1996.07.25 - The Howard Stern Show - Interview with Duff and Steve Jones

Thanks to @Surge for sending us the video.

This interview was originally aired live on Stern's radio show on July 25. The video version was aired on September 16.

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Transcript:

Interviewer: So what's up? Why don't you tell me why you are here today?

Duff: Uhm, we are out promoting our record, Neurotic Outsiders.

Interviewer: You got a new record out?

Duff: Yeah.

Interviewer: So why did you come to Howard show?

Duff: I guess we we're invited? [chuckles]

Interviewer: You're invited? What does appearing on Howard's show do for you guys?

Duff: Well, it's a good laugh, I mean, over a long time ago Howard was one of the first guys to put me and Slash on a show.

Interviewer: It was fun?

Duff: Yeah. It was cool. And then I came back and then... now Steve and I and John Taylor and Matt from Guns have a band and the album's coming out in a month and first thing, we're asked to come on the show.

Interviewer: Oh, that's great. So I mean, Howard's always been a big fan of you guys. Do you guys like him also?

Duff: Yeah, man. I mean, it's a thing that goes back about 10 years.

Interviewer: Yeah, it goes back a while.

Duff: Or nine years or so.

Interviewer: Yeah. Is it tough being interviewed in there with Howard? I mean, he does ask a lot of hard questions a lot of time to make you nervous?

Duff: No. [laughter] No. I think maybe... I've known him...

[cut]

Hoard Stern: All right, let's get Duff McKagan in here. Duff used to be in the group Guns N' Roses. Ss actually still in it, I guess.

Robin Quivers: If there is one.

Stern: Yeah. But he put out a new album with his new group Neurotic Outsiders and they're playing September 5th at Webster Hall in New York and it's [Duff entering the studio] Wow! Hi man.

Man: He just passed Leslie our intern and said 'hi' and 'who's that!?'

Stern: Really? It doesn't even look like you, man!

Quivers: I know, doesn't he look great?

Stern: You look great, man. It doesn't even look like you, you're all like, you're all muscular and stuff.

Quivers: Cleaned up.

Stern: You're still married?

Duff: No.

Stern: Oh really.

Quivers: Ooooh!

Stern: Cuz your wife was a hot little piece of ass.

Quivers: What happened there?

Stern: No wonder you look good, no wonder you look good.

Duff: Well, you know.

Stern: Cuz remember that when Duff was all strung out and everything?

Quivers: Yeah.

Stern: I mean, you were messed up for a while, right?

Duff: I think last time I was here I said, "man, I've stopped drinking" or something, right?

Stern: Yeah, you stopped for like five minutes.

Quivers: I think that when he walked in he stopped.

Stern: Yeah, you had a beer in your hand [laughter] You stopped cuz we didn't have any alcohol! But that's cool. I mean, listen, you were, like, you know, you were doing the rock'n'roll lifestyle thing

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: Everyone goes through it.

Duff: There was a lot going on then.

Stern: I got a great tape of Duff. This is really cool. Come on, let me play the tape.

Quivers: It's stellar.

Stern: This is one"can we remember the old Duff?"

Quivers: [to Duff] You probably didn't know this guy [=Stern]? [laughter]

Stern: The old Duff used to...

Quivers: He called every once in a while.

Stern: He called every once in a while. One time Duff was doing an appearance when - I don't know - it was some Guns N'Roses thing or whatever, you were promoting something, and Duff was making an appearance on some syndicated show and the address of the building was like 666, you know, like 666 and 6.

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: And I don't know, Duff was supposed to meet Baba Booey down there for some reason - I don't know even remember what it was - but so Duff picks up the phone and this is Duff. [chuckling] Duff in the old days, so you can see the difference. How this guy's got his life together. Hold on.

Duff on tape: [slurred speech] Hey Gerry. It's Duff calling. I got your message. It's 12:30 or something. Uhhhhhh. Quarter to one [beep] in the afternoon here on [beep] What was the… Wednesday. Uhh, okay. We gotta go to the offices [?], stop some place on 6th Avenue I think, uhm, 666 6th Avenue, Satan's Avenue. Slash [?] and I have been there at 1:30 [loud yawn] [?] Okay, thanks.

Duff: Alright then!

