2017.05.04 - Fueled By Death Cast - Interview with Richard

Transcript:

Interviewer1: This week we had the honor and the privilege to talk to Richard Fortus. He is an incredible guitarist that has played with everybody from The Psychedelic Furs to Rihanna. And currently he is playing with Guns N' Roses.

Interviewer2: Who is Guns N' Roses? Are you a big fan of Guns N' Roses?

I1: I am, and I'm even more of a fan because they got the band back together, basically. For a while there it was a lot of different people kind of coming in and out. And just last year Slash came back and so did Duff, and now it's, you know, a lot of like the originals in there. And Richard's been in Guns N' Roses actually since 2002. So he's been in it for a very long time as well.

I2: 15 years, man!

I1: Yeah, and they are killing it. If you haven't checked out any of the new shows go on over on YouTube and type in Guns N' Roses, like 2016 or 2017, they're killing it live.

I2: They're probably better than they ever were before. Probably a little bit less drunk than they were back in the past.

I1: Watching Richard and Slash just trade off riffs is so cool. And he was really cool to talk to and had some really cool stuff to say about not only being in the music business for so long, but just life in general. So here's mugs up to Richard Fortis. Cheers.

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I1: You started in music. Like, what made you? I always loved the story because everybody has one. What made you pick up the guitar?

Richard: Well, I actually started on violin. I started when I was about four or five years old.

I1: That's awesome. I'm a violinist too, actually.

Richard: There you go. Great minds. When it was first offered to me, at that age is sort of like, "Yeah sure, I'll try anything," you know. And I was also playing the drums at that point so I sort of got into both of them at the same time and it sort of filled two different roles. You know, I was doing violin at school, I was studying drums with a drum teacher, a private teacher, and as my tastes started to lean more towards rock and roll and less towards classical I then later gravitated towards the guitar, probably around the age of 11 to 12.

I: Were your parents musicians?

Richard: No, no, no. Well, my mother actually was into vocal music and played piano and sang with different choirs and things like that but my father actually, he was part owners of a company that made musical instruments. So they made guitars and they made amplifiers and that exposed me to that world of, you know, of rock'n'roll. So I really became obsessed with rock probably around the age of seven or eight. And just, you know, fell head over heels in love with it and really obsessed over it. It's funny, I really spent every waking hour it seemed, like, immersing myself in music and music and rock'n'roll history, and classical as well.

I: That's cool, man. I gotta ask, do you still play the violin?

Richard: I do. And I also played cello.

I: That's awesome.

Richard: That's I picked up later on.

I: Actually, you have a couple of recordings with cello? I believe, I saw-

Richard: Sure, sure. I've done quite a few recordings, which cello and violin. But I actually played cello live with a few different projects, with The Psychedelic Furs. Which a lot of their early stuff has cello in it. So I played six string electric cello.

I: So cool.

Richard. Yeah, it was really cool. And it's actually a MIDI cello, so I had the high E string and a low F. So, you know, it goes lower than a cello and higher than a violin actually. But it was really cool. For using it electrically I had it mounted on a stand so I could just walk up to it and play. It was really cool. I also used it with an electronic artist named BT.

I: BT, yep.

Richard: Yeah, when I toured with him. And that was a lot of fun.

I: Yeah, that's awesome. I actually play an electric violin myself and it's a 5 string, it's an NS design. And so I have that low viola string on it which is really cool. When I perform live with it, I get to, you know, play low notes and high notes on it. So it's great to be someone, like, in your line of work who's not just, you know, it's hard enough to master an instrument but it's really great to kind of push that boundary into, you know, you started out playing violin. So it's something that you kept in your wheelhouse and you have cello and you have all of these other different instruments in your wheelhouse and that just that just makes it, in my mind, that makes it more fun as a musician.

Richard: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I'm more of a hack on the cello and violin, honestly. Like, I never feel as comfortable walking into a session with a violent or a cello. But it's definitely a lot of fun for me and when I'm doing composing, when I'm doing film scoring or, you know, commercials and things like that, it's really great to have, I always add my own violin and cello parts in conjunction with samples and, you know, the normal orchestrating sample libraries, just because it adds that... even to have a few different live instruments really makes those parts come to live.

I: That's awesome. So when did your career as a rock musician start to take off for you?

