“I’m Kind of Like Soundgarden’s Biggest Fan”: Mike McCready Used to Bring the Band Pizza Just to Hang Out—Now He’s Sharing the Stage With Them

Mike McCready is about to live out one of his biggest dreams. The Pearl Jam guitarist is gearing up to perform alongside Soundgarden at the Seattle Seahawks’ Sept. 9 season opener, and he couldn’t be more excited for the gig.

“I’m kind of like Soundgarden’s biggest fan,” McCready said, before revealing that he used to crash Soundgarden’s Seattle rehearsals.

“I went down there and brought them pizzas just so I could hang out. I love those guys, I love all of them,” the Seattle native said.

McCready went on to tease that fans can expect “to see something cool at halftime.”

“It’s incredibly special, it’s incredibly poignant, it’s intense. You want to do it right. It’s Seattle,” he said. “We want to play as well as we can for Seattle, because we’re from here, this is our home. It’s a big deal, and that’s an exciting pressure to be part of.”

“I know how good it’s going to sound because of our over rehearsing,” McCready added. “Hopefully people will love it. We’re looking forward to it. I can’t wait. I’ll play with those guys anywhere on the planet.”

Mike McCready Talks Seattle Seahawks’ Season Opener

Ahead of his halftime performance, McCready will sing the national anthem to kick off the game between the Seahawks and the New England Patriots.

“It’s way scary in a way, because I want to do it right and I don’t want to mess it up, so that’s going through my head every time,” he said. “I’ve done it a bunch of times, I just want to do it how I do it, and hopefully it means something and I do it right, so there’s pressure there.”

In addition to his performances, McCready is set to star in a promo video that will be played during the game. The video will promote the Washington Innocence Project, an organization that the NFL team supports, and one for which McCready’s wife, Ashley O’Connor McCready, serves as the board president.

“We’re very humbly excited about it, because it sheds a light on the Washington Innocence Project, and it gives it another level of legitimacy being tied in with the Seahawks, so we’re super stoked about it,” McCready said. “It’s great. If you have a spotlight, and you have stars—musicians or a star quarterback or whatever—people will listen to them, or you’ll get some press because of who you are, so why not do something to help?”

“I think it’s fabulous that the Seahawks are doing that,” he added. “Growing up, that’s what I learned, and I think our band learned that early.”

Photo by Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images