Stern: Makes you want to drink. You know what I mean? It makes you thirsty that tape. God damn. I wonder what you were on that day. Jeez. But look at you now, man. I mean, your hair looks cool, I mean how did you whip yourself into shape, do you weight lift or something?

Duff: No, I ain't weight lift.

Stern: Really? How do you, how do you do it, man? Seriously how did you get in that kind of shape? Do you do just hang out?

Duff: No, I've been kickboxing.

Stern: Is that it? Man!

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: I'm gonna get into that. Except I pull my groin every time.

Quivers: Every time.

Duff: Yeah, me too.

Stern: Did you pull your groin?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: Yeah it's bad.

Quivers: Really? Everybody does it then.

Stern: Everybody thinks you could do kickboxing. Like I was into karate for, like, a year, and I messed my groin up so bad that I couldn't walk for about a year. I mean, without my balls hurting.

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: Right?

Duff: I was there, man. Completely.

Quivers: Did you keep going, though? Through the pain?

Duff: Yeah.

[laughter]

Quivers: See, that's the point Howard hasn't gotten down.

Stern: I'm telling you, it was no fun, though. Like we would just walk out on the street and I was just like, "oooh!" So how did you get by that? I mean you just kept doing it?

Duff: Well, my sensei…

Stern: [laughter] Yeah. Isn't that weird, you got to call a guy "sensei"?

Duff: Well... Actually, with this guy it is not weird, because he's undefeated for 20 years.

Stern: Right.

Duff: And I actually lucked out when I found him, Benny Jet.

Stern: Right. I don't know, yeah, I didn't train with him.

Duff: So there's no choice, you know.

Stern: It's real weird…

Quivers: He doesn't care about your pain [laughter]

Stern: It's real weird in the karate world, like you got to call these guys "sensei", you know, it's it kind of weird cuz you realize it's just some dude.

Quivers: And you're supposed to bow to one another.

Stern: Yeah, right and at the end of the session you had to bow, dude, I guess you don't make that much money so you have a little power trip, you know what I mean. You get a major player in the rock and roll world bowing to you.

Quivers: In the store front at a mall and make everybody bow [laughter]

Stern: Yeah, and you gotta be like, "yes, sensei!" [laughter] So that's how you got in shape?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: That works. And what did you do, you died or something?

Duff: No.

Stern: You don't do that.

Duff: Not anymore.

Stern: You eat whatever you want, right?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: I can see a rock'n'roll guy not eating whatever he wants.

Quivers: And his body's great. I got to hug him out there. He feels real good. He's hard [laughter].

Stern: You didn't hug me. So you're having lots of sex and everything still?

Duff: Well, you know.

Stern: Right. What happened? How'd you get rid of that wife? That wife was cute, I mean major league piece of ass, but you married her when you were all drugged out.

Duff: Okay, that tape...

Stern: Yeah right, you didn't know what you were doing.

Duff: No.

Quivers: That's what got you married.

Stern: I couldn't imagine why you were getting married, you know what I mean, cuz…

Duff: Why didn't you say something?

Stern: I did, yeah, but you wouldn't remember, I said, "why are you getting married?" I said, "dude, you got it made!"

Duff: Oh yeah.

Stern: Did you sign a prenup before you got married?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: Oh, you did.

[applause in the studio]

[?]

Duff: I might have been drugged but I wasn't stupid.

Stern: Right, oh good. So how long did it last? It lasted a while.

Duff: Three years.

Stern: Three years? It lasted longer than I thought it would.

Duff: Well, after I kind of came out of it I went, "oh! I should at least try to make this work."

Stern: Right, can you get closer to that microphone Duff, I can't really hear you.

Duff: I should at least try to make this work.

Stern: Right.

Duff: You know.

Stern: Yeah, give it a chance well.

Duff: Plus that admits that you were, like, that screwed up.

Stern: Right, yeah. It's like you want to say at least when I chose a woman I was a little bit sensible.

Duff: Yeah, but, you know.

Stern: The relationship lasted longer than Guns N' Roses actually, you think [laughter] I saw Slash the other day and I was saying to him, "what the hell's going on," you know, "I mean where's where's the next Guns N' Roses album?" and like he didn't have an answer either. He was like,  "I'm working on some things," "I got some surprises" and, you know, how much is it... shut up! [?] What's going on?

Duff:  We're writing new songs.

Stern: Oh really?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: And Axl's into it?

Duff: Yeah, totally. And actually today I was gonna have to fly back right after this.

