Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready recently reflected on his notorious guitar-smashing incident during the band’s 2022 European tour, admitting that while he has a long history of destroying instruments, he now feels more “guilt” about it.
During the final show of the tour, which had been delayed due to Eddie Vedder’s vocal issues, McCready caused a stir by wildly destroying his gear as the band closed the concert with a raucous performance of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ In the Free World.” McCready went all-out on his guitar, pedalboard, and amp, likely damaging thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment. Despite the fact that smashing guitars is often seen as a rock ‘n’ roll tradition, particularly following in the footsteps of legends like Pete Townshend, McCready’s actions sparked some criticism online for being wasteful.
In a recent interview on The Rock podcast, McCready opened up about his actions, explaining that his gear-smashing was more about excitement than frustration. He revealed:
“What happened was, we were on a European tour — it was two tours ago — and we had to cancel some shows because Ed got sick. I was like, ‘Oh my God, we’re not gonna be able to finish this tour. We’re gonna have to end on not a good note.’ And then, Ed got better, and I was so excited to play our last show in Amsterdam. So, out of excitement, I decided to destroy the guitar and my pedalboard.”
McCready also admitted that he has a long history of breaking instruments, particularly during the early days of Pearl Jam, which led to tension with his gear sponsor, Fender. He recalled, “I have a long career of doing that. In my early days, I’ve taken out 70 guitars or something like that. Enough that Fender Guitars, that I originally was with, were really pi**ed at me, because every one they gave me, I broke back in the day… Early on, they had to put them back together, which was a nightmare for George Webb [Pearl Jam’s longtime tech and equipment manager].”
While McCready acknowledged that his destruction of gear was often celebratory or an expression of excitement, he now feels more conflicted about it. He added, “That was kind of a celebratory act of, ‘We’re getting to finish this thing on a good note, I’m gonna go crazy.’ And that may happen — you never know when that happens. I try to do it less now, because I feel more guilt about it, like ‘I should give this guitar to somebody. I shouldn’t break it.'”
McCready’s reflection highlights the evolution of his perspective on the destructive rock star behavior, showing that while the act was once an outlet for excitement, he now recognizes the value of the instruments and feels a sense of responsibility toward preserving them.
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