1990.MM.DD - Hot Metal Stars - Taking Aim (Steven)

Thanks to @Euchre for sending us this interview!

Transcript:

Sometimes Guns N' Roses' drummer Steven Adler runs the risk of getting lost in the shuffle caused by his more high-profile bandmates. But that doesn't bother this good-looking blond skin-beater one bit. He's more than content to play out his role at the back of the stage, providing the pounding beat behind the Gunner's hard-driving rock anthems. But as Steven was quick to find out as fast as the band hit the road in 1988, the girls in the audience certainly weren't taking him for granted, and tales of Adler's road excesses reached legendary heights. While Steven now admits that he's toned down his act considerably due to the fact that he was recently married, he still knows how to have a good time — a fact we discovered when we caught up with him for this exclusive interview held in G N' R's secret rehearsal hall on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

Hot Stars: Steven, does it bother you that some other members of the band have gotten a great deal more attention in the rock press than you have?

Steven Adler: Nah, that's the way it is Some-one like Axl or Slash has more to say than I do —that's the standard thing with drummers. But some of the drum magazines have talked to me, and that was kind of cool.

HS: Is there one big secret about yourself that you'd like the fans to know about?

SA: Yeah. As hard as it might be to believe, I was actually born a poor black child. (laughs) Nah, actually there's nothing that really interesting to talk about. I'm just the drummer in a rock and roll band whose biggest problem is usually trying to keep the blisters on his hand from getting infected.

HS: What do you do to avoid that problem?

SA: It's really a constant problem when we're an the road or rehearsing because I really pound the drums really hard. I'm not playing in a classic "textbook" way, so I exert a lot of extra pressure on the skin of my hands. I tried wearing gloves. but I really don't like to do that. So I tape my fingers all the time, but I still get blisters. Then I've got to play with blisters, and they pop. and then I've got open wounds on my hands. I put this plastic skin stuff on those wounds and try and keep my hands together. But that shit really doesn't work that well — at least when you're as active as I am.

HS: Considering some of the other health problems we've heard members of this band have, sore hands don't seem too bad.

SA: Well... let's just say that the press has really blown a lot of things way out of proportion with this group. I'm not saying that there isn't some truth to what's been said, but I think a lot of the stories written about us have only concentrated on one aspect of what we do —they want to make us out as real bad boys. If that's what they want to do, I guess they have plenty of chances with us, but that's certainly not the whole story.

HS: What's your view on the rumors that Axl Rose is thinking about leaving the band?

SA: I think it's a load of shit, but I really would rather not get into all that at the moment.

HS: Okay, but we'd like to know how progress on the new album is coming along.

SA: There are some good things that seem pretty much together, but there's still plenty of work to do. Drummers tend to get a little distorted view of an album because we sometimes go in and lay down a backing track and then we don't get to hear too much about the song until it's pretty well finished. We tend to work as a team a lot, but when it comes to recording things, I don't always know where a song stands.

HS: We heard that your mother is one of the band's biggest fans. Is that true?

SA: (Laughing) Yeah, she is. She loves to get together with her friends and tell them what I'm up to. I think most of her friends have kids who are lawyers and doctors, and I think my mow felt a little funny that I was in a band. But now that I'm doing well she likes to brag about me a little. I know she's always calling up our merchandisers trying to get some T-shits and posters of us that she gives away. She's very supportive of me and the whole band. She's great.

HS: Besides having your mother view you a little differently, how has the band's success changed you?

SA: I don't know if it really has changed me. I guess I don't have to worry about where I'm gonna find money to pay my rent, and now I don't have to think about where my next meal is coming from, but I tend to hang out with the same people and do the same things most of the time. There have been some changes. but don't think they've really been a big deal.

HS: We know that you got married a fen months back. How does that change the way you do things — especially on the road?

SA: My wife knew me before things really started to happen for the band, so she knows what goes on in a group like this — especially on the road. I've changed a bit now that I'm married, but I'm the same person I've always been — I never would have gotten married if I thought I was suddenly gonna change.

HS: As you look ahead, how excited are you about the band's next album and tour?

SA: I'm real excited. People forget that we've really only done one album and one long tour. This time we'll be able to go out and headline right from the start, and that's real exciting for all of us. We'll have two albums -- and the EP — to draw material from, and that should make for a great show. We're looking forward to it.

HS: As you look back over the last two years what single thing stands out in your mind?

SA: There have been a lot of memorable things, but maybe the one that pops to my mind first is playing the L.A. Coliseum as the opening act for the Rolling Stones. That was really something special — especially since it was in L.A. Maybe that sticks in my mind because it happened fairly recently, and it was a special event, not part of a real tour. But it's really hard to pick out just one thing that stands out in my mind. To say the least, the last two years have been filled with pretty memorable days and nights.

Released in "fall 1990" but interview obviously done earlier. He talks about the recent gig with the Rolling Stones (October 1989) and having gotten married "a few months back" (June 1989). They also talk about the last two years, suggesting that this interview takes place at the end of a year. So likely this took place at the end of 1989, or possible beginning of 1990.


I can't remember any particular rumors from this time of Axl thinking about leaving the band.