Richard: I guess I was about 15 years old and I left my regular public school and went to an arts school that was like a magnet school downtown where I grew up in St. Louis and I went to this art school and started meeting likeminded musicians, which was a tremendous opportunity just to be around those people and have... you know, that's the hardest thing when you're a kid, is about getting into music is finding likeminded musicians, you know. And that was a really cool thing about that school, is that I was around a ton of different people that were into completely different things. And it was also a great experience for me as far as expanding my horizons and getting into other types of music, you know. And it was a city school, so I was really at an early age exposed to, you know, the Parliament Funkadelic stuff and you know all the funk stuff that was going on at that time. Also, you know, the early hip-hop stuff. Gave me a well-rounded musical back. But I found some guys when I was about 14-15, started in school, and we were into older music. We were into, like, more of the art rock. Yes and Genesis and Pink Floyd and more of the artier stuff. You know, Bowie. And not so much the contemporary. So not like Poison and Def Leppard-

I: -And Guns N' Roses?

Richard: No, it was actually before Guns N' Roses. But yeah, it wasn't my thing. I was into stuff like Sabbath and you know like older rock classic stuff like The Who and you know the Kinks. So we were into that stuff as well as the typical musician's school nerdy stuff like Mahavishnu Orchestra and what was going on in the whole, you know, jazz fusion period and being musos. And then I heard The Clash and we all sort of naturally progressed from listening to that stuff into The Clash and the B and the Damned and Sex Pistols and Ramones and all that, you know, and really at that point it became about trying to pretend like we couldn't play our instruments, right? So it was this weird [?] where you go from one extreme to the other. With the art stuff and the jazz stuff, it's all so masturbatory and then going to the other extreme of just serving the song and really not trying to show your chops, but the opposite.

I:  Yeah. And I mean you're talking about a period of music. You know, like music had, like you said, like it had this huge shift at that point because like you know, it was going from this ideal of, you know, performance and chops, I guess you could call it, you know, to like you said, like not playing your instrument right. And you're coming up in bands at this point, right? Like you're in bands at this point?

Richard: Yeah, I was in a band.

I: Yeah. So is that changing your, as you are kind of forming bands and you're playing, is that changing your actual style?

Richard: Absolutely, absolutely, because we were listening to a lot of bands like the Police... what's interesting is that the group of guys I was playing with, we all sort of shifted, like it was a natural shift to somehow go from, you know, this one extreme to the other. And for whatever reason, you know. I don't know why that is but, like, you know, bands like the Police and U2 were just coming up and that was like.... I don't know. We all sort of gravitated towards that direction. And-

I: Do you think it might have been like you hit that rebellious age and then you just kind of end up getting into that, like rebellious, like, "Fuck you, fuck the world," like really just thrashing and just like at that time in your life and it just happened to be at the same time that that music started to get popular too?

Richard: Yeah, maybe. I mean it was definitely that age and it was definitely something new and exciting, but, you know, when you look at Mahavishnu Orchestra, that was equally as rebellious.

I: Oh, totally.

Richard: You know, that was a big fuck you to Miles. And all those guys are like you know, "Fuck you, we're gonna prove ourselves and we're gonna make something completely unique." But I guess you're right, it was so niche at that time, especially where we were coming from, you know, in the Midwest, it was like, "Wow, this is really exotic," like, "This is totally different than what we're hearing on the radio." And that was what was, I think, so attractive to our rebellious nature of that age.

I: Yeah, that's awesome. And I mean it kind of - jumping ahead a little bit - I mean, you know, you are known in your early career for your work that you did with like Pale Divine and Love Spit Love and Psychedelic Furs, like you had mentioned, and then you shifted to Guns N' Roses, which we'll talk about. But-

Richard: Yeah, I don't know how that happened.

I: And I kind of want to get into that because not only do you have that shift, but you also - like you also touched upon earlier - that you do a lot for soundtrack stuff, movie television, that kind of thing, do you think, like kind of what you were just talking on with this music growing up in a musical ship like that and being open to all these these different types of music, do you think that's why you continually put yourself out there to do these different types of projects? Because I mean, what's cool about a guitarist like yourself is that you can find you anywhere it seems like. Your span of recordings, like, spans all different types of genres and do you think that comes from your youth or is that something-

Richard: I think that it definitely does come from my youth but it also comes from just a general love and obsession of music. I mean that's really... we started talking about, really has just driven me and inspired me and I love a challenge, you know, I love walking into a new form of music that I haven't really immersed myself in and really exploring that. You know, if you look at my phone, or my music library, it's just such a wide-ranging collection. And I think what I'm really attracted to is anything unexpected, anything that is going to somehow inspire me, you know? And that's not gonna be anything that's formulaic in my mind. You know, I don't find anything appealing or interesting in a band or artist that I find formulaic, you know. And when I know what's gonna come next, you know what I mean? Pop music is not really attractive to me because of that. Because it follows a formula. And it's not that I don't admire it and there's definitely, definitely a lot there-

I: It's almost too easy. It's predictable, almost.

