Although born in France, Gilmore grew up in the Seattle area. After playing in
10 Minute Warning with
Duff McKagan (
The Fartz,
Guns N' Roses), Steve Verwolf, Paul Solger, Bob Groves, and David Garrigues, Gilmore decided to join his friend Duff McKagan when he announced he was leaving Seattle for a new life in L.A, and accompanied him in his early auditions. Shortly after the success of Guns N' Roses, he moved back to Seattle and in the late 1980s Gilmore was a member of the critically acclaimed, seminal Seattle band
Mother Love Bone along with bandmates
Andrew Wood (vocals),
Bruce Fairweather (guitar),
Jeff Ament (bass), and
Stone Gossard (guitar). After Wood's death from a heroin overdose, Ament and Gossard went on to play key roles in
Pearl Jam. Gilmore went on to collaborate with Seattle engineer and producer
Jack Endino, with whom he would release
Angle of Attack (1990) and ''Endino's Earthworm'' (1992). In the ensuing years, Gilmore would collaborate with a wide variety of musicians on releases such as:
Land's
Archipelago (1997) and Doghead's eponymous 1996 release. In the liner notes of
Down on the Upside (1996),
Soundgarden guitarist
Kim Thayil credits Gilmore with "inspiration" for the song "Never the Machine Forever". 1999 saw the release of the eponymous debut album by Radio Chongqing, which Gilmore recorded with bandmates Lesli Dalaba (trumpet) and George Soler (stick). As of 2007 he has been playing with
Steve Fisk and working on several other recording projects. == Discography ==