Formation of side band

During the production of 1994’s Vitalogy , Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready went into drug and alcohol rehab at the Hazelden Clinic in Minnesota , where he met bassist John Baker Saunders . In 1994, when the two returned to Seattle , Washington , they formed a side band with drummer Barrett Martin . McCready played in bands such as Pearl Jam and Temple of the Dog , Martin with Skin Yard and the Screaming Trees and Saunders with blues talents such as Little Pat Rushing, Hubert Sumlin , Sammy Fender, and The Lamont Cranston Band . Immediately the trio set up rehearsal time together and wrote the music for two songs that would later become Mad Season’s “Wake Up” and ” River of Deceit “, both of which would later appear on the band’s album Above . McCready then brought in friend and Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley to round out the line-up. McCready had hoped that being around sober musicians would push Staley to get himself sober.