1991.07.DD - Much Music - Interview with Duff and Matt (and Axl cameo)

Transcript:

TRANSCRIPTION:
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Interviewer: ... Duff and Matt from Guns N’ Roses and we’re backstage at the Toronto show, and we’re in a... I guess, sort of like, a Winnebago, and the A/C is not on, and the window is open. Alright, so let's cut the speed. So we did kind of meet once, at Mates, and we were there to do Faster Pussycat and...

Duff: We walked in the room, and it was like... Bobby was like, “Get ‘em outta there”.

(Laughter)

Interviewer: It was like, we walked in and we left the the door open, and we were there to see Pussycat and I said “Wait a minute, that’s Duff”. So we turned around and there was (?) and stuff. And actually, if you see Slash, tell him he owes me 50 cents, because I gave him...

Duff: He borrowed 50 cents.

Interviewer: He borrowed 50 cents to (?) Oreos in the machine. Alright, let’s... How long have you guys been on this tour so far? It’s not too long, is it?

Duff: It’s... We’re starting week 3.

Matt: Yeah, I guess.

Interviewer: Week 3? How has it been for you?

Duff: Rocking.

Interviewer: Yeah?

Duff: Every night is different, man. It’s amazing. I mean, everything is clicking, everybody’s ready, everybody’s, like, healthy. Everybody in the band is clicking. Matt, I mean...

Interviewer: How was it like for you to tour now with these guys? I mean, you know, you were at a pretty good band that these guys opened for on that stage a while back, The Cult. Now you are with these guys and, I mean, with, you know, it’s one of the biggest band in the world now, currently.

Duff: Yeah...

Interviewer: That’s fair.

(Laughter)

Duff: That’s too much for me to fathom.  

Interviewer: But it’s fair to say that.

Duff: We’re a band on the road. Something like that.

Interviewer: Cool, cool. Alright, with an album coming out. Two albums coming out. Some day. So now you’re with this band and...

Duff: You know, it’s all a big joke, actually. There’s no album.

Matt: It’s a big hype.

(Laughter)

Interviewer: “We spent all the money on real estate.” So now you’re with these guys. What is that like? Three weeks into the tour.

Matt: Great. Every night is just, like, incredible, you know. The fans are killer, fans are unbelievable. I mean, you know, The Cult was cool and everything. Basically the bands have the same attitude, you know, and I just became such good friends with these guys, when I was getting...

Duff: We’re friends with the Cult too - just to put the record straight there.

Matt: Yeah, yeah. But, you know, when I came down, when I joined the band and... Well, actually they called me up to do the album originally, and I came and I was just going to do the album, right? And then I started hanging out with the guys and everything, and they popped the question. We went out every night, you know.

Interviewer: What, they wanted to marry you?

(Laughter)

Matt: No, but we went out and we did a lot of partying and stuff, we hung out, we got along really well, and then they said, “Matt, do you want to be in the band?” I went, “Hey, yeah,” you know, “Why not?”

Interviewer: Cool.

Matt: So everyone was cool in The Cult about everything.

Interviewer: Okay. Guns N’ Roses, the appeal of the band: I don’t get it. I like the band, 12-year-old kids like the band, and my 58-year-old dad likes the band. I don’t get it. I mean, what’s the deal there, what is...

Duff: I don’t know about your dad (laughs). I’m sorry. I’m sorry to hear about that.

(Laughter)

Duff: What’s the appeal of the band? I think the appeal is that there’s no appeal. If that makes any sense.

Interviewer: Yeah, cool.

Duff: It’s not... We’re not another hair band, like, you know, on MTV or on Much Music or whatever. And it’s like, when we play, we don’t play to any... we don’t have a setlist. Okay? We don’t know what song we open with. It’s all like (?)

Interviewer (talks over): That’s hard for you guys.

Duff: What?

Interviewer: That’s hard for you, huh?

Duff: No, we’re used to it.

Matt: Axl calls them out. Lately it’s been really good. We go, kind of, with what the crowd is doing.

