Duff McKagan's Column In Seattle Weekly

[FunkyMonkey]

One Loaded Summer

By Duff McKagan

Well, HELL! First off, I must admit that I thought the column that my daughter Grace and I wrote together last week was only going to meet perhaps a polite response. Was I ever wrong! It gives weight to the suspicion I've had that the columns I have written about family are really the most widely read and commented on. It's like you all are saying "Yeah, great GNR story, Duff, but get back to some more of that all-girl household/dorky-dad/Buckley-the-dog stuff!"

They are running the "Grace column" in print this week for you locals. Grace is now running around the house convinced she is going to be the next Anne Rice or something. Whatever, Grace . . . !

This summer was really quite excellent all the way around--if only for the simple fact that I got to be home in Seattle for most of it. No real touring, and therefore I was with all my women in June, July, and August. I am indeed ready for football season to start, though.

Not that it was all-girls-all-the-time this summer. No, the most excellent Loaded was back at it making a record. Famed producer Terry Date (Soundgarden, Pantera, Deftones, Prong, Screaming Trees, just to name a very few) came in to the Loaded fold somehow just before we were to start this record and offered his assistance in a producer role. Yeah, when Terry Date wants to do your record, you run and not walk straight to that man.

Actually, who could blame Terry? We are all pretty smokin' hot dudes, and our collective wit and charm has yet to be matched anywhere west of the Mississippi. Truth be told, though, Mr. Date is probably still scrubbing himself in the shower a whole week now after we have finished, in an attempt to get our off-color humorist hue out of his skin.

For those of you who follow the band, you will also know that having Terry produce this new record is a departure from Martin Feveyear, the producer of the first two Loaded records. Martin is not only our producer, but one of my dearest friends, and I can probably speak for the other fellas in the band when I state that this was a very tough decision for us. Martin totally understood and told us to make a great record. I love you, pal.

In a summer filled with girls and pink fluffy "cute" stuff, it was an equalizing pot of gold to get in a studio with "the fellas." Terry Date has ESPN and Mariners games playing silently on the TV screen in the studio at all times. If no games are on, he will change it up to the Discovery show with that dude who catches all the strangest fish he can find all over the world. Man stuff for sure!

The odors that start to happen when it is just dudes hanging in the same room for 12 hours at a time can be quite stunning, to be sure. It's weird. The smells--as I have noted--are almost always preceded by a sharp and quick muffled noise. I wonder what that is all about. Studio X smells JUST like our tour bus. Strange.

And the humor. Uh. WOW. For those of you who may know me on a personal level or have come to a Loaded show, you know that I like to tell jokes. Some of you may even think my jokes are dumb and crass. No. The jokes that I tell in public are simply the cream of the crop of what I prune from long studio sessions and such. If you think MY jokes are dumb . . .

We hope to find Loaded a label home that will do our record a bit more justice this time around. There is not a group of guys anywhere who deserve more reciprocation from a like-minded, hard-working record company. But THAT is another story!

Yes. It is time now to start routing a tour for next spring and summer, and to get back on some of those awesome festivals that were so good to us last tour. The story of Loaded is set to continue. Gauging from this excellent summer with my bandmates, the story will include a huge dose of our wackiness and humor. Thank God!

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/09/one_loaded_summer.php

[metallex78]

I think that Duff, by far is becoming my favourite member to ever be in GN'R. Just a cool motherfucker.
Can't wait for his book to come out.

[MeanBone]

DUff is the coolest! he should have his own tv show. i want more duff!

[lynn1961]

Notes From the Hoot: Kim Virant, Kristen Ward, and Victoria Wimer Contreras
By Duff McKagan
Thu., Sep. 9 2010 @ 11:49AM   


Last week, as we were running down the songs at the rehearsal night before The Hootenanny for a Healthy Gulf at the Moore Theater, it suddenly dawned on me that I had written or otherwise talked about everyone who participated, except for three--Kim Virant, Kristen Ward, and Victoria Wimer Contreras.

If you read my column, then you already know how highly I regard the other Hoot musicians, like Star Anna, Mark Pickerel, Shawn Smith, Rachel Flotard, etc. As a matter of fact, it is just plain odd, if you are me, to play with some of the most talented musicians on this planet, and see that some of them are still trying to "break" themselves on a larger scale, while my career broke many years ago. I am in no way a better player or more of a personality than the rest of these folks. There is just no rhyme or reason in the music industry. To try to at least do this industry a little justice, then, I would like to tell those of you who don't know about these three ladies in a bit more detail and color.

