2010.MM.DD - Seattle Weekly - Reverb (Duff's column)

Question for Duff: Business Considerations Aside, Is Appetite Better On CD or Vinyl?

By Duff McKagan
Mon., Dec. 13 2010

Q: I recently received a primo condition copy of (Guns N' Roses') Appetite For Destruction on vinyl that I bought from some serious collector dude in Kentucky who is selling all his wax and moving to a music server. He has his reasons, but I am sad for him...

It's been awhile since I've heard this album in it's analogue form; through a diamond and some high powered vintage era stereo-wars kit, and it sounds so fucking awesome it's making my pubic hairs stand on end. Which makes me wonder: What's your take on the analogue vs. digital debate? Do you have a preference when it comes to the formats? I'm not talking about what you have to do to sell music these days -- I'm asking if you have a preference when it comes to sitting down for some serious listening.

For yucks, I just A/B'd the two versions through the same system and I gotta tell you that to my admittedly Lizzy-chromed ear canals, the vinyl has an almost 3-D quality and sonic signature that is absent in my compact disc version. The vinyl sounds better and it's not even close.

Am I just showing my age here being ancient and cranky about the superiority of the old ways, or is there something to be said for that chunky old analogue sound? -- El Hugo

Duff: Yeah, well, in a whole shit-ton of ways, digital music fucking killed my business.

Back when CD's first came out, I had just started making real money in GNR. I had the best turntable and amps and speakers that money could buy, and I remember Slash and I going to a CD store on Ventura Blvd. to buys some CDs and a couple of CD players. This store had everything, and I remember just starting from 'A' and ending at 'Z', filling up a whole shopping cart while basically re-stocking everything I had on vinyl.

It seemed like this was cutting edge shit, and that I was at the forefront of the technology...until I got home and realized it ALL sounded like shit compared to my vinyl. Anyone who says different, must just be so used to every bit of a digital track being used up, that actual 'space' in a song, must sound weird and maybe archaic.

But back then, we didn't realize that this was just a game being played by the major labels to do what Slash and I had fell hook, line, and sinker for; re-buying ALL of their product! Multiply that by everyone on this planet, and you are talking about trillions of dollars! What the major label powers were too short-sighted and greedy to realize is that home computers were becoming more and more popular, and that digital bits and pieces could be sent back and forth between users.

The artist is STILL the one paying the ultimate price. With gas prices up so high, no one selling CDs, and lower ticket prices EVERYWHERE, it will be a miracle to have any other choice but seeing local bands for awhile. In Seattle, though, that ain't such a bad thing!

https://web.archive.org/web/20101217214118/http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/12/question_for_duff_business_con.php

Question for Duff: What Should I Do If I Want to Sound Like You?

By Duff McKagan
Tue., Dec. 14 2010

Q: I've been trying to get our bass player to get that 'Duff' sound, but it is pretty tough. What amp settings do you use? -- Layo

Duff: Ah, you thought could try and slip me up on this one to answer just like that?! I am a cagey warrior used to the Kung Fu that you thus deploy. And the answer is? Trade secret, biotch! Good luck!

https://web.archive.org/web/20101218161154/http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/12/question_for_duff_what_do_i_do.php

Question for Duff: When Are You Going to Tell Your Daughters About, Um ... Everything?

By Duff McKagan
Mon., Dec. 20 2010

Q: Can I pass that Q to you regarding the fact that your daughters are now on the verge of saying farewell to their childhood and at the gateways of starting to party? I know it's a tough question and I mean no disrespect, but I'm a father, too, and I get a chill down my spine whenever I put myself in the shoes of our RNR heroes having to deal with something like that. -- David

Duff: Well David, My kids ARE definitely now at the age where my past exploits in the 'darkness' are and will be talked about more and more in my house. But the thing that I have found that is very important for all topics with my kids, is the fact that we do actually talk about them (or at least, I try to approach them with certain ones).

Certain things will have come up already. When Grace was in the 3rd grade, she asked me why I didn't drink wine when everyone else did at dinner or 'grown-up' parties. I didn't think at that point that she was old enough to notice these types of things-and I took this as a wake-up call that my young kids are very astute. I think most young kids are.

