The Living
How The Living Became Seattle’s Greatest Lost Band
If you haven’t heard of the Living, you’re not alone. The Seattle-based band formed in the early ’80s, recorded some songs in 1982 and that was that. Open and shut case, right? Not when you dig deeper. The quartet featured vocalist John Conte, bassist Todd Fleischman, drummer Greg Gilmore and 17-year-old guitarist Duff McKagan, who’d already established himself in the local scene by appearing on 45s by Fastbacks and the Vains. “The band was really a tight unit of guys,” McKagan remembers. “We had Todd Fleischman on bass, and he could beat up six guys at once, so we had the enforcer. We were really just good friends. When we put out an ad for a drummer, Greg Gilmore answered and came out from Gig Harbour. He opened me up to more prog rock stuff like King Crimson. I went to a King Crims...
Duff McKagan Drops ‘Two-Generation Stand’ From His Teenage Punk Band The Living
Before he was bassist for one of the biggest bands in the universe, Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan was a punk rocker in Seattle. And now we can hear what a 17-year-old McKagan sounded like thanks to The Living: 1982, a previously unreleased LP from his early band The Living. Lead single “Two-Generation Stand” is out now, with the album due April 16 via Seattle’s Loosegroove Records, a label owned by Stone Gossard (Pearl Jam) and Regan Hagar (Satchel, Brad). McKagan played guitar in The Living, which also featured vocalist John Conte, bassist Todd Fleischman and drummer Greg Gilmore (Mother Love Bone). “It doesn’t matter what year this music was recorded cause it is undeniable …. but the fact that Duff, Greg, Todd and John created these fully realized songs in 1982 gives credence to ...