Kristen Ward has put out a couple of rock-flavored records in the last few years, but it is her latest alt-country record Charles that may best suit her amazing talent. She has a voice that is sweet and gentle and can seem like it just drips around you, or wraps you in a warm coat. Kristen doesn't need all the ruckus and noise of loud rock to hide her voice behind, and I think perhaps the song "Maybe" off Charles best exemplifies what I am trying to get across. Check it out.

Kristen and her musical partner, the great and mighty Gary Westlake, have just started to venture out of the Northwest, playing some shows down in Los Angeles. I would recommend trying to see a show now . . . something you can store in your "I saw her when" file. No bullshit.

Next up, Kim Virant. If you are anywhere near Seattle, then of course you have probably seen a KV show. For those of you who haven't, well, it may be a bit simplistic for me to try to describe and compare Kim to say, Stevie Nicks . . . but that IS the ballpark and high-water mark that Kim lives in. She is comfortable singing in about any format, from hard rock to country murder ballad, but her CD from last year, Songs From a Small House, pretty much nailed her comfort zone, the place where she flourishes most . . . her own music! Check out "Love Ain't for the Weak" off this record. It's a really nice song featuring beautiful song-craftsmanship.

Kim's musical partner just happens to be the Hoot's drummer and general man-behind-the-scenes, Chris Friel . . . a killer all-around dude if it's me you are askin'.

Victoria Wimer Contreras is by no means last on this list, for any reason other than that I knew she would be the hardest to write about. She has the most "legitimate" musical background of ANYONE who was on that stage that night. She has studied with Maestro David Kyle (vocal coach to Ann Wilson, Liza Minnelli, and Geoff Tate, just to name a very few). Victoria studied music and vocal jazz in the esteemed Central Washington University music program. Her leanings have been more toward jazz until recently (thank God for us rock and country fans). Her duet of Oasis' "Wonderwall" with Jeff Rouse at the Hootenanny was a stunning jaw-dropper. She doesn't have anything up on iTunes yet, but check out "This Is Not Goodbye" on her MySpace page for at least a tiny example of what she is capable of. If the world were right all of the time, Victoria would be a huge star right now.

It is very fortunate for all you locals that you will be able to catch Star, Kim, Kristen, Victoria, AND Rachel Flotard at their tribute to Patsy Cline this Saturday, 7:30 p.m., at The Triple Door in downtown Seattle. This is an absolute don't-miss!

A couple of asides: If you get a chance to see Tim Dijulio, the guitar player for the Hootenanny band, do it. For now, you can see him shred on the YouTube clip of Shawn Smith's version of "Purple Rain" from that Hoot-Moore show.

Also, Paul Hutzler made his pedal-steel debut at the Hoot. He only started playing this instrument one year ago, and with eight hours a day of practice, made himself world-class on this hardest of all instruments!

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2 ? t.php#more

[FunkyMonkey]

OK, Let's All Chip In on This One

By Duff McKagan, Thu., Sep. 16 2010

Sometimes things just get stuck in my craw and I just can't shake them. Sometimes these things can be good and funny, like the fact that my daughters think I am just SO embarrassing these days. But other times, the things that get me pissed off and keep me there are when foolish and thoughtless crime puts the innocent in danger or leaves them with nothing.

Last Christmas, I wrote a piece in the Weekly on the Ronald McDonald House here in Seattle by Children's Hospital. The RMH is a place of last resort for families whose children are undergoing cancer treatment and have no place to stay in the Seattle area. For all of the wonderful work and service that RMH provides, it is still not a place you want to be . . . needless to say.

The Ronald McDonald House is just a few short blocks from my house. Over the last 15 years, I have met some of these parents, and have felt first-hand the sheer tragedy that overtakes a family who has sold everything and is in debt to the hilt for the sake of medical co-pays and the like.

I saw a segment last Thursday night on KING 5-TV that shook me to the core.

The segment is about Jeremy and Karen Hartle and their 3-year-old son, John. They are a Montana family here in Seattle at the Ronald McDonald House while the boy gets cancer treatment. John has stage-4 neuroblastoma which has metastasized to every bone in his body.

Last Thursday night, on top of everything else, the Hartle family truck was stolen from right outside of the RMH. Their 2002 Ford F250 had been their lifeline.

From the KING 5 article:

"Who does that?" says Jeremy. "Who steals a car right in front of a place like this?"

"I'm 7 months pregnant and we had a lot of material things for the baby in the truck," says Karen.

On top of this, this truck contained medical equipment for the care of John, Jeremy's work tools for his masonry business back in Montana, and new stuff for the pending little baby. All of this stuff was in the truck because there is just no room left in the apartment provided by RMH.

