2018.05.17 - The Sydney Morning Herald - Steve Adler returns to Guns N' Roses' glory days with Appetite for Destruction gig

by **Blackstar** Sat Jan 06, 2024 7:03 pm

Steve Adler returns to Guns N' Roses' glory days with Appetite for Destruction gig

By Marty Boulton

It's music to the ears of any hard rockin' music fan who just wants a taste, a momentary live reminder of what was once widely regarded as the most dangerous band in the world.

Steven Adler's band will play Appetite for Destruction from start to finish and this week he told Sticky that "basically, we're going back to 1986 and we're showing people what rock'n'roll was like" in his hey day. Adler was at the heart of the massive engine room inside Guns N' Roses. His thumping drums on the band's chart-topping debut album, as well as the many, many live shows he played before being sacked in 1990, was a huge part of the Gunners' early success.

"We could do no wrong," he said, about the build-up to and recording of Appetite for Destruction, which was released in July, 1987. "The gods and the stars were aligned," he said, adding "then 1990 happened and everything went to hell."

Addicted to drugs, Adler's life spiralled horribly out of control, but he feels blessed, he says, to again be playing music and touring with his mother, Deanna, now sharing the ride with him. Her book Sweet Child of Mine: How I Lost My Son to Guns N' Roses is a gut-wrenching, heartfelt account of Adler's story, through her eyes.

Looking back on the making of the band's defining album, Adler, 53, has nothing but fond memories. "It's really just a well recorded and produced demo tape," he says. "We did it in six days and every time we walked into the sound room after playing, we just kept saying 'this is going to be the biggest record ever'. We were like little kids who discovered chocolate for the first time."

Steven Adler plays 170 Russell in Melbourne on May 25 and Max Watt's in Sydney on May 26.

https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/steve-adler-returns-to-guns-n-roses-glory-days-with-appetite-for-destruction-gig-20180510-h0zwpc.html