Duff McKagan

Soulmonster wrote:Has Axl really allowed that music and that footage to be used? He claims to not even have read Duff's autobiography.

Uli wrote:

Soulmonster wrote:Has Axl really allowed that music and that footage to be used? He claims to not even have read Duff's autobiography.

He won't need to read the book to allow music for the docu. It's obvious that GN'R music will be needed for such a movie, why shouldn't he agree? (He's on good terms with Duff anyway.)

Former GUNS N' ROSES star Duff Mckagan has been named Seattle Central Community College's Distinguished Alumni of the Year. The bassist went back to school to study finance several years ago. He says, "Attending Seattle Central was an awesome experience - it taught me a lot about discipline in a great way. Having a college education has also helped my reputation."

As one of the longest-serving members of the classic line-up of Guns N' Roses, Duff McKagan put in 12 years with the LA rockers from Appetite For Destruction to The Spaghetti Incident (and then some). Since then he's cropped up with Velvet Revolver and more recently Duff McKagan's Loaded, releasing three albums.

Bassist Duff won’t say no to chance of recording with Axl again

Duff McKagan says his attitude to recording with Guns N’ Roses in the future is “never say never.”

The bassist rejoined ex-colleague Axl Rose for a run of shows in South America earlier this year, after having made a handful of guest appearances with the current lineup of GnR since a London reunion in 2010.

Now McKagan tells Blairing Out: “It was great going and playing those shows – we had a good time.”

Asked about recording he says: “I never say never to anything these days. I’ve learned. You never know what’s around the corner. And all that aside, I’m just glad he and I were able to get together and talk about some stuff, then laugh about a lot of other shit that happened.”

McKagan recently completed a second album with his latest project Walking Papers, and hasn’t given up on going back to work with Velvet Revolver – if they can find a replacement for fired frontman Scott Weiland.

McKagan says: “I don’t think we’re done. We played with some guys only two weeks ago, all really talented. We’ll know when he walks in the room, I think.”

Guitarist Slash this month told how VR had decided against working with Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor because they thought he was “too macho” for the role. In May former Rose manager Craig Duswalt predicted the original GnR lineup would get back together by 2016.

Soulmonster wrote:Duff is to release a new book in May called "Hot to be a man":

Uli wrote:https://tinyurl.com/h367ok2

In a rare interview with KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson, Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan briefly discussed the ‘Not In This Lifetime’ tour.
When asked how the tour was going, McKagan gave the answer, “Uh, it’s been good. I’m so jetlagged right now, cause we just flew back. We did Bangkok, Dubai, so Bangkok you fly over India, the Persian gulf to Dubai, so it’s about 7 hours, then we played the gig and flew 17 hours more west to get back to the west coast, so I’m a little jetlagged.”

In a rare interview with KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson, Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan briefly discussed the ‘Not In This Lifetime’ tour.

When asked how the tour was going, McKagan gave the answer, “Uh, it’s been good. I’m so jetlagged right now, cause we just flew back. We did Bangkok, Dubai, so Bangkok you fly over India, the Persian gulf to Dubai, so it’s about 7 hours, then we played the gig and flew 17 hours more west to get back to the west coast, so I’m a little jetlagged.”

Monson also remember McKagan telling him he wanted to be a ‘traffic czar’ who will fix things in Seattle, and McKagan still seemed eager to take a government job to fix the problem.

“That’s correct, I even applied for whatever that position was, there was a new position to come up, whenever that was, a year and a half ago. I went through the government paperwork and applied, but I never heard back. Not even the courtesy of, ‘Thanks for applying.’ Nothing, no.”

“My thing about being in a rock band has so little to do with being a citizen of Seattle,” he said. “I remember coming down to Los Angles in 1984 and seeing the traffic down there and thinking, ‘Seattle will never be this bad.’ Now, it’s worse than LA in Seattle.”

“I’m not saying I’m more experienced or I know more, but I travel and keep my eyes open,” McKagan said. “Because Seattle has gotten so bad with traffic, I am really aware of what they do in other cities – London, New York, Sydney … traffic does flow there. I don’t see bike lanes in Sydney, clogging up the roads. And people bike there.”