This truck provides the only transportation for this couple to get back and forth to Kalispell to see their two other children.

So that was it. If you are at all like me, you are at this moment looking around for information on how to help the Hartles. Here is what I have found out . . .

There IS a bank account in Kalispell, Montana for the Hartles. It had been set up earlier to donate to the family for the ongoing care of John and the ongoing cost of having a family when you just suddenly have to drop everything and go to Seattle . . . before they knew that some asshole thief was going to steal their truck here.

Mike Bickford at Bickford Ford in Snohomish heard about this story and has absolutely stepped up to the plate. They have contacted the family and have offered to cover almost half of what it would cost to replace this truck.

I know where I am buying MY next car.

I feel that a sense of community can be attained suddenly. There are times when I think this city is just getting too big and mean, and then I hear about something like this, a car dealership and its third-generation owner taking the time to give a hand. Outstanding.

The Hartles DO have insurance, but as we all know, it won't cover the full price of replacement, not to mention the contents of the truck.

So there is room for us to help, and it's not a huge number. It is attainable! I'm not in the practice of asking the readers here to help with a cause financially, but this one is extra-different. This happened in OUR town. These people are on OUR watch. Let's DO this!

Johnhartle.info

Three Rivers Bank
233 E. Idaho
P.O. Box 7250
Kalispell, MT 59904
(406)755-4271
contact Kay Ross
kross@3riversbank.com

Also, you can contact Bickford Ford directly.

Dan Hudson
Danh@bickford.net
(425)212-2811

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/09/ok_lets_all_chip_in_on_this_on.php

[FunkyMonkey]

10 Things I Wish I'd Known When I Started a Band

By Duff McKagan, Thu., Sep. 23 2010

First, I must say that there is really nothing that I would or could change about my story thus far in the context of the bands I have been in . . . or how I have conducted myself and bandmates' reactions to certain situations. It is what it is (and it has been what it has been).

HOWEVER! Because SW's REVERB Local Music Festival is coming up (Oct. 9, Ballard), it may be helpful if I could perhaps dispense a few dos and don'ts to new and up-and-coming rock bands.

Believe me, I have walked into a few brick walls in my times of rock-and-roll madness. I've matriculated sometimes only because this person or that showed me how to walk AROUND that same virtual brick edifice. On that note, here are 10 tips to muse on, mixed in with time bombs to hopefully avoid!

1. If you are one of those people who got into music for the chicks and drugs and not the passion of a song and the power of musical moments, go home. Wankers.

2. Don't smoke crack on a leased private jet. The smell gets into EVERYTHING!

3. Like the people in your band. Or at least use the animosity within your band as a springboard for great fucking art!

4. Have a kick-ass band name. Unless your band is so good that your band name is THAT secondary, choose a name that means something to the band and has some sort of imagery that is a reflection of the music. Let's face it, the band name MUSE is kinda lame. But once you see or hear the band, the name is the last thing you think about.

5. Don't sign a deal that ties you up with one particular manager. There is no real upside for the artist here. If a manager believes in you and can get you good tours and nice licensing deals, etc., well, then just give the manager commissions on that stuff. Trust me. Not signing a deal keeps a manager hustling FOR the artist.

6. Don't get addicted. Drugs and alcohol can seem sexy and fun--for a while . . . until you can't live WITHOUT them. Then it's all dumb and terrifying.

7. Watch how the business works around you. Ask questions constantly and never be embarrassed to do so. "How much does a T-shirt cost to make?" or "What does publishing really mean?" are just two examples.

8. From the start, try to ascertain that you and your bandmates have the same goals. Back when Guns N' Roses first started, there WAS a different lead guitar player and drummer. When Axl, Izzy, and myself booked a punk-rock style tour of the West Coast in 1985, and these two other guys didn't want to leave the comfort of L.A., we went and found guys who DID! Thankfully and serendipitously, we found Slash and Steven Adler!

9. Get used to being away from cozy shit and the safety of home. Bring your teddy bear if you need to. And get Skype.

10. Don't be an asshole to other bands. If you are good and stay around for a while, being an asshole PERIOD is going to make life very hard for you.

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/09/10_things_i_wish_id_known_when.php

[14 Yrs Of Silence]

Interesting tip about not smoking crack on a plane!  Weiland perhaps?

[lynn1961]

Interesting tip about not smoking crack on a plane!  Weiland perhaps?

Nah....who was the band who leased a private jet for their world tour?  Remember?  I'm sure it was probably Duff himself smoking the crack.  I think he did at that time.   