Stern: Oh really?

Duff: We're gonna start recording for this Jackie Chan movie, the next one.

Stern: Oh, I see.

Quivers: Good Lord! Jackie Chan is making more movies…

Stern: Yeah, can someone explain Jackie Chan to me? Does anybody recognize that this guy's a stuntman?

Quivers: He makes 50 billion movies before anybody gets...

Stern: You know what an insult that is to anybody who trains in acting? I mean, I'm sorry, Jackie Chan is happening?

Duff: Axl's a huge fan.

Quivers: And everybody's recording songs for him!

Stern: I know. Screw Jackie Chan!

Duff: But you know, I think the time off - I mean as frustrated as some of us might have got, me included, you know - I think there was a reason for it.

Quivers: It was a good thing?

Duff: Yeah.

[laughter]

Duff: It didn't seem like it...

Stern: Everybody got cleaned up. I mean, Slash, I can't tell if Slash is cleaned up.

Quivers: Is he clean? I don't know.

Stern: I think he was hitting the sauce that day.

[laughter]

Stern: I couldn't tell.

Duff: Slash is Slash. I mean, he's like made out of iron.

Stern: Did you go into like rehab? I mean your major league recovered.

Duff: Nah.

Stern: I mean, you did it all on your own?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: Like what happened?

Quivers: You just quit?

Stern: Did something happen?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: You got ulcer?

Duff: No.

Stern: OD?

Duff: No, worse. Actually my pancreas blew up.

Quivers: *gasp*

Stern: It did?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: I've had that.

Duff: Pancreatitis?

Stern: No, no no. I've never had that. I am just trying to relate to you. So you pancreas blew up?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: Do you need a pancreas?

Duff: Yeah.

Quivers: Yeah, yeah.

Stern: Isn't that one of the organs... isn't that like tonsils?

Quivers: No, you don't want to lose your pancreas.

Stern: Who needs a pancreas?

[laughter]

Stern: So, from drinking or what? Or other stuff?

Duff: Yeah, drinking. I mean it's the continuous…

Stern: Yeah, I mean, you're a young man and your pancreas should be in good shape.

Quivers: It should last your whole life time.

Stern: So it freaked you out, right?

Duff: Well, yeah. I was in so much pain they shot me up with two shots of Demerol and morphine, and then morphine, and I was still just completely doubled over.

Stern: Whoa.

Duff: And then seeing the doctors faces turn white once they did the ultrasound. Like, "how is this guy still alive?"

Stern: Whoa, you mean it was that bad?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: Just drinking can mess your pancreas up?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: But you must been drinking quarts and quarts a day, right?

Quivers: He was a professional.

Stern: You know what, man, you're the real deal. You're a real rock and roller. See, I respect that.

Duff: At least, you know, I've been there, I know what it's like.

Stern: Yeah, you didn't have a cocktail.

[laughter]

Quivers: You didn't mix it, it was straight from the bottle.

Stern: What did you like to drink? Do you miss drinking? You must miss it.

Duff: No, not at all.

Stern: Really?

Duff: Yeah, because I think that... just that something happened. I guess I'm lucky it happened. I don't even miss it at all.

Stern: And now your pancreas is okay?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: Can you smoke weed and stuff?

Duff: Nah, I never smoked weed anyhow. That's like too mellow and hippie.

Stern: Yeah, right, forget weed. That's no good.

Quivers: He needed an edge.

Stern: But you can't even, lik,e shoot heroin or anything anymore?

[laughter]

Stern: You gotta be off everything?

Duff: Yeah. I'm good, man.

Stern: Wow, how long do you think this will last? Forever?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: Right. I mean, you seem really together, you know, it's kind of freaky talking to you, this is the real you.

Duff: I was wondering what you would think.

[laughter]

Stern: I'm not sure I know you. I'm not even sure you're Duff! How do I know this is him!?

[laughter]

Duff: So anyhow, so when we...

Stern: You didn't find Jesus or anything?

Duff: No.

Stern: Oh, good, oh Christ. Swearing [?] right out of here.

Duff: I sorted myself out, man

Stern: Really.

Duff: I mean, the band got huge and there was no time to, like, figure out... you know, there's no book for like coming... I mean, you remember when Slash and I first came here, we were broke and... you know.

Stern: You guys were...

Quivers: It was just starting.

