2012.04.16 - Rolling Stone - Interview with Steven and Matt at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Transcript:
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Steven: All I will say is, I love Axl very much and I was blessed that I got to… you know, that he was a part of my life.

Matt: I think we’re really here to honor the legacy of rock ‘n’ roll.

Steven: Yes.

Matt: You know, it’s like, we’re in a long list and we came from an ilk that really paved the way for us. I mean, Steven loved Queen, I loved Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, he loved Deep Purple… you know, we all loved the same music.

Steven: Journey…

Matt: Yeah (laughs).

Steven: That’s what I forgot to mention (laughs). I can’t believe it!

Matt: (Laughs) Journey…

Steven: I was gonna say it in my speech. I was gonna say, “It’s such an honor being inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but Kiss isn’t in here.”

Matt: Yeah.

Steven: And then I found out the other day that Rush isn’t in here!

Matt: Yeah.

Steven: And I always thought they got to be inducted. If it wasn’t for those bands and a couple of other ones there would have never been a GN’R.

Matt: Yeah, maximum respect to those guys, you know, because they came way before. The first concert I ever saw was Kiss in 1976. I remember thinking, “Wow, maybe someday I could do that,” you know, and here we are. But they’re not even here, so it’s to give respect to the bands that came before us. Deep Purple isn’t in here, one of the greatest rock bands.

Steven: No way! Rush, Deep Purple…

Matt: Iron Maiden is not in there (?)

Steven: Oh my god!

Matt: You know, Judas Priest… So for us to be here before them it’s almost like… I have to, you know-

Steven: It’s almost wrong, yeah! (laughs)

Matt: As musicians, we respect them, right? And they’re guys, like I said, that came many, many years before us, and a lot of what we do is because of them.

Steven: I stole everything from everybody that we just mentioned. Everything (laughs).

Matt: (Laughs) That we just mentioned. We, yeah, lifted all of it.

Steven: (Laughs) I lifted it all.

Matt: And Steven was very gracious to let me play on Brownstone, which is his original drum parts and stuff, so, you know…

Steven: Nobody does it better than you.

Matt: (Laughs).

Steven: Except for me (laughs).

Matt: Well, people who know the history of Guns N’ Roses – that, you know, in my speech I said I came in to fill some big shoes and got to go and have an extraordinary crazy wild ride with some crazy motherfuckers and, you know, had a great time. I can look back at it like somebody else’s movie – all a little blurry, but I had an amazing experience.

Steven: Definitely a wonderful experience.