[Albert S Miller]

OK, Let's All Chip In on This One

By Duff McKagan, Thu., Sep. 16 2010

Sometimes things just get stuck in my craw and I just can't shake them. Sometimes these things can be good and funny, like the fact that my daughters think I am just SO embarrassing these days. But other times, the things that get me pissed off and keep me there are when foolish and thoughtless crime puts the innocent in danger or leaves them with nothing.

Last Christmas, I wrote a piece in the Weekly on the Ronald McDonald House here in Seattle by Children's Hospital. The RMH is a place of last resort for families whose children are undergoing cancer treatment and have no place to stay in the Seattle area. For all of the wonderful work and service that RMH provides, it is still not a place you want to be . . . needless to say.

The Ronald McDonald House is just a few short blocks from my house. Over the last 15 years, I have met some of these parents, and have felt first-hand the sheer tragedy that overtakes a family who has sold everything and is in debt to the hilt for the sake of medical co-pays and the like.

I saw a segment last Thursday night on KING 5-TV that shook me to the core.

The segment is about Jeremy and Karen Hartle and their 3-year-old son, John. They are a Montana family here in Seattle at the Ronald McDonald House while the boy gets cancer treatment. John has stage-4 neuroblastoma which has metastasized to every bone in his body.

Last Thursday night, on top of everything else, the Hartle family truck was stolen from right outside of the RMH. Their 2002 Ford F250 had been their lifeline.

From the KING 5 article:

"Who does that?" says Jeremy. "Who steals a car right in front of a place like this?"

"I'm 7 months pregnant and we had a lot of material things for the baby in the truck," says Karen.

On top of this, this truck contained medical equipment for the care of John, Jeremy's work tools for his masonry business back in Montana, and new stuff for the pending little baby. All of this stuff was in the truck because there is just no room left in the apartment provided by RMH.

This truck provides the only transportation for this couple to get back and forth to Kalispell to see their two other children.

So that was it. If you are at all like me, you are at this moment looking around for information on how to help the Hartles. Here is what I have found out . . .

There IS a bank account in Kalispell, Montana for the Hartles. It had been set up earlier to donate to the family for the ongoing care of John and the ongoing cost of having a family when you just suddenly have to drop everything and go to Seattle . . . before they knew that some asshole thief was going to steal their truck here.

Mike Bickford at Bickford Ford in Snohomish heard about this story and has absolutely stepped up to the plate. They have contacted the family and have offered to cover almost half of what it would cost to replace this truck.

I know where I am buying MY next car.

I feel that a sense of community can be attained suddenly. There are times when I think this city is just getting too big and mean, and then I hear about something like this, a car dealership and its third-generation owner taking the time to give a hand. Outstanding.

The Hartles DO have insurance, but as we all know, it won't cover the full price of replacement, not to mention the contents of the truck.

So there is room for us to help, and it's not a huge number. It is attainable! I'm not in the practice of asking the readers here to help with a cause financially, but this one is extra-different. This happened in OUR town. These people are on OUR watch. Let's DO this!

Johnhartle.info

Three Rivers Bank
233 E. Idaho
P.O. Box 7250
Kalispell, MT 59904
(406)755-4271
contact Kay Ross
kross@3riversbank.com

Also, you can contact Bickford Ford directly.

Dan Hudson
Danh@bickford.net
(425)212-2811

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/09/ok_lets_all_chip_in_on_this_on.php

Well This is so unique .  I am from Snohomish, Wa and I went to school with Mike Bickford who owns Bickford Motors.  I have also purchased many vehicles in my day from the dealership.  As sad as it is that someone had to take from these people who are in such a harsh position anyway just completely sucks, but someday those thieves will obviously face judgement day.  Thank You Mike for your generosity you are a saint.  I will be stopping by today to make a donation to this devasted family along with some great prayers for all of you.  God Bless!!

msaxl43

[oldgunsfan]

Interesting tip about not smoking crack on a plane!  Weiland perhaps?

Nah....who was the band who leased a private jet for their world tour?  Remember?  I'm sure it was probably Duff himself smoking the crack.  I think he did at that time.   

probably adler

[FunkyMonkey]

Slash Dance

You've heard his axe, but my friend's dance moves will shred you to pieces.

By Duff McKagan Wednesday, Sep 29 2010

The first time I heard Slash play guitar was in 1984 in the basement of the Los Angeles townhome belonging to his mother, Ola, a woman who would later become like a surrogate mother to me during my early years in L.A.

