When music’s about to go silent, someone turns it back up.
At Washington Middle School in Seattle, it was supposed to be just another regular school day — and then it turned into something huge. Students found themselves in the middle of a high-energy pep rally featuring Mike McCready, Seahawks legend Seattle Seahawks Lofa Tatupu, Blue Thunder, and the Seahawks Dancers. But behind all the hype was a real issue: the school’s music program was on the chopping block due to lack of funding. As PearlJam.com puts it, music belongs in schools. And in that gym, that wasn’t just a slogan — it was real.
The Seahawks, Safeway, and the Vitalogy Foundation stepped up with a $30,000 donation to keep the program alive. Speaking to the students, McCready shared how he picked up a guitar at 12 and immediately joined a band. “That was my sport,” he said, explaining how music was emotionally crucial to his growth as a human being — and still is today. It didn’t sound like a rockstar speech. It sounded like someone who remembers exactly where it all started.
This wasn’t just about cutting a check. It was about shining a light on what’s at stake. When a school loses its music program, it loses more than a class — it loses a space where kids figure out who they are. Back in a classroom, with a beat-up amp and a borrowed guitar, that’s where it begins. And as long as someone’s willing to stand up for that first spark, music’s gonna stay right where it belongs — in schools.
Born in Reggio Emilia in 1980. He created pearljamonline.it in 2001 and wrote the first edition of “Pearl Jam Evolution” in 2009 along with his wife Daria. Since 2022, he is behind 2 podcasts: “Pearl Jam dalla A alla Z” and “Fuori Orario Not Another Podcast”. He has collaborated with Barracuda Style, HvsR, Rolling Stone, Rockol and Il Fatto Quotidiano. He continues relentlessly to try to find “beautiful melodies that say terrible things”.
Favorite song: Present Tense
Favorite album: No Code
Favorite bands/artists other than PJ: Tom Waits, Soundgarden, Ramones, Bruce Springsteen, IDLES, Fontaines D.C., Mark Lanegan, R.E.M., Radiohead, Cat Power, Dead Kennedys