2011.03.28 - The Celebrity Cafe/Blabbermouth - Interview with Duff

TheCelebrityCafe recently conducted an interview with Duff McKagan. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

TheCelebrityCafe: How do you think the industry has changed over the years?

Duff McKagan: When I started, I used to make records and it was analog. In 1989, when digital music … CDs started coming out, people still didn't have home computers so nobody kind of got it. By 1993, more and more people had home computers and you could see music being traded. The big mistake the industry made was in about 1997 when Napster dude Sean what's-his-name went to the record company and said, "Look, I'm getting all this revenue for ads, hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of revenue on Napster's site. We can do this. We won't have to fight. This is the way of the future. So you might as well just go in as partners on the website. You can pay your artists from the revenues of the ads and that's way we'll go." And the record company said, "Fuck you, we're going to sue you." That's why the major labels now are in so much trouble. They didn't think ahead. So that's a big change. Am I kind of sore about it? No. Luckily, I was part of a record that still sells a ton. People want that piece of whatever it is. They want to look at it. With Loaded, we're just like a smart street band. We're in the front lines of the thing. Bands just don't sell music anymore, so we sell CDs. I'm in a band, we sell CDs at gigs. We actually physically go out there. When we sell a thousand, it's just like, "Fuck yeah!"

TheCelebrityCafe: The [Duff McKagan's Loaded] song "We Win" has been played at a lot of sporting events. Did you guys intend for it to be a sports anthem?

Duff McKagan: Kind of. I would say kind of… Yeah, and I've never written for something but Major League Soccer last year was asking about. They wanted a theme song for the whole league. Well, it turned out they wanted a hip hop song. So we had this song "We Win". Somehow I think [Eagle Rock Entertainment] got it to the Seahawks and they started playing it before the game. The local sport guy in Seattle was pimpin' us. He loves our band. He was like "Seahawks…local teams should play local bands. They used to do that all the time. Like the Sonics game used to have Soundgarden and Alice In Chains and that's it... Pearl Jam and Nirvana. Now they just play all the same thing…" So Seahawks started playing it and then Major League Baseball. We got this email, well, they want to use it. "But the season is just about over. You mean for next year? That's kind of early?" "No, for the World Series." So Fox used it which was great and our record is not even out.

TheCelebrityCafe: In your Seattle Weekly column, you say how much you hate reality shows. Has your mind changed since "Married to Rock"?

Duff McKagan: No, I hate them more. I hate them more. If you notice in "Married" I love my wife. I do. I love my wife. It's no secret around my house since reality shows came, it's fucking garbage. Then my wife [says] "They want me to be in a reality show." "Good for you, honey. Go do that thing." "But they kind of want you in it, too." And I'm kinda like "No. Nuh-uh. Why do they want me?" "Well, it's called 'Married to Rock' and you're like the rock that I'm married to." So I'm married and when you're married when you're right, you're wrong and when you're wrong, you're wrong. So if you notice in that show I'm kind of like only in it. They wanted me to do all kinds of dumb-ass shit like go camping with all the other couples and then a tent falls down and there's drama. Like, fuck that! I'm not doing that. Sorry, but I love my wife and she's as cute as a little button and she has fun with it. But no, it hasn't changed. I hate reality…I don't watch any of it.

https://archive.blabbermouth.net/news/duff-mckagan-says-he-hates-reality-tv-shows/