Slash didn't have to try to impress?he just picked up an acoustic guitar and started to play. Up to that point, I really thought I had seen and heard the whole gamut of the talent pool of my age group in America. I had toured extensively with punk-rock bands, and had seen just about every band that came through Seattle from '79 to '84. But when Slash played in that basement that night, all I thought I knew was suddenly swept aside.

Through the years, he's been asked to play guitar with everyone from Michael Jackson to Rihanna, but it was sometime in late 1988?the year after our first band, Guns N' Roses, had released its debut, Appetite for Destruction?that I knew Slash had transcended anything like flash-in-the-pan or local-hero status. It wasn't due to the growing press he received, or some other outside force. It was from an Irishman?a call from guitar legend Rory Gallagher.

Rory asked our manager if Slash would like to come down and play on "Whipping Post," the Allman Brothers Band's rolling blues-rock anthem that Rory was well-known for playing live. It was, for sure, just a small gig at the Roxy, but from where I stood, I was proud that my friend and bandmate had stood his ground that night in the company of a legend.

Slash has been through the fucking ringer of rock-and-roll excess?blistering highs and soul-crushing lows?and has come through it all with a grin. And there are always plenty of grins to be had when Slash is in the room. I'm pretty sure that most of you don't know that Slash is also a world-class Russian crouch-down-and-kick-your-legs-out dancer. OK, perhaps not technically world-class, but he has been known to bust it out from time to time when a comical moment is needed.

Earlier this year, Slash released a record that had been percolating inside him since at least 1992. Slash, his first-ever solo record?to which I am honored to have contributed?is a badass culmination of his hard-won songwriting skills and kick-butt guitar playing. The who's-who of guest singers on the record?from Ozzy Osbourne to Fergie?shows how much respect Slash gets in our industry. If you are a fan of rock and fucking roll?or crazy Russian dance moves?don't miss this gig.

Slash With Bad City. Showbox SoDo. Sold out. 8:30 p.m. Sat., Oct. 2.

http://www.seattleweekly.com/2010-09-29/music/slash-dance/

[FunkyMonkey]

I'm pretty sure that most of you don't know that Slash is also a world-class Russian crouch-down-and-kick-your-legs-out dancer. OK, perhaps not technically world-class, but he has been known to bust it out from time to time when a comical moment is needed.

Now that's something I would have to see to believe.

[14 Yrs Of Silence]

Duff is really good to his friends, promoting Slash and others thorugh his column.  I breifly met Duff back in 2005 in Vegas, just a hello as I didn't want to impose, but I wish I'd meet him again as it would be fun to tell him how much I enjoy reading his column.  Definitely good peeps. 

[sleeper]

I have this visual of Slash doing this dance with his top hat on. Great story!

[FunkyMonkey]

Question: What Did the Buddhist Say to the Hot Dog Vendor?

By Duff McKagan, Thu., Oct. 7 2010

Answer: Make me ONE with everything!

Yeah, well, I want some of that. I only use levity here because I like to tell a good joke--and the joke itself highlights in reality, something that I yearn for. As hard as I try for some semblance of tranquility in this journey of life, it seems that there is always some sort of mini-drama playing out somewhere on the sideline. And I know that I play a part in them ... if only just simply by reacting.

I should be a master in the art of band politics by this point in my life, but I find myself often caught in the trappings of drama and intrigue. Man, it's true: as often as I tell myself just to 'keep my side of the street clean' (that is, take responsibility for what I do, and try to walk a somewhat straight-ish path), I can get a little bit lazy with my personal program or belief, and I find myself in the midst of gossip and/or angling for a better position.

I think we probably all do this to some extent. At work and in our personal lives. we naturally all want what is best for ourselves ... and our loved ones. Did anyone see that ESPN shot of that young couple at the Houston Astros game this season? When an errant foul ball came their way, the guy moved out of the way and fully exposed his girlfriend to the full brunt of the baseball's impact. Ouch. Even if we want our workplace to excel in sales or whatever, and our love life to be as pristine as a Hallmark card, we often put ourselves first in the equation, even if we're unaware.

Back to the band. I don't want this to be taken the wrong way, but how am I am supposed to give, say, a new singer in Velvet Revolver--should we decide to find one-- a fighting chance, given all of my past history with our previous singer, Scott Weiland? Truth be told, I have a lot in common with Scott and I only wish him the very best. BUT! I still feel a little bit screwed by that situation. Not screwed over by Scott himself, per se, but by allowing myself to get hung up on some major-league, old-school rock trappings, and getting stuck there. A work environment mixed with the emotion of trying to portray a shared vision and sound can sometimes just get downright ridiculous.