Duff: And it went... it skipped these levels so quick [gesturing levels with his hand]

Stern: Right. It's pretty difficult to handle. Although I think I could handle it.

Quivers: I don't understand the drinking…

Stern: You know, these guys were drinking before they became huge, so the problem...

Quivers: [?]

Stern: So now all of a sudden you're rich and you can afford to drink whatever you want. It's like you're like a kid in a toy store.

Duff: The surrealness of the whole thing.

Quivers: Oh, I see.

Stern: Then once you're on top you're going, "wait a second, we're not doing anything different than we did before, now we're on top, how do we maintain this? even though you're your rock star and all that you don't think you're drunk...

Quivers: You know what I think he's saying, though? All of a sudden they became this big business and everybody's at them, you have to drink to sort of deal with that. [laughter]

Stern: I think they were just drinking to deal with, just the drink. So would you start drinking early in the morning, like... [duff nodding] oh yeah.

[laughter]

Quivers: I don't think they ever stopped. I mean, we talked to him early in the morning, late afternoon, he was always drunk.

Stern: Yeah. What would you drink though?

Duff: Vodka.

Stern: Yeah, that's good. I drink that and my pancreas is fine.

Quivers: Oh Howard, stop it.

Stern: I'm a real man. [laughter]

Quivers: He wouldn't even know what vodka...

Stern: How many bottles could you go through?

Duff: I went through a lot.

Stern: Really?

Duff: I went through...

Stern: I can't believe how different you look. He looks chiseled and everything. Come here, show me your abs.

Quivers: Naaah.

Stern: Hey, I am just kidding man.

Stern: Duff McKagan has put together a new group, he's not gonna sit around and wait for Guns N' Roses the rest of his life. I mean, if it happens, it happens, you know. He's into it, that's his main concern.

Duff: It's actually happening now, so general air of excitement. So in the meantime, I mean, the first year I got myself together and then there was an opportunity... Steve Jones from the Pistols - an idol of mine -  who I mean..

Stern: You idolized him, yeah.

Duff: Yeah, that's what I was saying. I idolized him.

Stern: Yeah, yeah, you're right. I think I'm drunk [laughter]

Duff: I met him riding mountain bikes, actually, that's how we became friends - riding mountain bikes together. Which was great because I completely emulated his guitar style and I'm glad we didn't meet through playing.

Stern: Right. So you're riding mountain bikes and running into each other?

Duff: Well, we met at an Aerosmith gig and we were talking and...

Stern: And you said, "hey let's go mountain biking"?

Duff: Well, I was up up the next day, I was going in a race. He said, "really? I ride," and blah blah blah, so we started riding together right and then Matt...

Stern: I tried mountain biking for awhile and I would always get bloody because I would get on there and I would flip over the handlebars and that would be the end of it. Cuz I'm a big klutz.

[laughter]

Duff: Well, we're riding...

Stern: And I'm go, "oh, there's sand! I'm gonna get caught on the bike," I don't know.

Duff: We were riding with some pretty heavy guys, some pros, David [?] and some guys.

Stern: Yeah, I could imagine you guys really do it.

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: I go out and do it and I just like will end up walking the bike. I end up walking alongside the bike.

[laughter]

Stern: I don't want to get hurt.

Duff: So anyhow, Matt Sorum from Guns got this call from Sal from the Viper Room to do this benefit for this guy who's got cancer, put a band together. So he called Steve and John Taylor to play bass and my to play guitar. And it was kind of a godsend, we got together...

Stern: Like a supergroup, in a sense.

Duff: Well, we're just friends. And after that, the fact people started going, "oh you guys, I didn't realize you're like this."

Stern: It's good music.

Duff: So Jones - he's here by the way.

Stern: Oh, is he?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: Go tell him to come in.

Duff: Jonesy!

Stern: What drugs are he off? Is he okay? I'm gonna get me some rock star in here who is high. I'm getting sick of all these straight rockers.

[?]

Stern: How come I can't cut my hair like yours? Why can't I get...

Quivers: Well, you could cut your hair like he...

Stern: How bad would I look? I just don't have a good face.

Quivers: I think you'd look good with that short hair.

Stern: You think so?

Quivers: [?] those wigs you were wearing.

[Jones entering the studio]

Stern: Wow, there's a legend.

Duff: Steve Jones!

