1999.03.17 - MTV News - Steven Adler Accepts The Diamond For Guns N' Roses, Duff McKagan Plays On

Steven Adler Accepts The Diamond For Guns N' Roses, Duff McKagan Plays On

Guns n' Roses' original drummer Steven Adler was the only one on hand for the presentation of a new Diamond Award from the RIAA, commemorating the sales of 15 million copies of "Appetite For Destruction." The awards were presented Tuesday in New York for albums that have sold ten million copies or more. Adler was only recently released from the Los Angeles County jail after being sentenced to 150 days in jail last October for assaulting a girlfriend.

It looks like Duff McKagan will be reuniting with the Neurotic Outsiders for four shows in April. The all-star Outsiders included McKagan, former G n' R drummer Matt Sorum, Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, and John Taylor of Duran Duran. A spokesperson for McKagan confirms that plans are in the works for the band to play the re-vamped Viper Room, their old stomping ground, every Monday night in April including the 5th, 12th, 19th and 26th. The group was the unofficial house band at that club circa 1995.

The spokesperson adds that nothing more is planned beyond those concerts and that McKagan's main focus is still going to be his solo career.

McKagan is currently doing a series of club dates with his own band including a stint tonight at Al's Bar in L.A. which is scheduled to be taped for a possible live EP or album to be distributed to fans through his website. The recording is a stopgap measure while McKagan sorts out his label status in the wake of the demise of Geffen. The company had already distributed advances of his new album, "Beautiful Disease," and had been heavily promoting the record when the plug was pulled.

The spokesperson confirmed that McKagan will be sounding out his label options this weekend in Austin where he's just been added to the massive South By Southwest music industry conference. He plays midnight Saturday at the Atomic Cafe.

In somewhat related news, Chris Weber, who's suing Guns n' Roses for publishing royalties for songs he helped write on early recordings, has apparently signed a deal with Epic Records and is recording in Seattle with producer Rick Parashar, best known for Pearl Jam's "10". Weber was a member of Hollywood Rose, a G n' R forerunner. A spokesperson for Weber says the publishing case is still in the courts.