This time I will just try it differently. This time, I will try and avoid the intrigue and not try for an angle. I'm sure I did it before. I'm SURE I did. I just wanted that band to be as great as I knew it could be. I probably let a lot of truths go flying past me in the process. This is life, I suppose.

All I can do from here is learn from the past, and adjust myself accordingly.

My girls are both of an age--10 and 13--when things at school and in their personal lives get acutely magnified. These things get brought straight into our house after school. You see, 10- and 13-year-olds rarely have a "filter"... In situations more and more frequently, I find myself reacting with either a big voice or just straight-up annoyance. It's not cool that I do this. I tell myself this when it happens. I write about these things for you so that I can at least write down what is happening. This column has been a wonderful tool for me to both flesh out personal/family issues and to keep myself in check. I know that you people read this. Because you read it, I cannot contradict myself. Damn!

I went to Seattle University--a Jesuit school--a few years back. If you know anything about Jesuit schools, you will o know that the Jesuits require a ton of philosophy courses for their students to advance. Hence, I am a quasi-expert armchair philosopher. There is a Buddhist saying that says, and I paraphrase:

"Be the water flowing down the stream, and not the boulder in the stream trying to hold the water back."

I like this meditation.

I wonder if simple edicts like these are attainable anymore. The Information Age brings with it a mad plethora of gadgetry that keeps our minds racing with too much monkey business. I have to drink way too much coffee just to keep up.

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/10/question_what_did_the_buddhist.php

[IzzyDutch]

Anyone knows what happened to http://duff-loaded.com/community/index.php ? It's been down for the past week

[DeadHorse]

I can't help but think of alder after reading

If you are one of those people who got into music for the chicks and drugs and not the passion of a song and the power of musical moments, go home. Wankers.
 

[FunkyMonkey]

More Musings.....Responsibility?

by Duff McKagan on Sunday, October 17, 2010

RESPONSIBILTY?

By Duff McKagan
 
About 19 years ago, I wrote a song with and for Guns N Roses, called ?Get In The Ring?. At that point in our career, we had ceased to be the darlings of critics.  When our band started to ?blow up?, it became apparent that there was an almost sudden sea-change in how our live shows and records were getting critiqued in the press. No big deal really; you just realize that this kind of stuff comes with the territory.
 
But what interested me then was: Why would a critic come to our show when it was often openly obvious that he or she didn?t like us in the first place? Why waste the time? Why spread a vitriolic point of view? Hence, the first line in that song-
 
?Why do you look at me when you hate me??
 
Flash forward to now: I write for a paper that has music critics. With my history, it interests me as to who our music critics are-in a purely educational way. I can?t lie; I actually do keep tabs and have barked loudly internally here at The Weekly when I feel vitriol and prejudice played a part in any review that I might happen upon. I?m sure that my ?friends? here at the paper have dwindled by a writer or two.
 
A year or so ago, I touched upon the subject of how online news and entertainment sites are sort of just plain taking over.  Print newspapers and magazines are dying off. For good or for bad, this is just the way it is. Information-Age economics have dictated a change in MANY areas (music downloads, online movie rentals, and etc).
 
In writing for The Seattle Weekly, I have benefited first-hand from this change. I have been given the chance to learn how to write to a certain degree-with some good tutelage and encouragement even. But still, I am certainly not a bona-fide journalist, or anything close to it. I?m just a guy who writes stuff.
 
I am a serious reader too. I believe that when given a responsibility like a weekly column, one should rise to the occasion. Seattle is a very literate city, and I feel honored to be writing for one of its respected periodicals. I have high expectations from others here too.
 
To do less than one?s best is just sloppy, in my view at least.
 
Although I certainly understand the importance of drawing readers to certain sites by having a juicy scoop or a story with conflict-the more ?hits? a site gets, the higher the advertisement revenue- I just don?t get why certain writers think they can either dictate from an Ivory Tower of judgment or just slander recklessly.
 
You have read these writers, and so have I.
 
For me, a site like The Seattle Weekly?s or, say, The Village Voice?s, should be a place to sort of come in from the storm. You all should be able to trust us writers at these quasi-esteemed papers. That is my view at least. The writers must earn the trust of the public though. When a writer pens a piece that is outwardly obviously intended to be prejudicial (good or bad), or badly researched, the whole lot of writers for that paper are somewhat soiled. Again, this is just my opinion.
 
Am I alone in this view?
 
I?ve got an editor here at The Weekly, Chris Kornelis. He is a smart dude and has at times ?held me to task? or otherwise questioned the intent of this piece or that. He has made me think and helped me to be better. He has his boss, and it goes up from there. Who holds THOSE guys to task? Those ?editors of editors?? I trust that their experience and drive for excellence does.
 