Richard: Right. Yeah, it is formulaic-

I: It's not stimulating anymore. I've definitely felt that even like with physical activities, like, I just, I just think of rock climbing and when I first started I was like, "I can't do this shit at all," but that made me like work that much harder to get good at it. Like, finding myself bad at things makes me just want to get good at it even more. Do you feel that way too?

Richard: Yeah, absolutely.

I: That's cool, man.

Richard: Absolutely. And then, once you've conquered that wall, you know, you don't wanna keep going back to it. You want to go to bigger, more challenging things, you know, And that's what's going to inspire you. So for me, you know, I would always look for opportunities to do - like I was always obsessed with country guitar playing. I not a huge fan of country music per se, until later, but I was always really intrigued by country guitar because it's just so damn incredible. You know, these guys are just ridiculously talented players and I was always very intrigued by that and started studying it. So being able to do some country stuff is really inspiring for me. Now there seems to be a lot more going on in that genre that I find appealing. You know, with guys like Sturgill Simpson.

I: Yeah, I think he's incredible.

Richard: Yeah, but it seems like it's sort of taken, it's gone from, you know, the pendulum always swings, going from this formulaic rock pop country hybrid that you hear on-

I: Almost like hip hop beats in the background too?

Richard: Yeah, it's totally hip hop influenced.  I don't, bro country [?] I don't find much in there for me but you know guys like Sturgill, that's incredible.

I: Yeah, yeah. We had a guest earlier on, a gentleman by the name of Rob Fenn, really great photographer. And he called Sturgill Simpson the last, Johnny Cash.

Richard: Yeaaah, but I mean, it seems like there's more of that going on now.

I: Yeah. Yeah, it's definitely opened up a little bit more in that music genre, which is nice. So speaking on your career even more, you have gotten this incredible reputation, I guess you can call it, for being, you know, a gun for hire and, you know, for people who wanna, you know, want you on recordings, whether it's, you know, soundtracks or albums or stuff or, you know, live tours and performing. Do you gravitate to one or the other more?

Richard: No. No, I don't. I really enjoy both equally. There was a time in my life where - when I was living in New York and I was, you know, with the Furs and with Love Spit Love - I was doing a lot of session work and I was, you know. But that's when there was a lot of session work.

I: Right, right. Totally.

Richard: But I couldn't afford to go on the road. I would get offers and it was like, "Oh man," you know, unless it was something I really loved I couldn't justify it because financially I was making more money just doing sessions all the time. And I was booked and as you get more and more booked, you get more and more expensive. And you know, I was at a point where I just couldn't afford a tour. And then sort of the bottom fell out of that, you know, slowly but surely. I actually moved to Los Angeles and you know, I had joined GN'R.

I: Was that your first tour, was GNR? Or when did you first start touring?

Richard: Oh, I started touring when I was 15. I toured with.... You know, I've done some pop tours, I've done tours with the Furs and with Love Spit Love and some other bands.

I: Is there a big difference between, like, your pop tours and your Guns N' Roses tour? Because I know you've done like big production stuff. I know like you a couple years back toured with Rihanna on a bunch of dates and then, you know, obviously now you've been touring with GN'R for a long time, they both seem like huge productions. Is there any kind of difference in that other than the music obvious?

Richard: Yeah, I mean, obviously the music is a different thing, though it's always a learning experience, you know? There's always something you can learn from... because you're always gonna be working with great musicians, but different types, you know, like a lot of the guys in the Rihanna camp camp out of the whole gospel chop [?] scene, so that was cool, to play with guys like that. And you know, if your eyes are open, your ears are open, you're always going to walk away a better musician.

I: And that's awesome. I mean, you know, because you're right in that respect, not just in music, but in anything. Like, you keep your eyes and ears open, you can learn pretty much doing whatever you're doing, and that's a great outlook to have.