Duff: Yeah. And it’s like, we make, like, this place, into a club.

Matt: Yeah. He pulled a thing on us the other night. Axl said, “November Rain.” We hadn’t played it since we recorded it in July.

Duff: It was July!

Matt: In front of 20,000 people, we were going, “Uh, remember how that goes?”

Duff: That’s (?) a year ago.

Matt: Yeah, damn near a year ago we did this, we cut this track, right? Axl says “November Rain.” We are like (shocked face expression).

Duff: He has this grand piano that raises up out of the stage, right? And all of a sudden the piano raises up and we’re like, “What the hell is that?”

Interviewer: How long were you actually off the road, two...?

Duff: Three.

Interviewer: Three years?

Duff: We did, like, the one-offs. Farm Aid, and Rio, and before we did the Stones...

Interviewer: Why did you do Rio?

Duff: That was offered to (?)

Matt: 200,000 people a night. That’s... you know. Two gigs we did, 200,000, sold out.

Interviewer: Because what I read about the Rio show, what I heard about it, is probably that the second night was, like, the best show we’ve seen Guns N’ Roses ever play.

Duff: (?)

Matt: The second I played with Axl (laughs).

Duff: Yeah.

Matt: I mean, he never shows up for rehearsals and stuff. He shows up for the gig. I’ve never, actually, rehearsed with him. Ever.

Duff: Also it was like, “Oh yeah, Matt, drum solo.”

(Laughter)

Matt: I hadn’t done a drum solo since the 10th grade. That’s kind of I was (?). It’s like, haha, I’ll show you, I’ll get you, man. So they kind of like always throw in stuff, you know, but...

Duff: (?) everybody’s very humble.

Matt: Yeah.

Interviewer: (?)

[Live footage from Rio – Knocking on Heaven’s Door]

Interviewer: What does it feel like for you to be back out on tour. Because this is a tour.

Duff: It’s amazing. It’s, like, no problems with the band. And that’s... You kind of have to be there, but to have no problems with the band, you know, it’s amazing. Because this band is very volatile. And the rumors, like, that we can break up at any second is true. But right now it’s not that way at all. It’s like, everybody’s grooving in...

Interviewer: But any band can break up at any second.

Duff: It’s not like this band, no. I’ve been... I mean, I’m not trying to one-up on any... okay? But I’ve been in, like, 30 (?). 30 bands, you know? And it’s not like this. It’s different, you know? I think maybe because, I mean, it’s always on the edge. It’s always... Anything could happen any time, a riot could break out, because we’re so much on the edge.

Interviewer: What’s in this stuff, everybody wants to know. I mean, there’s two albums, right? Illusion 1 and Illusion 2. And apparently you did some interesting covers on these or...?

Duff: We did a whole cover album actually that will be coming out. But two... no, one of the covers will be on one of the two records that are coming out.

Matt: Live and Let Die.

Duff: Yeah, Live and Let Die.

Matt: The McCartney tune.

Duff: But we did a bunch of... which we will be playing tonight, Live and Let Die. And then we did...

Matt: Punk tunes.

Duff: Then we did, yeah, punk, as a dedication to, like, the forefathers of punk, you know.

Matt: Sure.

Interviewer: Like some... what did you...

Duff: Damned, Fear...

Matt:  (?) New Rose.

Duff: Yeah, New Rose.

Interviewer: New Rose, for sure.

Duff: The Fear song “I Don’t Care About You, fuck you”...

(Laughter)

Matt: That one.

Duff: What else? Um, Black Leather... what else did we...

Matt: Um, a Dead Boys tune.

Duff: Ain’t It Fun...

Matt: Ain’t It Fun, Dead Boys.

Interviewer: Did you do any Dolls?

Duff: No Dolls, no.

Interviewer: I heard about Johnny Thunders just recently passing away...

Duff: I know. I’m doing, like, a cover song. I’m making my own record right now.

Interviewer: What are you gonna do on it?

Duff: I play drums and bass and...

Interviewer: Are you gonna do Johnny Thunders tunes?

