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John Baker Saunders (September 23, 1954 - January 15, 1999) was a founding member and bassist for the American grunge rock supergroup Mad Season, as well as a member of The Walkabouts. He was born in Montgomery, Alabama and later attended Providence College. Saunders began his career as a blues bassist, working with traditional blues artists in Chicago, such as Hubert Sumlin and Sammy Fender. He recorded and toured Europe with the Seattle-based band, The Walkabouts. Saunders also worked with the Lamont Cranston (Band), in Minneapolis. In 1994, Saunders went into a Minneapolis drug rehabilitation facility, where he met Pearl Jam's Mike McCready. After completing treatment, Saunders and McCready returned to Seattle and formed a band called The Gacy Bunch, with vocalist Layne Staley and drummer Barrett Martin. They soon changed the band's name to Mad Season. Mad Season's acclaimed album, Above, released in 1995, was awarded a gold record for sales in the United States. Sadly, it was the only album that Mad Season would record, as Saunders had a relapse and died of a heroin overdose in 1999, at the age of 44.[1] [2]
- ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1431539/19990119/story.jhtml Obituary from MTV
- ^ http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D07E3DB1F30F935A15752C0A96F958260 Obituary from The New York Times
