Stone Gossard

Stone Gossard grew up in Seattle and started playing guitar as a teenager, drawn to bands like The Ramones and Led Zeppelin. In 1984 he helped form Green River with Mark Arm and Jeff Ament, one of the early groups that shaped what would become known as grunge. After that band ended, he started Mother Love Bone with Andrew Wood, Jeff Ament, and Bruce Fairweather. Their music had a different feel, more melodic and theatrical, but Wood died of a heroin overdose in 1990 before they could release much.

Later that year, Gossard and Ament began working with Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready, which became Pearl Jam. Their first album, Ten, came out in 1991 and connected with a huge audience. Gossard wrote the song 'Remain' around that time, a quiet track that dealt with Wood's death without being overtly about it. He also has solo material like 'Bayleaf' from 1995, which shows a more acoustic, personal side.

Beyond Pearl Jam, he's played on projects like Temple of the Dog and Brad, and kept making his own records. He's been involved in the Ticketmaster boycott and other industry debates, but mostly he's stayed focused on writing and playing. Songs like 'Anchors' and 'Fend It Off' from his solo work have a straightforward, unpolished quality that feels closer to how he started.