Mike McCready possesses one of the Pacific Northwest’s richest musical histories, having spent the past 35 years making music with the iconic likes of Pearl Jam, Mad Season, Temple of the Dog and more. He’ll next be channeling that accumulated experience and the sound of his hometown of Seattle, Washington, into Farewell to Seasons, a graphic novel and “lost” rock opera.
Billed as an “alternative history of Seattle,” the guitarist’s upcoming multimedia project has been 20 years in the making, and it revolves around McCready’s fictionalized account of his experiences in the early grunge scene.
McCready had previously teased the music at a Seattle-area show late last year, explaining to the crowd that the upcoming rock opera revolves around a fictionalized but familiarly archetypal Seattle-styled singer (“Everybody knew him, or knew a version of him… He was a singer, a friend of mine… but it could be anyone”). The rock opera features new and original songs written and recorded from the perspective of Farewell to Seasons‘ lead character, David Williams.
“It’s a story I’ve been developing for many years, inspired by the creativity, community, and chaos of the Seattle music scene,” McCready further clarified in a statement of his “historical fantasy” story, which was co-written between McCready and comics scribe Mark Sable (What If?, Supergirl, Teen Titans). It’s also said that the story reflects “the tight sense of community that forged its powerful backbone in the Nineties,” while also acting as an “unflinching depiction… of that seminal era.” The story was ,and will also contrast moments of triumph with “an oily darkness that threatens to drag [the characters] down when they are possessed by self-doubt and fear.”
“Having been in the heart of the [Northwest] music scene as a journalist in the 1990s, I’ve wanted for years to work on a project that would reflect what it was actually like for the musicians and the fans when ‘the world came to Seattle,’” Z2 Comics editor Rantz A. Hoseley added. “I can say, without any hyperbole or exaggeration, that I feel like my entire creative life has led to me being involved with this book, and I feel so blessed to be a part of bringing Mike’s beautiful and poignant story to the world.”
Farewell to Seasons is set to land through Z2 in September. A deluxe bundle featuring the hardcover graphic novel with the 11-song LP on exclusive “Poltergeist”-tinted wax is up for pre-order now in Revolver’s shop.
