2024.03.11 - Life In The Stocks - Interview with Duff

Excerpts from Blabbermouth:
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During an appearance on the latest episode of the "Life In The Stocks" podcast, Duff McKagan was asked if he thinks Axl Rose's guest stint with AC/DC back in 2016 was a key part of Guns N' Roses' redemption after the partial reunion of the latter group's classic lineup. He said in part (as transcribed by Blabbermouth.net): "We went out and did that first stadium tour. [Axl] broke his foot [at the first show in April 2016], and he overcame it. And Grohl brought this throne… And to be able to sing that stuff sitting down, dude, it's not… I observe every vowel, every note he sings just because he's a fucking master — where he breathes, where he pushes from, angle of his head. He's a real amazing singer to go to school on, and I get to do it nightly. 'That's where I would breathe for that vowel sound right there.' So, from that, we played Coachella, [and] he was kind of the hero of that year; I think he was like the hero of that year. And then getting the AC/DC thing."

Duff continued: "Me and Slash have gone off and played with all kinds of people over the years — you name it, we've done it, almost. [Axl's] never done it… And that AC/DC thing really was his favorite band. He went and tried out. 'I'm gonna try out.' I'm, like, 'You're not gonna need to try out. I wouldn't worry about it.' [And he said] 'Wow. I'm so nervous.' It was really great. We knew — me and Slash — 'You're gonna get the gig.' And it was so good for. And he still had the cast on. I think he had to play the first couple [of shows] in the chair. And then he got his walking boot. But then Slash and I came to surprise him [at AC/DC's concert in London]. We came in through — you can come into Heathrow. You've gotta pay some money. But we came around to the side thing, so we weren't in the airport, just so nobody knew we were here, to really surprise him and support him in this thing. Because we knew he hadn't been able to do this thing, play with other people. So I think it did really help. I think he saw how that [AC/DC] organization was run, too, like, 'Yeah, we can go on on time,' and all that stuff, because 'They'll go on — if I'm ready or not, they're gonna go on.'"

Duff went on to describe Axl as "a great leader in a band situation. He has a lot of levity," McKagan explained. "He takes it very seriously. He warms up for an hour and a half, warms down for an hour and a half. And we go on on time and we play forever. If there's a curfew at 11, we'll hit that curfew. And so that means we're gonna go on at 7:30 or else we don't get to play all the songs. So if we're going on at eight, we're playing less time, so he doesn't wanna do that. So, yeah, I've enjoyed watching his triumph over the last eight years… It's been really, really quite wonderful. It's been wonderful."

https://blabbermouth.net/news/duff-mckagan-on-axl-rose-ive-enjoyed-watching-his-triumph-over-the-last-eight-years

Article with excerpts in Loudersound/Classic Rock:
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Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan has revealed that he and Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell are thinking about recording an album together. McKagan's revelation comes in the latest episode of Life In The Stocks, the podcast hosted by journalist and broadcaster Matt Stocks.

McKagan informs Stocks that he's playing bass on five songs on Cantrell's next solo album – which is currently being recorded – before revealing that the pair have considered taking the collaboration further.

"We're thinking about doing a joint record at some point," says Duff. "We made a video for that song Just Don't Know [the first single from McKagan's 2023 solo album Lighthouse]. So we were hanging out with our acoustic guitars, and we wrote like four songs in two or three hours."

"I really appreciate guys like Jerry," he adds. "It's really nice for me to work with guys who are basically the exact same age and have been through the exact [same] shit. I can see him write songs and fight his guitar for whatever lead. It's so great to watch. He tortures himself to get to this place. Goddammit!"

Elsewhere in the podcast, McKagan talks about Scott Weiland and his time in Velvet Revolver, his struggles with addiction, the Guns N' Roses reunion, and Axl Rose's stint in AC/DC. The full episode is below.

McKagan and Cantrell have previously worked on several projects together, with McKagan playing bass on Cantrell's 2021 solo album Brighten and the guitarist returning the favour on Lighthouse. Cantrell also played guitar on How To Be A Man, the EP accompanying McKagan's book How To Be A Man (And Other Illusions), published in 2015, and on his 1993 solo album Believe In Me.

https://www.loudersound.com/news/duff-mckagan-jerry-cantrell-collaboration