I write for The Seattle Weekly because I love to do it. It is a sizeable challenge and it gives me a chance to interact on topics that I am curious or otherwise interested in. There are countless blogs and whatnot out there that have a whole lot less to offer than we have here. You can get biased or sloppily written ?takes? and articles on music at countless sites, I am sure. There are plenty of right or left-leaning political sites too, if you like steeper ?slants?. Online newspapers like this one ARE the new paradigm for the straight-ish dope though, and as such, are the new gate-keepers of truth and insight. Or they should be, from where I sit.
 
 If I don?t like, say, Mel Gibson?I will be responsible enough to pull myself out of the running if approached to write an article on his new movie (IF he had and new movie, and IF I didn?t like Mel Gibson). It would be biased and not very righteous of me to knowingly sit in the wings for such an easy attack-IF this was the case.
 
Neither should it be all peaches and cream, though. I like reading people?s thoughts and insights, especially when they are intellectual and researched and whatever else.
 
Being a writer now for online papers these days I think, brings with it, a new burden of self-restraint. There are enough crappy things going on around us in this world and a tainted and spiteful article about someone?s art just adds noxious noise.

[FunkyMonkey]

Here is the complete column:

London, Axl, and Continued "Patience"

By Duff McKagan, Thu., Oct. 28 2010

In 1984, Izzy Stradlin lived in an apartment across the street from me in Hollywood, right behind the Chinese Theater off Hollywood Boulevard. The man seemed to ALWAYS have an acoustic guitar in his hands, and was always writing bits and pieces of songs. He still does this today.

There was one especially melodic thing that he had been working on, and every once in a while he would dust it off and work on it some more.

By 1986, our band Guns N' Roses had a record deal. With that money, I put myself on a small stipend that could basically pay my rent--or half-rent, I should say--for about six months.

One of my best friends at the time was looking to move to Hollywood from her parents' house somewhere in Orange County. She and I decided that we could share rent on a one-bedroom apartment on Gardner; she would get the bedroom, and I the floor of the dining room (which I cordoned off into my little den of darkness).

My other good friend then was a guy named Del James, a recent transplant from New York who became an important part of our tightknit little group of friends and ersatz consiglieres.

Del needed a place to crash for a week or so, and back then, what was mine was his. During that first week of couch-surfing at my apartment, Del and my roommate Debby became romantic, and Del moved from the couch to her bedroom.

Del was an avid reader, and turned me onto a book called Slugs by Shaun Hutson. I remember just sitting in my bedroom/dining room with my curtain pulled taught, and reading this book with life sort of swirling around me in our apartment. There were drugs aplenty then, and Valium was the drug-of-the-month at that particular point.

I remembered Izzy's little ditty, which at that point had a working title of "Patience," and I wrote a lyrical verse then that went, '"I sit here doing drugs/Reading a book about slugs/All I need is a little patience."

This horrible lyric never made it past my apartment front door, thank God. Axl came up with a great lyric, seemingly out of nowhere, that of course became the story and melody of that song. The whistle part at the beginning--a ballsy move by Axl--while seeming odd to some of our fans and critics alike when the record Lies was released, became a part of pop culture. The song just wouldn't be the song without it, right? This was always one of my favorite GN'R songs that we did live.

A few years ago, when Loaded was recording something or other (maybe "Wasted Heart"?), I counted in the song. On playback, someone in the room exclaimed that the count-in (me) sounded like the recorded count-in of "Patience," which is also me. For a while, the joke went that if I couldn't get a good table at a restaurant, I could simply say "One-two-one-two-three-four," and the gates would open for me.

Sometimes things come at me like that. It is impossible to gauge the impact of stuff you have been a part of. It is only when something like what happened to me in that control-room of the Loaded session happens, that I realize the mark a song like "Patience" made . . . or makes still.

Life can throw curveballs at us when we are least prepared. So many odd circumstances have befallen me over the years that I've come to almost expect the unexpected these days.

Two weeks ago, I flew off to London for a week's worth of non-music-related business. Mere hours after landing at Heathrow I found myself onstage with a friend that I have been to hell and back with, and lived to tell the tale. Axl and I just happened to be in hotel rooms next to each other. Unexpected? Oh, fuck yes.

Sometimes, though, it takes a serendipitous moment like this to put some important things into perspective. I for one was glad we were sort of thrown into meeting. I hope he was, too, for the sake of the pounds of flesh that we shed in the struggle and fray.

Mostly we laughed, and that was indeed great.