Richard: Yeah, and really, at the end of the day, it's pretty incredible to be able to make a living playing music, you know.

I: And you get to do something that you obviously love deeply and that's awesome.

Richard: You know my father used to always say to me, he's like, "Yeah, you're blessed because you'd be doing this for free if you weren't getting paid for it," which is absolutely true.

I:  So you moved out to LA and-

Richard: Well, I lived in New York most of my life.

I: Right, and then you said you moved out to LA when you joined up with Guns N' Roses, right?

Richard: Well, I actually had joined Guns N' Roses, I'd been in the band for a few years before I did move to LA. I thought I'd be able to continue my company - I had a company in New York that was doing TV and film and commercial work, and video games. And I had a studio there and I thought, "Well," you know, "I can do the same thing from LA." And I had a partner in New York and figured, "Well, we'll keep that open and I'll be able to work remotely." That didn't really work so well. You sort of have to be there. But anyways, I was only in LA for four or five years.

I: That's not bad. So you joined up with Guns N' Roses in 2001, correct, I believe?

Richard: I think it was the end of 2001, beginning of 2002.

I: 2002, around there. Can you talk a little bit about the difference of when you kind of came into the band to what the band is experiencing now, either tour wise or or you know, at least production wise?

Richard: Well, it's morphed through several different incarnations since I've been in it. And some pretty big changes. When I came in, I was really drawn to it because originally it was Josh Freese and Tommy Stinson and Robin Fink and Buckethead, you know, I wasn't that familiar with Buckethead but also Brain came in, and those were all guys that I'd worked with before and was really excited to play with. You know, I was a huge Replacements fan and obviously a big Nails fan. So working with those guys was really intriguing to me. I wasn't that familiar with - I mean, obviously I knew Guns N' Roses, I knew Appetite and I knew all the big hits, but I never really owned a record, it just wasn't my genre.

I: Right, you were in almost a completely different genre at that time.

Richard: Yeah, and-

I: Was that a learning curve for you when you joined the band?

Richard: No, no, because it makes total sense, because Guns N' Roses really was separated from that LA hair metal scene, which is who I sort of lumped them in with initially. But once you get into it, you realize it's much more akin to classic rock and punk rock. And so it makes perfect sense that I would relate to it. Once I got into it, it's like it fit really well for me because that's my background, you know. Equal parts Black Flag and Rolling Stones.

I: It's the best. It's a great combination. So when you got into it, it was that one thing and, I mean, obviously now it's morphed into, you know, the older members coming back and doing the tour that you did last year. Are you guys are just finished it up, your tour, or are you guys just about to go out on a tour, right?

Richard: No, we just finished another leg of Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Thailand, Dubai and now we're off for a couple of months and then we start up in Europe. And we'll be doing Europe and then the States and Canada.

I:  That's great. And but when you're off from Guns N' Roses - I can't imagine you Richard are off from anything. You probably have projects going on right now, don't you?

Richard: Yeah. Yeah. I do have some things I'm working on, working on a couple of different movie projects and hoping to... and I'm also writing stuff.

I: That's awesome. I mean, is there anything out there in the business that you still wanna try? I mean, it seems like you've been everywhere and and done everything, and I know that's not the case, but, I mean, is there any bands out there or any kind of types of music that you still haven't gotten a chance to do that you that you want to kind of check off your list?

Richard: I don't really have a list.

I: Good. That's a good thing.

Richard: You know what I'm saying, when I was in New York I also did a lot of hip-hop stuff, I played in a Zydeco band, a lot of different types of things. There's nothing that I necessarily want to try but I I have been sort of itching to do something more experimental and sort of less classic rock and more towards the, you know, the Love Spit Love, Furs stuff that I've done, and do something more in that type of direction. But I have nothing lined up.

I: Well, I have faith in you that you'll put something together someday.

Richard: Yeah, when I listen to new music, I'm always listening to bands of that sort rather than rock bands, you know.

I: OK, cool. So you're playing like tour after tour after tour and then even when you're home you're busy and I'm sure you have like family and everything. And I know you probably even have like bad days and, like, what keeps you fueled to like keep on going, keep on, like, going through the tours, keep on, you know, starting new projects, keep on writing new songs? What keeps you filled, man?

Richard: You know, really, honestly, right now my life is primarily focused around my kids.

