1992.08.27 - El Paso Times - Metal mayhem hits Las Cruces (Duff)

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Metal mayhem hits Las Cruces

Rocker says it’s all about taking chances

By Robert Nelson
El Paso Times

Duff McKagan says Guns Ν’ Roses is about “anarchy, about integrity.”

“We’re about taking chances,” he said, “about not being safe.”

Manly, hell-raisin’ motives all of them. Strange then: The bass| player for rock’s most notorious band also said he’s scared to ride his bike.

But have no fear, McKagan has lost his edge for good reason. Injuries have plagued the Guns N’ Roses / Metallica megatour, almost to the point of curse. McKagan said he’s scared. He doesn’t want to be another statistic.

Because of band member injuries, only nine of 19 scheduled tour concerts have gone off since mid-July. When the sold-out concert hits Las Cruces’ Aggie Stadium tonight, the tour-to-end-all-tours will be batting a measly .500, a litany of more than 400,000 disappointed fans that McKagan blames on bad luck and dangers inherent in rocking hard.

“Things happen,” McKagan said. “All three bands are really disappointed, but it’s really nobody’s fault.”

But that’s over, he said.

“The concert in Las Cruces is gonna happen.”

First it was Axl Rose's voice. In Boston, the monitors weren’t loud enough, McKagan says. Axl sang louder to hear himself and blew out his voice. That happened twice.

Then it was Metallica’s turn. Singer / guitarist James Hetfield was seriously burned in a flash-pot accident onstage Aug. 8 in Montreal, three weeks into the tour.

McKagan blames sound problems, delays, language and drunken fans for the chaos that ensued in Montreal.

“The poor guy got fried, but the audience didn’t know that,” he said. “They speak French. They couldn’t understand what we were saying. They were all drunk, and they got French in them to begin with. It just escalated.

“But we get blamed for it,” McKagan said.

Which is the story of Guns N’ Roses over the last couple years, he said. GNR gets blamed for everything, and then the media blows it out of proportion.

McKagan’s martyrdom spiel may be hard to believe, but he seems heartfelt in wanting change in GNR’s mainstream media image. The band is nothing more than that — a band, he said.

“It's all like a big fishing story after a case of beer,” he said.

“The media has changed us, but none of us have changed. We’ve been brothers for a long time, and we still are. We’re just a rock 'n' roll band.”

So, they aren’t the “Bad Boys of Rock?"

“I hate that (expletive) line," he said. “I was called a bad boy when I was a little kid. I'm a man. I'm in a rock n' roll band. Things happen.”

GNR’s music reflects the pains and annoyances of anarchy in the spotlight. They try not to preach. McKagan said, although it does happen. They avoid issues, reaching ideas through personal experience. And yes, the stories in their music are true, he said.

“That’s honestly what happens to us — the hurt, the pain, the love and joy.

“We’re saying a lot and we’re saying nothing. We’ve don’t like to shove issues down their throats.... We’re much more personal.”

McKagan describes all three bands in this tour as having those qualities. Faith No More and Metallica are great bands, reckless and full of integrity.

And maybe that’s why this tour has had so many problems. These three bands are together, he said, because they all play from the edge. It’s a recipe for destruction.

“Maybe that’s it,” he said. “It’s safe to say we’re all unsafe.”