That same night, I found myself onstage playing "Patience" in front of 14,000 people at the 02 Arena. To put it lightly, this is not what I had expected when I boarded my flight the night before for my business trip. Crazy shit.

This chance meeting gave me pause for thought and reflection. Many of you have asked me to write about this gig and our meeting. Other magazines and whatnot have tried to contact me for a "statement." Really? A STATEMENT? I'll state this: Trust is built on foundations of granite. Trust is not built when a late-breaking story can prompt you to gossip.

I did an interview for our local rock station, KISW, about a week after the gig. They have started to play a new Loaded song in preparation for our halftime performance at the Nov. 7 Seahawks game as part of Veterans Appreciation Day. The song, "Fight On," was written by Loaded as a nod to our fallen and fighting young men and women. I was doing promo for the gig and the song (profits from the download will go to our Puget Sound VA HealthCare System). The conversation on BJ Shea's "Morning Show" naturally took a turn from "Fight On" to my participation onstage with Axl. I've been on BJ's show enough times to know that they wouldn't ask me anything dumb or be otherwise rude or untoward. They let me say my piece, and that was it.

I hope you all understand, and thanks for reading.

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/10/london_axl_and_continued_patie.php#more

[FunkyMonkey]

Hometown Songs for Hometown (Sports) Fans

By Duff McKagan, Thu., Nov. 4 2010

Regular readers of this column know I am a big fan of sports. I'm a huge Mariners fan, I mourn the Sonics, and I bleed the Hawks' teal and green.

When I watch games live or on TV, I am always pretty pumped when I hear one of my bands' songs being played. It was a dream come true to be in the room when the Sonics beat Salt Lake in seven games to make the NBA finals in 1996, with the crowd going nuts, confetti falling from the air, and "Paradise City" blaring from the rafters.

Of course, this can go both ways. Much as I love New York City, I cringe at the thought of "Welcome to the Jungle" being played to pump up fans at Yankee Stadium. It is then that I am the opposite of pumped, and I always think to myself, "No. That song wasn't written for YOU guys!" Yes, I am a sports nerd. Those of you who spent your youth following our local teams, as I did, can probably relate to how excited I am about what I get to do this week: My band, Loaded, is going to play the Seattle Seahawks halftime show this Sunday. I've been blessed with many high points in my career, but playing halftime for the Hawks is a milestone for me.

Some of you may be scratching your heads. Loaded is not a ubiquitous band. We are not on everyone's iPod or car stereo or rock station. This column has been a great meeting place for ideas. Some good stuff has transpired because of the contacts made through my tenure here at the Weekly.

When I wrote about my mountain-climber buddy Tim Medvetz a few months ago (and his taking wounded Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to the highest peaks on the planet), I received an e-mail from Ken LeBlond from our local Puget Sound VA hospital, and a connection was made.

Tim haunted me a while back with a story about some of the wounded vets he's met: 19-year-old kids who have lost a limb or two and are now back on their mom's couch somewhere in Minnesota or whatever, with nothing to fill the void but gut-wrenching depression.

Tim's story really stuck with me, and when we started writing songs for this new Loaded record, I dedicated a song called "Fight On" to these men and women.

With the acquaintance of Mr. LeBlond through this column, and Ryan Madayag of the Seahawks, we three have partnered to make "Fight On" available for download on iTunes exclusively for the benefit of VA Puget Sound Health Care System. This Sunday when we play is Seahawks Veterans' Appreciation Day. A thousand veterans and their families will be on the field at halftime when we play live.

The way that this whole thing came together just plain gives me chills, and makes it seem that we are doing something good here.

The "Gas Man" at KJR sports radio, Mike Gastineau, has been a big proponent of Loaded, and was the first one here in town to wave a flag for getting one of our songs used by our local sports teams. He played a song called "We Win" about six weeks ago, just after we had recorded it.

I am very--well, stoked. I don't mean to shamelessly self-promote or otherwise seem like I am using this space to pimp myself out, but hell, I'm gonna do it anyhow. My NFL team, the Seattle Seahawks, are using the new Loaded song as a means to get the team and fans pumped.

I imagine that some of you reading now are big sports fans, right? OK, so put yourself in MY place. Imagine that you wrote a song and now your favorite team is using it. AND you now get to play at their halftime.

Not only that: When I was in London a few weeks back, I received an e-mail request from someone at MLB to use "We Win" as musical content for their TV and online channels. I thought it was kind of premature for Major League Baseball to contact me in October about the following season, and I let them know that I had never received a song license request so far in advance. No, it was for THIS season. The World Series, to be exact.

Not bad for our little band from Seattle.

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/reverb/2010/11/hometown_songs_for_the_hometow.php