2008.07.03 - Fox News - Duff McKagan 'On the Record'

Duff McKagan 'On the Record'

JAMIE COLBY, FOX NEWS HOST: Ozzy Osbourne, Bret Michaels, and Motley Crue, they have all gone "On the Record." And tonight it's Duff McKagan's turn. Earlier the former bassist for Guns N' Roses and current member of Velvet Revolver sat down with Greta. He's working on a new project that might surprise you.

GRETA VAN SUSTEREN, FOX NEWS HOST: Duff, thank you for joining us.

DUFF MCKAGAN, BASSIST: You're welcome. Thanks for having me on.

VAN SUSTEREN: People know you from your music career, but I want to start first with your business career. You're a businessman now.

MCKAGAN: Well, yes, something like that. In between Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver, I went to the Albert School of Business, and that's how Velvet Revolver started, and the first record took off. We toured for 2.5 years, and made our second record, and toured again until just April. And the opportunity came up a couple of months ago with nuTsie and Dave Deeder(ph), who is an executive there. He and I grew up together. He's from the band The Presidents of the United States. And I'm now on their advisory board and doing press for them.

VAN SUSTEREN: I want to talk about Guns n' Roses and Velvet Revolver, but I also want to talk about nuTsie. What is it nuTsie.

MCKAGAN: It's a digital music service, that, basically, to break it down, you send them your I-tunes library. It's free to sign up. And you can access your I-tunes library or mine or anybody who has signed up to nuTsie from your mobile device, or any web account, really. And so you can basically take your phone, if it's MP-3 compatible, and listen to my I-tunes library or yours or whoever's while you're walking down the street.

VAN SUSTEREN: So I can take my blackberry, for instance, and put in nuTsie.com, get an account, and then if I want to listen to your music, or do you have to give me a password so I can hear your I-tunes collection?

MCKAGAN: No, you can listen to mine. Anybody who has an account at nuTsie, there's also tons of play lists you can sign up for, and, again, it's all free.

VAN SUSTEREN: So can I spy on the type of music you're playing if I'm curious and wondering what you're listening to?

MCKAGAN: Yes.

VAN SUSTEREN: I can find out what you like.

MCKAGAN: Yes. You can look into my whole I-tunes library.

VAN SUSTEREN: Let's talk about Guns N' Roses. Do you miss it?

MCKAGAN: That was a long time ago. It was an amazing time for the five of us. We were really, really young, and we experienced this thing. We created the four records we made together. We created that music out of sheer passion. And you can't trade that for anything. I don't miss that. I barely remember it, to tell you the truth.

VAN SUSTEREN: You played with Guns N' Roses, sort of hit the skids, came around and went to business school, and then Velvet Revolver. How do you compare the experience of Velvet Revolver and Guns n' Roses?

MCKAGAN: Well, I was an adult, really, by the time VR started. I had a wife, and still do, and two daughters. So, for me, touring was a completely different experience. It was more about how is going to see my wife and kids than really like where the next party was.

VAN SUSTEREN: If I were to get nutsy.com and access your music list right now, your I-tunes list, what do you think I would be most surprised about on your list?

MCKAGAN: Probably the R&B, and funk stuff I have on there.

VAN SUSTEREN: Why?

MCKAGAN: Probably people don't equate that with me so much.

VAN SUSTEREN: I know you play the bass. Who's the best lead guitarist you've ever listened to?

MCKAGAN: Lead guitar player? I've got to say Slash, the guy I've been playing with for 22 or 23 years is one of the best. Not just because I play with him, he really is.

Hendrix was amazing. Prince is also a killer of a guitar player. He doesn't get as many props as he should. But Slash is probably up there with anybody.

VAN SUSTEREN: Drummer?

MCKAGAN: Matt Sorum, John Bonham, Keith Moon.

VAN SUSTEREN: Duff, thank you for joining us. Good luck. I'm going to look at nuTsie.com and see what it is. I like gadgets and I like music.

MCKAGAN: Cool. Check it out. It's easy.

VAN SUSTEREN: All right, thank you.

MCKAGAN: Thanks, Greta.

https://web.archive.org/web/20090305130935/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,377182,00.html