2024.02.13 - Broken Record Podcast - Interview with Duff

Excerpts from Blabbermouth:
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During an appearance on the latest episode of the "Broken Record" podcast, Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan reflected on the making of the band's classic debut album, 1987's "Appetite For Destruction". Speaking about the songwriting process in Guns N' Roses' early days and the band's search for the right producer to oversee the "Appetite" recording sessions, Duff said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth.net): "Coming up with the music and then finding a producer later, that's two different things.

"We were done [writing the songs for] 'Appetite', plus [we had other] other songs, by the time we started looking for a producer.

"We knew our songs well enough that we didn't want a producer who would get into the songs," he explained. "We didn't want somebody touching a note. 'You're not gonna touch a note.' We wanted it to sound like we sound in our little rehearsal, because it sounded fucking great. But we went to… There was like [Robert John] 'Mutt' Lange who'd done [AC/DC's] 'Back In Black' and stuff. And that's a great dry-sounding record. But to get him, he was more than — just to walk in the room was more than… We got 250 grand to make our first record, and that would have to pay for — including an advance to us so we could live, stop our jobs. But we'd written songs. A lot of times we wrote on acoustic guitars, 'cause that's all we had. 'Nightrain' was written on acoustic guitar."

Elaborating on how "Nightrain" came together, Duff said: "We'd drink the Night Train, this cheap booze. It was — I don't know — a dollar 27 cents a bottle. And we were gonna go out and flyer for a gig that night, which is something we would go out and do together. At least a couple of us would go. This night we were going out as a band. We were gonna cover a whole area. And you walk. You got your bucket of paste and you got flyers in there. And we just kept singing the chorus for 'Nightrain'. 'Cause we'd kind of written — we all got together, I think, at Izzy's apartment beforehand and came up with the genesis of that, and we were singing it. Because we didn't have phones and shit to record stuff. So you'd have to remember what you wrote. So a lot of times you'd just go around singing it. But we landed on some really cool shit. I remember landing on the notes for 'Michelle'. We just played that riff for hours. And then you have to come up with other bits."

https://blabbermouth.net/news/duff-mckagan-looks-back-on-making-of-appetite-for-destruction-we-wanted-it-to-sound-like-we-sounded-in-rehearsal

Another excerpt from Brave Words:
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Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan was a guest on the Broken Record podcast and spoke about recording the band’s iconic Appetite For Destruction album.

McKagan explained they first met with KISS frontman Paul Stanley to produce the album, but they had different ideas on what the album should be. This led GN’R to hire Mike Clink.

McKagan: “We met with Mike Clink after sitting down with Paul Stanley… he came to have a meeting with us about producing the record, but it wasn’t the right fit. We could tell… his idea of what the music should be and our idea were different, but that was fine.”

https://bravewords.com/news/guns-n-roses-duff-mckagan-on-meeting-with-kiss-paul-stanley-to-record-appetite-for-destruction-it-wasnt-the-right-fit

More excerpts from Ultimate Classic Rock:
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Duff McKagan has detailed his uncomfortable face-to-face meeting with Prince.

During an appearance on the Broken Record podcast, the Guns N’ Roses bassist admitted he idolized the Purple One, naming him -- along with Iggy Pop and Lemmy Kilmister -- as the three biggest artists in his life. Asked if he ever talked to Prince, McKagan was forthright.

“Yes, I met him one time,” the GNR rocker recalled. “It was in Germany. I went, it was the Diamonds and Pearls tour. Guns N' Roses were playing the whatever stadium the next night, and he was playing the arena.”

Naturally, McKagan jumped at the chance to see his idol perform.

“I went in through the back, Guns N' Roses guy, all that stuff,” McKagan explained, adding that he received a message once he was backstage. “[Prince] heard I was there and would like to talk to me.”

“He knew I was a fan,” McKagan continued, but his excitement soon turned to anxiety. “I was way too drunk. It was when I was still drinking and I realized I was too drunk.”

The GNR bassist didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of one of his musical heroes and found a reason to quickly leave the room.

“I don't remember what happened. I remember there was candles and stuff, and I'm fucking too drunk," McKagan recalled. "And there's Prince, and I don't want to be here. I don't want to be here. And got out of that [situation].”

Years after their Germany meeting, McKagan received an invitation to participate in a documentary film produced by Prince.

“Prince is doing it? Sure, yeah, OK,” the rocker responded. “So these guys came to my house and I had my basses out and things, and I dressed up a little bit.”

Prince was not there with the film crew, but he still got involved in the interview.

“I get texts, questions from Prince in real time,” McKagan recalled. Initially, the Purple One asked about the bassist’s contributions to various GNR songs. Then, the hard hitting questions came.

“[The questions] started getting like, ‘Why did Guns N’ Roses break up?’ He was asking questions like anybody else would ask at that time.” McKagan politely declined to give Prince the dirt he wanted. “We don't get into that,” the rocker responded. “That's not something we talk about.”

https://ultimateclassicrock.com/duff-mckagan-prince/

Some more excerpts from Ultimate Guitar:
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Reflecting on GN'R's lighting-fast road to the top of the rock scene after the LA band's debut "Appetite for Destruction" was released, the bassist said (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):

"We went out with The Cult, which was great for us, across Canada, down the West Coast, and across New Orleans; we did our own little tours; we went to Europe and played clubs in Germany. But in England, we were picking up... We started to pick up in the northeast (of the US). You're walking down the street, and this cop knows who I am. You're getting into the meat and potatoes of human pride."

