1991.08.20 - Press conference in Denmark (Slash, Duff, Matt)

It's a Lifestyle

Monday, August 9 is forever remembered in the history books. The day that the world shuddered over the conservative association that with violence took the power in the Soviet Union.

The same day played the most talked about band of rock, Guns N' Roses in Copenhagen. This show came partly in the shadow of the critical situation in Soviet.

The happenings out in the world didn't pass Axl Rose & Co. As protest the Russian flag was hoisted during the concert.

"It was a one-time happening that we did because of what's happening in the Soviet Union. We're not gonna meddle in the politics, but it was our way to express our opinion" explains the band's Duff McKagan.

* THE CONCERT During the European tour did the order of the songs vary from night to night. The gig in Copenhagen had a strange order of the songs. It took three quarters of an hour before the crowd really went wild when "Civil War" was played. Before that they gave the quite confused audience a series of new songs and not-so-famous material from earlier albums.

During "Sweet Child O' Mine" a scary incident occurred. An explosion was heard and the band stopped playing. Axl yelled that they would not continue until the culprit had been arrested.
The atmosphere in the crowd became immediately hostile and the venue boiling under the parole "Kick him out, kick him out"
After a little while the band came back and Axl explained that a guy had turned himself in.

* THE PRESS CONFERENCE The day after the gig gave the guitarist Slash, the bassist Duff McKagan and the new drummer Matt Sorum (The Cult) a press conference. Duff was noticeably drunk and kept taking drinks, Slash drank as usual Jack Daniels while Matt Sorum was totally sober.
Since this was the only press conference during the European tour, press from all over the world had gathered.

Below follows an extract from the press conference with Slash (S), Duff (D) and Matt (M).

Why has it taken so long for these new albums to be released?
- (D) There's many reasons. Mainly it is because we had to find a new drummer. We tried out thousands of guys before we finally found Matt. He put down the basics on one month and then the rest of the members did their respective parts.

- (M) Then we ran into problems with the mixing. The guy that was doing the mixing didn't do a good job, so we had to call in Bill Price who re-mixed almost all the material.

Why two albums?
- (D) There was a lot of old material that we wanted to include. It's not possible to release your second album as a double so we thought it was a good idea to release two separate albums instead. Besides many fans can't afford a double-album. Now two friends can buy one album each and tape them from each other. If you buy "Use Your Illusion I" and think it's good you then can buy "Use Your Illusion II"

- (S) We wanted to release all the material that Guns N' Roses had ever written. The new albums stretches over the band's entire career, even further back when we were in other bands. When we recorded "Appetite For Destruction" we had songs that wasn't completed which we had now.

- (D) We had been separated from each other in over one year and the recordings were a way for us to get together again. That's why it was nice to be in the studio so long that we once again became a unit.

- (S) We've sold a lot of records so then we could as well spend money in the studio.

- (D) During our entire career we've put material aside. We've been thinking "this we can use later" and we ended up having too much material put aside. Now there isn't any unreleased material with Guns N' Roses, so when it's time for out third album it will be up-to-date.

How do you write your songs?

- (D) I can take an example. Slash had a riff that he always played during our soundcheck. From that riff the whole band worked out "Civil War" Most common is that a member comes with a basic idea that we all work together with until the song is good.

- (S) Even if maybe one of us writes most of a song, e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e in the band must approve it if it's gonna be on an album.

How did it feel for you Matt to join Guns N' Roses?

-(M) I had just finished 18 months on tour with The Cult. Then I went into the studio with Guns thinking we were gonna record o-n-e album and then it became 30 songs! It was tough.

- I was never really a permanent member in The Cult. They asked me if I was interested in playing on the album "Sonic Temple" (1989) and went with them on the following tour, but there was never in question of something more.

- (S) Matt was totally incredible in the studio. He only needed a few takes to do his part in Axl's piano song November Rain.

- (M) You left me completely alone and went to the bar across the street! [laughs]

- The first time I performed with the band was in front of 260,000 fans on Rock in Rio this January. It was actually the first time I played together with Axl, or even the first time I heard him sing in the reality!

Do you have to live up to the rock n' roll myth to be a rock n' roll band?

- (S) There's an universal myth of rock n' roll. There's a special soul in rock n' roll that contains more then just the music. It's a lifestyle.

- (D) There's tons of groups that says they're rock n' roll when they don't have the slightest rock in them.

- It's about real life, to go through a hell like we've done. We bring this attitude onstage and to us it's one big rock n' roll arena. People live an everyday-life in the weeks, but on the weekends everything happens. We live out our feelings onstage everyday and do exactly what we want.

- (D) We show in public what others do behind closed doors. I can totally honestly say that I masturbated half-an-hour ago. I don't give a shit. Everyone does it but no one talks about it.

- (S) We are totally normal persons that do what we want and don't let anything come in between. We don't hesitate to say what we want. Really we are sensitive but that side doesn't anyone know about. You journalists don't want to know about our personalities, you're only interested in the shit about us. What we say here today will be probably get the headline "Guns N' Roses masturbates" or something like that.

- (S) The attitude some from the time when all five, including Steven, met in Los Angeles. We were all in different LA-bands that wanted to be pop-stars.

- (D) Slash was a local punker, Steven a guy from the valley, I a tall punker with short, blue hair and marks everywhere, Axl a weird guy and Izzy the unconcerned type. In some way our roads crossed and Guns N' Roses became reality.

- (S) We had the same taste of music. I don't think there's many groups I like which Axl and Matt dislike.

- When we began in the clubs everyone wanted to hate us. It didn't matter how many journalists that wrote down our concert because we did a good show anyway. People that came there had no idea of who we were but they liked our energy. We became somewhat of a cult band in certain circles.

- When Appetite For Destruction got out nobody bought it. Still there were many people on our gigs and we played the shit out of them.

- (D) Either you love us or hate us. It's been like that from the beginning and it still is. We don't give a shit which. The more people that say they hate us, the more it favor us. So continue to hate us if you want.

How come you have a so bad relationship with the media? What do you really think of journalists?

- (D) I studied journalism in High School, so I'm not gonna talk shit about you. There is however an important thing that many journalists have forgotten and that is the personal integrity. It's written about our private life, which is completely wrong. What has our private life with the music of Guns N' Roses to do?

- (S) We can't go out of a building without being photographed and then come in the papers for a completely wrong reason. Everything we do is watched and if we say something outside the music it is enlarged to something big.

Why does the media and record companies hate you then?

- (S) It's been like that from the beginning. Before anyone even knew what we sounded like we had gotten a reputation. When we performed everyone came there since they knew there was gonna be trouble, there were a lot of chicks there and there was drugs circulating. We got famous as an asocial band and wherever we went the reputation followed. I mean, everyone sleeps with girls but when we do it it's a big thing, since we have such a high profile.

- (D) People say "that's dangerous guys" that sleeps with girls. But they who say it do the same things behind closed doors. We are the perfect target and that's why they mess with us.

More quotes (and clips) from the press conference in Denmark can be found in this French program from September 1991:
https://tinyurl.com/y5cufm2b