I: That's awesome.

Richard: That's like really my first priority.

I: That's awesome. There's no better priority than your children, you know.

Richard: Yeah, I guess it just sort of happens naturally. But that's definitely my primary focus.

I: That's awesome. When you do get a free moment to yourself, what do you like to do for fun? Like other than play guitar? I mean, like, do you have any hobbies outside of being a kick-ass rock'n'roll star?

Richard: I really enjoy riding motorcycles. And then, you know, not being a...not spending time with drugs or alcohol anymore I really have shifted my attention to things like running and being in the gym, and that's stuff that I do every day. You know, when I'm on the road and when I'm home.

I: Yeah, it's gotta be tough to stay in shape especially when you're touring so much and you know and-

Richard: No, it's not, because, you know, that's what I do during the day.

I: You got like a system down now when you're on the road to-

Richard: Totally.

I: That's awesome. What's that like? How do you-

Richard: I wake up and run. And I run between, you know, 6 to 10 miles, generally, when I'm on the road. And then I'll come back to the hotel, eat breakfast, and then go to the gym. And that's the start of my da,y every day.

I: That's a damn good way to start the day, man. That's awesome.

Richard: That and, you know, Death Wish Coffee.

I: Aww shucks!

Richard: That's usually before the running.

I: Nice. So is there anything new that you're working on that you want to plug for our listeners?

Richard: No, not really. I mean, the movie stuff is not pluggable yet. Now, I mean, really the focus of my life for the last year and a half has been GN'R, which is pretty exciting, really, you know, of all the different incarnations this one is really the most inspirational to me and the most healthy.

I: Do you think that's what kept you so interested in staying in Guns N' Roses for so long is because it constantly changes so it stays stimulating?

Richard: Maybe. I really enjoy... There's a sense of freedom and exploration, really, with Axl, when working with Axl where he, and now really much more, with Duff and Slash. They really strive to do something better and different and keeping things fresh. It's really a concerted effort. And that is really appealing to me.

I: That's awesome. What was it like at the beginning, at the onset of this, this return of, like, Slash and Duff, I mean, obviously, you know, the media got the rumblings when it was announced, but I mean, being in the band, you guys must have like had stuff in place and like really started to put the work in. Was it a whirlwind or did it kind of like creep up and kind of just kind of happen?

Richard: It sort of creeped up. You know, and it sort of all happened very organically. We didn't have a bass player. Tommy had left to go do the Mats stuff, and we didn't have another guitar player. And I said, "Well, we know a couple of guys," and it just sort of happened in that way.

I: That's great to hear that, you know, it was just something that, you know, organically kind of just happened.

Richard: And Duff and I knew each other. I don't know how much Slash was familiar with me or with Frank but we all got together and sort of felt out how it would be and how it was to play with each other. And some things click, some things don't. And with the three of us definitely clicked, I think we all agree, clicked instantly, and Frank maybe took a little bit for them to get used to playing with him because he is a different drummer than Matt who they did play with, but it really just seems to come together well, and everybody's pretty psyched about it.

I: Yeah, as a fan of the band, seeing you guys perform altogether for those first couple shows, it just looked like you've been doing it for years, you know? It seemed so natural, you know, especially like you said, for the three of you, like it just seemed like it was-

Richard: Yeah, the first couple of shows [laughs] it was everyone's sort of feeling their way around.

I: Totally. But I mean it-

Richard: But now it's killer. It just gets better every show.

I: That's awesome and that makes you excited to keep going out there and doing it. And you said-

Richard: Yeah, absolutely.

I: You said this summer you guys are going to Europe and then you're doing the States after that, right, in the fall?

Richard: Yeah.

I: That's exciting.

Richard: Yeah, it is exciting.

I: Awesome, man.

Richard: And then I think we go back to South America right after, it's going to be the next, after this two months, it's going to be pretty full on for a while. There's not much time off.

I: So you've been everywhere. I always love to ask this question, what's your favorite place to play like? And it can be a country or a venue or or whatever, but do you have a favorite? Do you ever, do you ever, like, think of a place-

I: -or get pumped about like," Oh shit, we're going there, so excited!"

Richard: Well, I get excited about places like Thailand. We were just in Bangkok and it was the first time I ever played Bangkok. And I'd spent plenty of time in Thailand because I used to go there every year and it's my favorite place in the world. So to play Bangkok was a big deal for me and it was a lot of fun. But you know, there's there's audiences that make it great. You know in South America you can't beat the passion of those audiences.