Stern: Hey Steve, how you doing? Good seeing you. Everyone's got the tattoos and the whole goddamn…

Duff: So when it comes to a song like the first song, are the single 'Jerk', which it is to be called

Stern: Was that about me?

Jones: It used to be called [spelling] "C U N T."

[laughter]

Stern: Steve, mellow out, will you man?

Jones: It was what it was gonna be called.

Stern: Alright, I got a radio job to keep, I don't have a band.

[?]

Stern: Nice opening, Steve.

[laughter]

Stern: You guys a tough guys, man. I couldn't hang with you, I'd be like a woman next to you.

[laughter]

Stern: What is this song about, 'Jerk'? Who is the jerk? Is this about the guy you kicked out of Guns N' Roses?

[laughter]

Stern: There you go, right. Am I right?

Jones: [?]

Stern: You wrote that?

Jones: Yeah, a while ago.

Stern: Where you from? England?

Jones: Yeah.

Stern: So I figured.

Quivers: Hard to guess, Howard.

Stern: The accent kind of gave it away. Some guys are American, they try to talk like that. You know what I'm saying?

Quivers: Green Day.

Stern: Yes, Green Day. Right, Steve?

Jones: Yes.

Stern: So you wrote that. Who is a jerk?

Jones: Well, actually it was called what I told you before.

Stern: That one we can't say. It was about a woman vagina.

Jones: It's about [?] you have to go for to get some...

Stern: Vagina. You feel like a jerk when you're trying to get it, don't you? Is that what you're saying, that the man feels like a jerk when he's trying to get a woman's vagina?

[did not transcribe the guys talking about 'Jerk' and 'Nasty Ho']

Stern: Did you play the music for the rest of Guns N' Roses and they hear it?

Duff: Yeah, Slash, of course, played with us.

Stern: Ok, good. So everybody's cool about it?

Duff: Yeah.

Stern: And what happens it is if it album takes off?

Duff: If it takes off, that's kind of a quality problem.

Stern: Right, and you wouldn't mind. I wrote a song once based on life experiences, it never went anywhere, it was called, 'Play with yourself and then go to bed early.'

[laughter]

[?]

Stern: Yeah, you and me both. You should write a song about it. I would buy it.

Quivers: He doesn't write about that.

Stern: No.

Jones: That's for the next album.

Stern: Nobody wants to hear about that. Anyway, Steve and Duff, I want to thank you, I'm glad you guys got together. The group is called "Neurotic Outsiders." Duff, it's really interesting meeting you really for the first time, even though I've met you before. It's a whole new you.

Duff: Man, I see people who I guess I've known for a long time. I have to it...

Stern: Other people that you've gone up to meet and say, "nice to meet you" and they say, "hey, you've known me for years."

Duff: Absolutely.

Stern: Really? Steve, I bet you hate a lot of people, right?

Stern: Yeah, me too.

Quivers: I don't think Steve likes anybody.

Stern: Steve, who do you hate, seriously, give me a list of like five people that you just hate, that disgust you.

Jones: Bill Clinton.

Stern: President Bill Clinton. Any big rock stars?

Jones: Hootie and the Blowfish.

[laughter]

Stern: Got anymore?

Jones: Off the top of my head, I can't think him

[did not transcribe a short section here about whom Jones hate]

[cut to Duff and Jones leaving the building]

Interviewer: What would you like to do with that answering machine message that Gary has?

Duff: Ah, man. I will let Howard and Gary hang on to it, man. Just to remind me, what I don't want to be. Man, that doesn't even sound like me.

Interviewer: What were you thinking when you called that day?

Duff: Well, I think Howard called and left Gary's number - Howard's gonna take me and Slash boot shopping.

Interviewer: Right, I remember that.

Duff: I don't know man. This was around when Slash and I were thinking of moving to New York. Which would have been like [gesturing cutting his throat] death. So, just called him back say, "hey, sorry, I can't make it," or something. But I don't know what I was thinking.

[cut]

Duff refers to a previous occasion when he and Slash was in New York and they (or at least one of them) were guests on the Howard Stern Show, and Stern talked about shopping boots with them. This is the same time that Duff left that phone message to Gary. What Howard Stern interview is this? We have one with Duff and Steven from 89 when Stern and Duff talk about clothes and where they get their clothes. But I can't find one where they talk about buying boots and none where Duff and Slash are with Stern together.