Hear a teenaged Duff McKagan rip it up on guitar with his early ‘80s punk band The Living

We all know that Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan has deep punk roots with Seattle-based acts like 10 Minute Warning and the Fastbacks. But apparently there’s another early punk outfit in his history – the Living, with whom he played electric guitar as a teenager.

That period in Duff's musical life has now been unearthed on the new The Living: 1982, a seven-song collection of McKagan-penned tunes being released on Pearl Jam guitarist Stone Gossard’s Loosegroove Records label on April 16.

You can check out the video for one of the songs, Two-Generation Stand, above.

The Living: 1982 features a 17-year-old McKagan alongside drummer Greg Gilmore, later of 10 Minute Warning and Mother Love Bone, as well as singer John Conte and bassist Todd Fleishman. 

Said Gilmore 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 songs, which were recorded in a single-day studio session, were lost for 39 years before being recently rediscovered by Gilmore.

McKagan, for one, appears thrilled it’s finally seeing the light of day. “Would this even ever get out of our basement?” he said in a statement.

“We had something magical then, and it was ours, so who gives a fuck!”

The Living: 1982 is available for preorder here.