He also discussed his style of biking.

“I’m an urban assault attack bike rider, but I know the roads are for cars,” he said. “I grew up knowing that. You don’t ride with the cars, it’s dangerous. So I ride the streets that cut through, like over Capitol Hill. I don’t take 23rd, I take the streets that cut over.”

“I have nothing against proper bike lanes in cool places, but they should be in cool places,” McKagan said. “Those places that have less cars. Like the route I recently took, up over Capitol Hill – side streets … Seattle traffic is not just the bikes, or the bike lanes. It’s a car city.”

He also revealed why Seattle’s system is set up the way it is.

“I know it’s probably not politically correct to say anything about the Cascade Bike Club, but you have strong lobby, and that side of politics – we all know it,” McKagan said. “And the Seattle City Council, they’re inept. As a bike rider, I just don’t get the Cascade Bike Club angle. I know they have cars, too.”

“I take the train sometimes to a Seahawks game,” he said. “It lets you off four blocks away from the stadium, and traffic cops have to block traffic to let people from the train cross those streets. It’s a real head scratcher.”

“I’ve played stadiums in Australia and Japan, where they have transportation systems, and the trains come up to the stadium,” McKagan said. “We are relying on Sound Transit putting up new stations, and it’s cool. There’s one at Husky Stadium. I sort of live near there. But am I going to walk in the rain for a mile to that train station? It’s not convenient. In New York, it’s convenient. You walk a block over and there’s the 14th Street station.”

If you are dealing with mental health issues, you can call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or enter their live chat.

Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan opened up about Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell and Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington’s death in a new interview with Chris Jericho.

Speaking about the death of his longtime friend Cornell, McKagan said: “My daughter Mae and [Chris’s] daughter Lily were born two weeks apart [in July 2000]. And Susan [Holmes, Duff’s wife] and I, we were in Seattle then. So Susan Silver [Cornell’s then-wife] and my Susan were pregnant at the same time, and we hung out a bunch when the girls were little babies. And then Audioslave started when Velvet Revolver started, and we played gigs with them.”

Calling Cornell’s suicide a “shocker,” Duff admitted that he has “had little touches of depression in the last seven, eight years. It came out of nowhere; I’m not that guy,” he said. “But I’ve had a panic disorder since I was sixteen, and they always said that’s a subset of depression. And I’m, like, I don’t have depression. I have panic attacks here and there, like in the weirdest places ever, and I’ve learned to deal with them. I learned by the time I was twenty I’m not gonna die from a panic attack; you feel like you’re going to.”

McKagan recalled one particular incident that made him realize the seriousness of what he was facing. “About five years ago, I was in a movie theater with my wife Susan, we went to the movies, and my seat sunk down five feet,” he said. “And I looked around, I thought something happened to the theater, like there was an earthquake. But no, I had an attack of depression, just a feeling of moroseness. And I couldn’t live like that. We got out of the theater, and I’m shaking. It’s hard to explain what it felt like. But [my wife] drove me home, my friend came over, and we got somebody else on the phone, and it was depression. And it passed. And then I went and saw some people about it and I had a couple of more of those episodes.”

Although Duff says that he doesn’t have “chronic depression,” he can relate to the feeling of despair and helplessness that Cornell and Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, who committed suicide in July, must have felt before they decided to take their own lives.

“If there was depression involved, then all bets are off,” Duff said. “I’m not gonna judge ’em anyhow. I’ve been in and out of alcohol and drug addiction, and I’ve got it all. So I’m not one to judge. But if there was depression involved, then it’s a real thing, ’cause I understand.

“When I sunk five feet down in that movie theater, I couldn’t live like that,” he continued. “You can’t breathe, you can’t eat, you can’t… all your bodily functions just go; you have no control. And I’m a strong dude. I think positive and I apply a lot of principles to my life and through martial arts and through stuff, and I can see and deal with shit — bad shit, and good shit. And be a dad and be… those things that I rise to, ’cause I love it. But when I had depression, I couldn’t be any of those things; I couldn’t be anything.”

Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan discussed how he and Slash reacted to having to play Chinese Democracy songs in a new interview with Chris Jericho.

“It’s great. Axl, he put a lot into that record.”

“I think Slash and I were challenged with a thing, like, ‘How do we make these kinda ours now?’ Cause we’re gonna play these; we’re gonna take ownership of these.”

“And we went in and learned them and started playing them with [drummer] Frank [Ferrer] and then [guitarist] Rich [Fortus]. Let’s tear these songs down and really know them and then build it up from there.”

Duff said the beginning of the bass line to “Sweet Child O’ Mine” is one of the toughest parts for him to play.

“You can’t fuck that up. Everybody there is listening at that point. You gotta be on.”

He also discussed live performances.

“We wear in-ears, right? So most of the time [Axl] is telling amazing jokes. He crushes everybody. You know, I fancy myself a humorist, a jokester, but he crushes me.”

by J.M. Fox

Since I've been hanging around the hardcore scene I've seen almost all of 10 Minute Warning's shows, dating back to when they were known as the Fartz. With their talent and unique sound, 10 Minute Warning could go a long way. This interview is with guitarist Duff McKagan and drummer Gregg Gillmore; the other band members are guitarist Paul Soldier, vocalist Steve Verwolf and bassist David Garriques.

Backfire: How did you guys get started playing music, you and Gregg ?

Gregg: Ah, (belch) I always liked music for as long as I can remember and my dad played drums. I was just kind of interested in drums as an instrument and in 5th grade at school I played drums, actually I played trumpet. Then I played drums in 6th grade.

Were you influenced by any other kinds of bands?

Gregg: The Mamas and the Papas and the 5th Dimension were the first bands I listened to, and other records.

Duff: I played lead broom for Kiss. I have a lot of influences from mid-70s. I think both me and Paul are influenced by the New York Dolls, guitar-wise. And anything in between, probably anything else I've heard, has influenced me in some way.

O.K. great. What other bands have you both played in?

Duff: I also played in the Living with Gregg and that just kind of ended off on a sour note. But it was real groovin' for awhile. And I also made a single with the Veins and made a single and played with the Fastbacks and played in a lot of other wank bands. I went to San Francisco with the Silly Killers. I played with the Silly Killers for awhile. Did a mass West Coast tour with Silly Killers and made 14 dollars playing three gigs. That's not just me; the whole band only made $14.

How did 10 Minute Warning get started?

Duff: Ah well, like I said, I was playing in the Fartz and because of differences, Steve (former bass player) left. So we got David to play bass. Me and Paul were playing guitars one day and we figured 'Why don't we try both playing guitars and get a drummer' and instantly I knew which drummer to get, which was Gregg.

Why did Blaine, your old singer, leave the band?

Gregg: He wanted to party.

Duff: Just musical differences; we were getting a lot more melodic. Not as hardcore. then?

Gregg: Yeah, Fartz hardcore.

Duff: We're still a hardcore group; hardcore to me means just hardcore. Getting intense on that music, slammin' on them guitars and believing in what you're doing. That's hardcore to me. Hardcore is not raw smash, stage dive and shit. Hardcore is more a way of thinking and playing.

How about Blaine?

Duff: Oh, about Blaine (laughs), so we tried to get him to sing and he really tried ya know, but it just wasn't working out and so it just came to a point where. . .

Gregg: He wanted to leave anyway.

So there were no hard feelings between Blaine and you guys?

Gregg: No,we still see the weasel dick around (laughs). Duff: Yeah, I still throw him down on the ground sometimes.

O.K.. how's your new singer, Steve, working out? What kind of stage presence does he have?

Gregg: Animal! Yeah, I saw him pouring silver paint on himself at the last show.

Duff: Yeah, he's one intense guy; he leads his own life. He doesn't really have an influence that controls the way he acts, he's just a nut. I've heard people say he's trying to act like Iggy or Jim Morrison. It's just not the case; that's Steve Verwolf at his primal best.

