the U.K. Two of us, myself and Duff McKagan, have debuted our first bands in London: Duff with Guns N' Roses, myself with both Skin Yard and Screaming Trees.

"The British people understand rock and roll like no other country in the world, which is why fellow Seattleites Jimi Hendrix went there, why Mudhoney went there, and why Walking Papers is going there as well.

"Jeff Angell, our singer and guitarist, is a natural storyteller, and Ben Anderson plays keyboards like a classic soul man session player. With Duff and I as the rhythm section, let's just say we are the seasoned veterans. We play old-school, gritty, bluesy American rock and roll, and as a quartet, that's as real as it gets."

Walking Papers tour dates:

Sep. 29 - Seattle, WA - White River Amphitheater
Sep. 30 - Portland, OR - Dante's
Oct. 05 - Seattle, WA - The Barboza (CD Release Party)
Oct. 19 - Little Rock, AR - Reno's
Oct. 20 - Little Rock, AR - Stickyz (CeDell Davis Tribute)
Nov. 06 - Rugby/Birmingham, UK - The Vault
Nov. 07 - Manchester, UK - The Ruby Lounge
Nov. 09 - Brighton/Southampton, UK - [to be announced]
Nov. 10 - Paris, France - Nouveau Casino
Nov. 11 - London, UK - The 100 Club
Dec. 06 - San Diego, CA - Brick By Brick
Dec. 07 - Los Angeles, CA - The Viper Room
Dec. 09 - San Francisco, CA - [to be announced]
Dec. 14 - Portland, OR - Dante's
Dec. 15 - Seattle, WA - The Crocodile Cafe

https://archive.blabbermouth.net/news/duff-mckagan-to-tour-with-walking-papers/