Here Today... Gone To Hell!

'Welcome to the Jungle': Visiting With Studio City's Very Own Rock Star Steven Adler

Apr 1, 2011

The former Guns N' Roses drummer is as infamous as he is famous because of drug problems, but he's doing better than ever, and he invited Patch into his home for an exclusive interview.

Steven Adler, the former Guns N? Roses drummer who is among the world?s most famous rock stars, has had his ups and downs through the years because of ongoing drug problems, but he just finished his second season of the TV show Celebrity Rehab, and he appears to be doing quite well ? both in his recovery and his career, as his solo band Adler?s Appetite is set to begin a national tour next month.

?I don?t have an ?Appetite For Destruction? anymore. I have an appetite to rock now,? Adler said, sitting in the backyard of his modest house on a quiet street near Ventura Boulevard.

A founding member of Guns N? Roses who played drums for the notorious Los Angeles rock band from 1985 to 1990, Adler?s legacy always will loom large because he played on Appetite For Destruction, which has sold tens of millions of copies and is generally considered among the most important and successful rock albums of all-time.

Adler was fired from Guns N? Roses more than 20 years ago, but he says he is on good terms with the members, including Rose, whom he hung out for one night in 2006 and "made ammends."

Adler moved around a bit when he was growing up, though he did spend some years in the Studio City/North Hollywood area and recalls going to Burbank Boulevard Elementary School.

?I don?t remember if we ever played FM Station (in North Hollywood), but I definitely played at the Country Club (in Reseda),? Adler said. ?I love Micelli?s restaurant on Ventura and Cahuenga ? it?s my favorite restaurant.?

Adler can?t help but look back at his time in Guns N? Roses. They became one the biggest bands on Earth but started from humble beginnings, including all five members living together in a Hollywood garage that doubled as a rehearsal studio and, of course, a party pad.

?I knew we were going to be famous, even before the record came out,? Adler said. ?We just had that drive. We didn?t doubt ourselves one bit. I remember in the studio recording ?Appetite,? every time we played a song back, we all said, ?This is going to be a huge hit. It?s going to be awesome.?

"We never doubted ourselves and always believed in ourselves. That?s the most important thing.?

As the years went on, Adler devolved into a notorious figure who has been arrested ? and jailed ? several times, and he has constantly relapsed despite heavy efforts at rehabilitation, as he remains on a first-name basis with most of Hollywood?s leading addiction specialists. At one point, things got so bad that he suffered a stroke while partying one night, and he still has a speech impediment as a result.

This time, he?s been sober for about a month, and Adler believes in himself more so than he ever has before.

?I feel wonderful. I enjoyed being on Celebrity Rehab (twice) and Soberhouse,? he said. ?I started with Dr. Drew Pinsky in 2008, and I made a 170-degree turn. I went back, and this time I want to make a 180-degree turn.?

Video:

Part 1:
http://northhollywood.patch.com/articles/welcome-to-the-jungle-visiting-with-studio-citys-very-own-rock-star-steven-adler#video-5461126

Part 2:
VIDEO: Will the Original Guns N' Roses Members Ever Reunite? More With Steven Adler ...
http://northhollywood.patch.com/articles/video-will-the-original-guns-n-roses-members-ever-reunite-more-with-steven-adler#video-5481621

I hate to be the one to point this out, but if you make a 170 degree turn, followed by a 180 degree turn, you are only 10 degrees off your original course...

Part 3 of the interview has been posted:

VIDEO: What Was the Secret Formula to Guns-N-Roses' Success? Part 3 With Steven Adler ...

Patch reveals what Alder thinks makes the music of his former band endure today.

http://chatsworth.patch.com/articles/video-what-was-the-secret-formula-to-guns-n-roses-success-part-3-with-steven-adler#video-5479852

When asked what he thought the "secret formula" to GUNS N' ROSES success was, Adler replied, "GUNS N' ROSES' success, I believe, came from the fact that the five of us liked five different kinds of music. I always liked the '70s kind of pop, disco ? I was really influenced by QUEEN. You've got Izzy Stradlin [guitar], who was influenced by the STOOGES, NEW YORK DOLLS, SEX PISTOLS. And you've got Duff [McKagan, bass], who was into BLACK FLAG... punk, real hardcore punk. And then you've got Axl [Rose, vocals]; he was into QUEEN, ELTON JOHN... bands like that. And Slash [guitar] was [into] AEROSMITH, LED ZEPPELIN... So it was [a mixture of] all of our different things. We all just meshed together really well. And believe me, it's so hard to find... Look, I'm going through it right now with my new band, ADLER'S APPETITE. It's the hardest thing in the world to find four or five guys that you can actually live with and work with and make magic with."

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=156332