Grace's query gave me an awesome and early opportunity to tell her about my past problems with alcohol and drugs. I told her these things in a way that did not scare her, but simply made her realize that these things were a bad thing for a guy like me. We have more recently hit on the topic that my alcoholism and addiction problems could very well be a family trait and that it is something that she and I should watch out for when she gets older. She knows very well about my past, and more than likely looks at those old photos of me as an embarrassment. I hope she does, anyway.

To add to all of this, and a dilemma that I am now facing, is the book that I am just now finishing. It is a story of redemption in the end, but it does tell my whole story-thorns, pimples, blood, puke, and all. I have told my kids of my past and they have seen the pictures and read the stories. That is all that I can do for now. Well no, there IS one other big thing I can do; and that is to be a loving and trustful Dad.

Hell, I can't hide too much can I? As I write this missive, I am recuperating from a surgery to fix my scarred sinuses from 17 year-old cocaine abuse! My MRI pictures of the battle in my cranium is enough to scare ANY kid straight!

https://web.archive.org/web/20101227032055/http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/12/question_for_duff_when_are_you.php

The 10 Things On My List: Thanks, Requests, and Christmas Wishes

By Duff McKagan
Thu., Dec. 23 2010

Yes, last week was pretty damn interesting if you were me. At long last, I had surgery to repair my torn and damaged sinuses left non-functional after a long-ago bout with the cocaine. From sometime in 1989 until about November 1993, I snorted perhaps my body weight in varying degrees of good, bad, and straight-up shitty blow. I don't recommend this to any of you young readers. I was NOT such a smart 20-something. Nope, just an ordinary drug-addict.

I remember trying to glamorize all my drug and alcohol use back then. I would romanticize my life and my struggle as something noble and just. I was an ARTIST, maaan! I NEEDED to dull myself to certain inputs or else my art would suffer. Yep, before I knew it, I was strung-out and terrified. Crappy stuff.

Someone asked me about this stuff a while back, and "what are your kids gonna say when they start to party?" Some people ask me these things in an almost bellicose way, as if suffering through my kids' drug-abuse issues would be just payback for what I have done to myself. Hopefully, I was a big enough idiot in my time that I have filled the dumb-ass quota for my whole family. God, I hope so.

On another note, but still somewhat on-topic, I just got back from seeing The Fighter with Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale--a true story about boxer Micky Ward and his once-promising older brother who got addicted to crack in the mid-'80s. Christian Bale just fucking nailed the tics and physical traits of a crack guy, and I swear he must have studied an old drummer of mine, Steven Adler, for this part. I love Steven, so watching this portrayal reminded me of the heartbreak that I felt back then.

All right then, so it is Christmas, and most of you know that I am the It's a Wonderful Life-Is-My-Favorite-Movie-Ever guy. If you didn't know, well, now the rest of you do. In the "flavor" and mood of that particular film, I would now like to ask for some things, and give some thanks, for Christmas, my favorite time of year.

1. Please let this surgery fix the problems that my cocaine abuse has brought upon me. I don't want to go through another one of those procedures, 'cause that shit hurt!

2. Thanks for not letting me get strung out on the Oxys afterwards. That would have sucked pretty good.

3. I would like to give a shout-out and nod to those of you still suffering from active addiction at this moment. If you are reading this now, just know that things will get better if you really want to quit. If you think that you are incapable of stopping, please don't. I was that guy, the one whom everyone--including myself--had pegged as the one who wouldn't survive. If I can, then you can too.

4. Santa, please give my dog Buckley his testicles back. I need another dude in my household desperately!

5. Create some jobs this next year. For those families with children stuck without a home because of this recession, may you find a helping hand.

6. Bring our soldiers home!

7. Let Matt Hasselbeck either find his way over these next few weeks, or give us Seahawks fans something positive to live with this off-season.

8. Let Loaded reign supreme and dominate the planet in this year to come!

9. May all the readers of this column enjoy good health and immeasurable happiness this next year.

10. Thank you for letting me be born into this McKagan family. Our family Christmas parties are the best, loudest, funnest, and biggest celebrations of this type in Western Washington. I am so very grateful to witness now what I could have very well not been around for at all.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

https://web.archive.org/web/20101227032305/http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/12/the_10_things_on_my_list_thank.php

Question for Duff: What's Your Petting Policy?

