Duff McKagan was active in the Seattle punk scene as the guitarist for The Living before heading to Los Angeles and joining Guns N’ Roses. Nearly four decades later, the band is finally releasing its “lost” 1982 debut album.
The Living: 1982 is due out April 16 via Stone Gossard’s label, Loosegroove, and features seven songs, all of which were written by a then 17-year-old McKagan. The band featured singer John Conte, bassist Todd Fleischman, and drummer Greg Gilmore, who would later join Mother Love Bone.
How the recordings were lost all these years is unknown, but Rolling Stone reports it was Gilmore who found them. Gilmore said in a statement, “The Living was the beginning of all things Seattle for me — a turning point in my life. I joined a band and a community. These guys are still my brothers. I’ve cherished these recordings since the days we made them. This record is a fantastic document of a loaded moment. I love it.”
The Living: 1982 is available for pre-order and pre-save on various formats here. “Two Generation Stand,” the first preview of the LP, can be heard below.