I: I've heard that from many musicians that South America is just they're so rabid for music, for live music.

Richard: Yeah, Brazil and Argentina, man, it's just all of South America, but it seems like those two places in particular are just so full on.

I: And they have damn good coffee down there. Can't hate that.

Richard: They do have good coffee. Really, like, Nicaragua, Colombia. We were just in Manain [?] and I was telling you about Budge Coffee [?] there. But honestly, Death Wish really is right there with it, which was either you buy these, you know, we we went to the Juan Valdez which, the high end Valdez stuff was always one of the best coffees and it really is incredibly smooth. And I told you when I got home and I compared it with the Death Wish beans and it was shocking how you guys just stuck up right against it.

I: Thanks man. Yeah, that's some really, really high quality fair trade, organic Peruvian beans. We take really good care of the roast, too. I mean, we watch that ourselves and we got some really grade A roasters in house. So we're really proud of our product, man. Thank you very much.

Richard: Yeah. You should be, you should be. Like I said, it was shocking to me because when you first see this going across [?], but you like guys sort of you know, "the strongest coffee." This is sort of gimmicky. But man, incredibly smooth. Really, really impressive.

I: Thank you, truly honored and thank you very much for for joining us on the podcast, man. Really, really appreciate that. You know, and really big fan of you and a big fan of your work.

Richard: And I'm a big fan of yours too.

I: Well, we're gonna hopefully keep you caffeinated through your next couple tours and-

Richard: Awesome, yeah.

I: And we wish you the best of luck with everything that you're doing, man. It's inspirational to talk to someone who not only is good at what they do, but who genuinely loves what they do.

I: And I like, I like, you know, I like a dude who likes a challenge, you know, I definitely can relate to that. It's like, "Oh shit, I don't know how that works. Let's fucking figure it out." So respect, man.

Richard: Thank you very much.

Excerpts from Blabbermouth:
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Guns N' Roses guitarist Richard Fortus was interviewed on a recent edition of the "Fueled By Death Cast". You can now listen to the chat using the widget below.

Speaking about how Guns N' Roses has evolved since he joined the band back in late 2001 or early 2002, Fortus said: "Well, it's morphed through several different incarnations since I've been in it and some pretty big changes. When I came in, I was really drawn to it because originally it was Josh Freese and Tommy Stinson and Robin Finck and Buckethead… I wasn't that familiar with Buckethead, but also Brain came in. And those were all guys that I had worked with before and was really excited to play with. I was a huge Replacements fan and, obviously, a big [Nine Inch] Nails fan. So working with those guys was really intriguing to me. I wasn't that familiar with… I mean, obviously I knew Guns N' Roses and I knew 'Appetite' and I knew all the big hits, but I never really owned a record; it just wasn't my genre. [But] it makes total sense, 'cause they were… Guns N' Roses really was separated from that L.A. hair-metal scene, which is who I sort of lumped them in with initially, but once you get into it, you realize it's much more akin to classic rock and punk rock. So it makes perfect sense that I would relate to it. Once I got into it, it fit really well for me, because that's my background — equal parts Black Flag and Rolling Stones."

Fortus also talked about how a partial reunion of Guns N' Roses' classic lineup came together in 2015 after guitarist Slash and singer Axl Rose re-established contact after many years of not speaking to each other. "It sort of creeped up, and it sort of all happened very organically," he said. "We didn't have a bass player — Tommy had left to go do [The Replacements] stuff — and we didn't have another guitar player. And we said, 'Well, we know a couple of guys,' and it just sort of happened in that way… And Duff and I knew each other. I don't know how much Slash was familiar with me or with Frank, but we all got together and sort of felt out how it would be and how it was to play with each other, and it really… You know, some things click, some things don't. And the three of us [Duff, Slash and I] definitely clicked… I think we all agree it clicked instantly. And Frank maybe took a little bit for them to get used to playing with him, 'cause he's a different drummer than Matt [Sorum], who they'd been playing with. But it really just seems to come together well, and everybody's pretty psyched about it."

https://blabbermouth.net/news/guns-n-roses-guitarist-richard-fortus-says-he-clicked-with-slash-and-duff-mckagan-instantly

Finished transcribing this.