Duff notes how the band's early adopters were blue-collar US citizens, like construction workers and cops, but notes how the real breakthrough happened shortly thereafter:

"When we started to break through was so crazy. You start to break through, and then *really* break through. It was so crazy. People ask, 'How has this changed you?' Around '89, I remember getting asked questions I'd never been asked before. 'How has this changed you?'; everybody asked me the same question. And I thought about it. I realized it didn't change me; it changed how people responded to me."

"I noticed I had a lot more friends suddenly, and my jokes were funnier. I was suddenly better looking because I was getting hit on [by people] out of my league. [I realized], 'Oh, it's because I'm this band, we're on MTV and all that stuff.' It's kind of lonely. When you realize that, you're like, 'Oh shit.'"

Asked whether he ever took advantage of that fame, Duff said:

"Not my style, to this day. I went back to my best friends who I grew up with, and they're still my best friends. When we have our text group. We've been through it."

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/duff_mckagan_opens_up_on_how_the_success_of_guns_n_roses_affected_him_its_kind_of_lonely_when_you_realize_that.html

More from Ultimate Guitar:
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Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan named Axl Rose as his pick for the best lead vocals of all time, and said that he never wanted to front a band at all costs.

Duff McKangan may be primarily known as the bassist of one of the world's most popular rock bands, but he's also no slouch in the singing department either, as most recently showcased on his new solo album "Lighthouse". On top of that, he's had the opportunity to work with some prodigious frontmen aside from Axl Rose, such as Scott Weiland, Perry Farrell, and Iggy Pop, but admits in a recent interview on the Broken Record podcast that his GN'R bandmate is "a master" in his craft.

Asked who he thinks is the best lead singer of all time, Duff said (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):

"You have to put Axl [in there], just from what I've seen him do over all these years, and how hard he works at it. His hour-and-a-half warmups, *and* hour-and-a-half warmdowns, and we play *a lot* of shows. He's a master. I've learned so much from him."

Pressed to describe some of the things he learned, Duff went on:

"Just dynamically, how to push, and where to push from, in your body. How to tilt when you need an extra vowel — really, particular shit — like when you need some more A in your vowel, how to tilt. Just minutiae of how to do it, because it's all minutiae, from note, to note, to note. Of course, I'm gonna [pick him], he's my guy. He's a master. Just a fuckin' hard worker."

Needless to say, there are a fair few other vocalists Duff would love to give a shoutout to:

"I've seen Robin Zander — amazing. You see guys like that, or Ann Wilson, come on. Just a pure, pure singer. William [Duvall] in Alice in Chains, Jesus Christ. Henry [Rollins] in Black Flag. I like the real people, the real thing."

Although Duff's solo work shows he's very comfortable in the lead vocals role, he underlines that it was never his burning desire to front a band:

"I think it's because of the way I grew up. I never got into music like to get chicks, the drugs, all the stuff they say. I really wanted to find that great band where everybody played their part in it, and were great at their role in the band. That's what I was ever looking for. Doing my own records, it's fun being a singer. My records are more like book readings. I'm telling stories, I talk between a little bit, and I'm not trying to be anything I'm not."

"I've played with people who wanted to be the singer [at all costs]. That's cancer. I've never had that [knocks wood]. I'm a bass player, that's what I do. And I want to sing the best backing vocals in my range. That's what I strive to do, and I love it."

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/duff_mckagan_shares_opinion_on_axl_roses_singing_says_wanting_to_be_a_frontman_at_all_costs_is_cancer.html

More excerpts from UG:
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During a recent interview on the "Broken Record" podcast, Duff McKagan reflected on the temptation of selling the publishing rights to what would be their biggest radio hit, noting how even he and his bandmates knew they could get more for their material, which they eventually did (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):

"We got offered $10,000 for the rights to 'Sweet Child o' Mine'. When you're starving, literally — we were working phone sales jobs and paying for a rehearsal place; we had days when we just couldn't even afford to have ramen — $10,000 [felt] like we'd be rich. The guy was smart, he knew [about the band's potential]. He saw us playing in the clubs. We didn't know what publishing really meant, but if it's worth $10,000 to him, it's got to be worth that, at least, to us." [...]

Although eventually settling with Mike Clink whose soothing nature Duff specifically credits for the "Appetite for Destruction" sessions, the bassist also notes that Paul Stanley was interested in producing the record — but got turned down for reasons mentioned above:

"We sat with Paul Stanley, just because, like, 'Wow! Paul Stanley from KISS!' If nothing else, he came to Raji's, sat and watched us — [and] that's a dirty show. Then, he came to have a meeting with us about producing the record. It wasn't the right fit. We could tell. We were talking about music, and his idea [and] our idea were different."

Commenting on the fact that GN'R were able to ride out all those waves and deliver their vision as intended while making a lot of money off it, Duff said:

"Well, we just knew. And we were at the age where we should know. Whatever was going to be next in rock was on our shoulders, and somebody who maybe wasn't with us through the whole thing just wouldn't understand it. We just wanted microphones up against the amps, around the drums, and capture Axl and these backing vocals."

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/duff_mckagan_says_gnr_turned_down_10000_for_sweet_child_o_mine_explains_why_they_didnt_want_paul_stanley_producing_them.html