2011.05.24 - Bloody-Disgusting - Chatting With Loaded's Duff McKagan

Exclusive Interview: Chatting With Loaded's Duff McKagan

By: Jonathan Barkan

Bloody-Disgusting has scored an exclusive interview with Duff McKagan (ex-Guns N Roses, Velvet Revolver) of Loaded! Check after the jump for the skinny on the new album, the Loaded film, Duff's opinion of horror, and a lot about Foo Fighters! Oh yeah, there's a bit about goat f*cking. Seriously.

How are you doing?

I'm good, thanks!

With 'The Taking' having come out a few weeks ago, what's new with Loaded? What's the main focus now?

Besides being fucking killer? [laughs] No, we're done. We put the record out. We're done. We're gonna make another record. Just kidding. Just joking. [laughs] We're about to go to Europe in a couple of weeks. We played a bunch of shows our release week and we did the Golden Gods award show the night after our record came out. And that will come out soon. That's kind of as good as touring the States, because that's going to air a ton of times and that goes a long way to explaining what is Loaded to the American eye. It's kind of tough for a band like us to break in the States. We're a little left of center. People in Europe and South America could give a shit about that.

What's the story with the documentary done by Jamie Chamberlain? Do you know a release date?

If it was just a simple documentary, it would be out by now. However, it's a movie. There's a lot of performance. The album is the soundtrack for the movie, but there is also almost a madcap, comedic storyline to the movie. It looks amazing! There are some hilarious parts. I think he'll be done editing in June. Let's just say this summer.

So, I have to ask; what's with the cover of 'The Taking'? That picture is kind of creepy!

It will all be unveiled when the movie comes out. Patience, my son! Patience! [laughs] The movie is about our drummer getting kidnapped by a former Soviet State. There's a ransom, and we're trying to raise the money to our drummer, Isaac, back. So, the cover of the record is kind of a two-fold thing. The record was an accidentally concept record. After we had record 16 or 17 songs, we had to pick 11 songs for the album. We were putting those 11 songs together and only then was it unveiled that the record had this concept. And that's how records usually work; one song goes into the next song, which goes into the next song. In the movie, we went to the absurd. Our drummer gets kidnapped for fucking goats or doing something untoward to goats. [laughs] That's why he's held for ransom. But the record has this dark, heavy, twisted feel to it.

Speaking of creepy and eerie, are you into horror films at all? If so, what are some of your favorites?

I am! [laughs] Have you seen the movie Drag Me To Hell?

Of course!

That kind of shit! I'm a bit of a latecomer to horror, but that sense of humor and zombie movies. Maybe I missed out when I was a kid and Rob Zombie had it right the whole time. I wasn't exposed to it. When I watched Drag Me To Hell with my wife a couple of years ago, I was thinking, "This is the best fucking movie ever!". And now we rent movies like Piranha 3D. Basically, anything that is as dumb as it can get, we go for it. I'm not a latecomer to smart yet twisted shit. I'll go towards things like Blood Meridian, the book by Cormack McCarthy. But yeah, it's never too late to say, "It's never too late." I may be a latecomer but I'm also a newcomer to the horror genre.

If you don't mind my asking, can you give me any update on Velvet Revolver? The fans are on the edge of their seats jumping at any bit of news!

Umm, no. Nothing I can really say about that. [laughs]

You know, I read a few weeks ago a quote from Dave Grohl where he said that he thinks that Foo Fighters is finally out from the shadow of Nirvana. And that nagged at me because, for instance, at the Superbowl, when Slash rose up out of the stage playing 'Sweet Child O' Mine', I remember thinking, "When will these guys be recognized for what they're doing now, for Velvet Revolver and Loaded and not have Guns N Roses constantly looming overhead?". What's your take on the situation?

By Slash doing that, he knows that he's putting himself squarely back at step number one. With Velvet Revolver… I know what Dave's talking about, he does all the interviews for the Foo Fighters. That's a band, a killer band too, that for all creative purposes and touring purposes, it acts like a solo project regarding all the interviews. And since he was a member of Nirvana, I'm sure he's had to field all those dumb questions. "Do you miss being in Nirvana?" "Do you miss Kurt?" God knows! I can make up a million questions that he's probably been asked. And with this latest record, he probably feels like he's gotten the least of those questions. I'm only assuming, but it's an educated assumption because I know what that's like. Being from a big band is great because you can do other bands. We wouldn't be talking about Loaded if I wasn't in Velvet Revolver or Guns N Roses before that. I'm proud of my past. It's fucking killer! Sometimes, the art that you make, you hope that the interviewer doesn't bring those up. But I can dig it. But I think that the Foo Fighters have been well out of the shadow for a while. They've eclipsed all things a long time ago. I think they're a great band. Left to my own devices, I tend to go darker and weirder and it's fun. There is a bit of humor to the whole thing, but Loaded is a serious rock band.

Duff, thank you so much for your time and best of luck!

Thanks a lot! Cheers!

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