By Duff McKagan
Mon., Dec. 27 2010

Q: You think it's OK to pet on a first date? -- K

Duff: I think that probably all depends on where you are at in your life. If you want something fun and sex-filled from the get-go, then shit yes. But if you are wanting something that may have some staying power (pun intended), maybe hold off on the fast moves and let the anticipation build.

https://web.archive.org/web/20110103023549/http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/12/question_for_duff_whats_your_p.php

Question for Duff: Is It OK to Join a Band For the Experience, Not the Music?

By Duff McKagan
Tue., Dec. 28 2010

Q: I've been playing guitar forever. I've always wanted to play in a rock band that traveled and was fun to play music in. A few friends of mine are in a band up in Sacramento and they've been lucky enough to have gone on three or four U.S. tours. Now they've asked me to join. It seems like a great opportunity for me to rock and gain some experience. It seems like the universe gave me what I was asking for, right?

Well, the thing is I don't really care much for the style of music. The guys are rad, it's fun to jam, and they have a pro attitude as a band, and as friends. I would feel bad joining the band just to gain some experience and play/tour when my heart isn't stoked on the music. Do you feel that would be wrong to join a band just to play and tour, just to gain experience?

I know first and for most, fun comes first in playing music, but I guess I feel a little guilty and shitty if I did that. Then again, it could be a door to something better? Have you ever had that dilemma when playing in bands?--Brent

Duff: You should do the tour first, and THEN comment on whether this it is a 'universe-gave-me-what-I-asked-for' thing or not! Have fun with your friends, and if nothing else, you will gain experience.

I played in a band when I first moved to Hollywood that I wasn't too stoked on, but they were playing gigs all of the time, and I did it to just simply meet people in a town where I knew no one. No harm done.

https://web.archive.org/web/20110101083717/http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/12/question_for_duff_what_do_you.php

Can't I Just Resolve to Give Up Those Sales Calls and Junk Email In 2011?

By Duff McKagan
Thu., Dec. 30 2010

I have never been real big on New Year's resolutions--maybe because in my "sober life" I have strived for everything in moderation (food, buying too much material crap, or whatever). It goes without saying that I no longer have booze and drugs to swear off. But there are one or two things I am finally going to rectify after the first of the year . . . the things that perhaps plague us all: junk e-mail and sales calls.

I don't have the most public of phone numbers, but I have tried to hang onto the same cell number for quite some time now. I suppose I must have used it at some point when I bought something, because these days--and every business day--I get sales calls at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. You know the ones . . . a robotic voice comes on and says "This call is intended for MICHAEL MCKAGAN. If this is not MICHAEL MCKAGAN, please disregard." I emphasize the "Michael McKagan" part because that is the part of the sentence where the robotic voice inexplicably gets somehow more robotic.

The e-mails, on the other hand, are indeed from things that I have over the years used, or people I have given my e-mail to. I would think that the nursery school Grace went to some NINE YEARS AGO! would get the fact that Grace and I would no longer be interested in the different programs they offer. Sorry, I guess that is just me using common sense.

Also, although I am a Seattle resident, I DO spend a lot of my time in L.A., and have given my e-mail address to a few managers and tour managers and promoters and what-not. What I have gotten in return from some of these sorts (but not all of them, by any means), is a maddening cavalcade of invites to this "club opening" or that "birthday bash" for still more people who I have no idea who they might be. I'm not trying to paint myself as some sort of fancy-pants scenester, and I am glad that people think I am somehow "cool" enough to invite to some of these events. I just still think it is a little gauche to just use my e-mail for this onslaught without asking me if it is OK first.

I have learned not to give out my e-mail address when I go to stores, though. That is a whole other conundrum in itself. I know that neither of these two above-mentioned things are all that bad in the whole scope of things--and they are indeed not--but I have made a promise to myself to "unsubscribe" to the sales e-mails, send a note back to the club promoters to take me off the list (probably a D list, anyway), and call back these 800 numbers and have a supervisor take me off the call list!

My Blackberry is basically attached to my hip, and with all the international traveling I do, just think of the money I'll save from these international text-charges that I accrue because of the e-pimping that is all up in my grill. In the old days, I would have said to you all "Just think how many cocktails I could've bought with that dough." These days, however, I suppose it is more like "Just look at how many more nerdy books I can buy!"

God, how things have changed.

Happy New Year's, All!

https://web.archive.org/web/20110103004538/http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/12/cant_i_just_resolve_to_give_up.php