Duff: Yeah.

Interviewer: Which one?

Duff: You Can’t Put Your Arm Around A Memory.

Interviewer: Now, you guys were 18 months in Mates, in that rehearsal space. How come so long?

Duff: Um, yeah. But 9-10 months of it was wasted time.

Interviewer: What do you mean “wasted time”?

Duff: Um, well, part of it was with our ex-drummer...

Matt: Here is Axl on a bike over there (points out of the window).

Duff (shouts at Axl out of the window): Hey! Hey, stupid!

(Laughter)

Interviewer: Has he got his brace on (?)

Matt: Hey, it looks like he doesn’t.

Duff: He doesn’t.

Matt: Maybe he should be taking it off.

Duff: Exercising it.

Interviewer: So how is Steven doing? Did you get to talk to him?

Duff: Oh, I’d rather not...

Interviewer: Cool. Okay. Are you getting any tattoos?

Matt: No, no tatt.

Interviewer: Did you have to get a tatt to join the band?

Matt: Um, well...

Interviewer: Anything fresh for the tour?

Matt: Yeah, I’ll do it at the right time.

Duff: I (?) (shows a tattoo on his arm)

Interviewer: Is that fresh?

Duff: Yeah, kind of fresh.

Interviewer: Where do you do these, in L.A.? On Sunset Strip?

Duff: Yeah.

Interviewer: I went there. I bought my dad a t-shirt there, you know.

Duff: Oh, you did?

Interviewer: Oh yeah. I think, anything that you guys want, anybody out there to (?)

Duff: We are alive and well. How about that?

Matt: Back on track, man.

Duff: Any rumors you might hear is just...

Interviewer: Why don’t we just start a rumor here?

Duff: Yeah. You know what?

(Laughter)

Duff: Okay. Slash has got AIDS, Axl is a junky...

Matt (points out of the window): Hey, look, it’s Axl. Hey!

Duff (to Axl): Hey, stupid!

(Laughter)

Duff (to Axl): We’re doing an interview, man.

Matt: Come on here!

Interviewer: He’s gonna go fast.

Duff: I suppose so.

(Laughter)

Interviewer: (?) Jump the van, man!

Duff: We’re doing Much Music.

(Axl comes to the window, spits on Duff and laughs)

Interviewer: Oh, shit!

(Laughter)

Duff: Thanks.

Interviewer: Axl, how you’re doing, man?

Axl: What’s happening?

Interviewer: Dan Gallagher from Much Music. Nice to meet you. How’s the foot?

Axl: It’s alright. I wear my thing only when I’m playing.

Interviewer: Yeah? So you don’t have it on now you’re exercising?

Axl: (?) I don’t, my heel is not touching the ground.

(Laughter)

Matt: (?) is very painful though, huh?

Axl: (chuckles)

Interviewer: Have a good show and a good tour, man.

Axl: I hope so.

(Laughter)

Axl: I can’t tell one day from the next.

Duff: See? I told you, I told you.

Axl: Big blur.

(Laughter)

Matt: Where the hell are we?

Interviewer: This is Toronto.

Matt: Oh yeah, we know that.

Duff: We know that.

Interviewer: Anyway, thanks for this. It was cool. And good luck with the tour and thanks for taking your time with us.

Duff: Alright.

Matt: Alright.

Interviewer: Okay. Take care.

Matt: See ya.

The Toronto shows were in June 1991 (7 & 8), so I guess the interview must have been recorded then and not in July.

Since this interview took place backstage in Toronto, the date must have been June 7 or 8?

I'd say more likely June 7 before the first show, since they don't talk about a show played there the night before.

Blackstar wrote:I'd say more likely June 7 before the first show, since they don't talk about a show played there the night before.

I agree. Makes sense. Do you know if it was aired in July? Or should we change the date?

I couldn't find a source for the date it was aired. Maybe the date on the youtube video is just wrong; it wouldn't make much sense for it to be aired a month after the shows.
But then again, who knows...

Let's leave it as it is. When citing the video I will just make a note of when the interview took place.