O. K., what kind of spiritual message are you trying to relate with your music? Haha. . .

Gregg: Love in the light. No, we're not trying to blaze any particular path or any political 'do this' or 'do that,' just, uh, having fun and not being. . .

Duff: Begin caught up in certain cliques or peer pressure. Basically what the whole quote-unquote 'punk scene' was about was getting away from the cliques and the peer pressure. Now it's just regressed back into. . .

Gregg: It's turned into what it was trying to get away from.

Duff: Yeah, it's just kind of gone around in a big circle, to right back to what I was trying to get out of. So we're just trying to say, hey you guys, let's unite; let's not worry about what you're wearing or what the guy behind you thinks about you. Just have a good time, have fun, don't go around hittin' people and shit.'

Gregg: I think, in a way without having to say much, we're an example of that happening because we're not a punk rock band and there's a lot of punk rockers who get into what we're doing. And we don't always necessarily look like punk rockers when we're on stage. Yeah, we're just an example of that working.

Duff: And it's not like we're trying to get across a big spiritual message. Our first point is creating good music, something people can really tune in to. Tunes for groovin', not tunes for anti-this or anti-that.

Gregg: Not tunes for being pissed off or a flag to wave around. So you're not an anarchy band? Duff: Definitely not an anarchy band! Some people might say, 'Oh well, these guys serve no purpose,' 'cause we've had interviews where the first question was, 'What are your political views?' We're a rock 'n' roll band, not Governor Spellman. And people might look down on us 'cause we don't have political views, but then you gotta look at it, why should we? You guys are getting dragged down by peer pressure because somebody says you gotta have political views. That's the cool thing right now, to be a political band. Well fuck that shit; we're not political.

What local bands do you like to see?

Gregg: 10 Minute Warning.

Duff: I Iike watching bands. I saw Poison Idea, the Rejectors and the Accused the other night and I enjoyed the show just because it was fun and it was loud and fast and you could get down. I also like the Fastbacks and the Silly Killers are fun to watch.

Do you guys like heavy metal?

Gregg: Big balls and things. . .

Duff: I'm not a metal fanatic or anything, but I like a lot of the sounds coming from some of the metal bands around. I like Motley Crue, old Kiss, Motorhead, Tank. . . but a lot of stuff that's supposed to be heavy metal isn't heavy metal at all, like Def Leppard. They're supposed to be the kings of heavy metal. But they're not really even heavy metal, they're more like a songwriting troupe. Not that they're not a good band, I like them, but . .

Gregg: I don't even like 'em.

Are you going to be recording any records in the near future?

Duff: That's what our goal is right now and that's what our goal has been for a long time. We've been trying to get something out, it's like a struggle.

Gregg: That's a lie.

Duff: We are too, man!

Gregg: We talk about it a lot.

Duff: But we're trying hard.

Gregg: Yeah, we are. That's our main goal. That's what the band's all about, that's what we exist for, not just doing a show once a month in Seattle and going to work five days a week.

Do you think Jello Biafra will be helping you record your record now that Faulty Products has gone out of business?

Duff: He claimed he would when we played those dates with him.

Gregg: But that's when Faulty was still happening. They're (the D.K.s) at a point now where they could probably just start their own label and not even bother messing with us.

Duff: We just wanted to clear up one point.

Gregg: It's a fact that we come across a lot more professional than a lot of the other local bands and a Iot of people interpret that wrong.

Duff: They think we're stuck up or trying to sell out. I don't know where they're getting this: do we have a record contract? We just want to be good, we don't want to be just five wankers up on stage.

Gregg: To practice once a week and jerk off is not where it's at.

Duff: We are serious musicians, but I want to make the point that we're not stuck up, no matter what people think, not that we care what people think.

I've never understood this shit about selling out anyway, because I figure if you're a musician and you Iike playing music that you should take it as far as you can, and if you end up making lots of money and becoming a star then big deal, at least you like what you do.

Duff: Yeah, it is what we like to to. We're not trying to make all of our songs into big commercial successes or anything. We're just playing what we like to play.