Interview: A Conversation With Duff McKagan

[FunkyMonkey]

Duff McKagan Interview

A Conversation With The Loaded and Velvet Revolver Member

May 9 2009

Duff McKagan is a busy guy. The former Guns N? Roses member is also in Velvet Revolver, who are currently on a break while they find a new singer to replace Scott Weiland. He?s also a writer, penning his thoughts for a few publications and writing about business for Playboy. The last full-length from his group Loaded was back in 2001. They released an EP last year, and their latest CD Sick is out now. I caught up with McKagan as Loaded was on tour, and he fills us in on the album and his many other projects and endeavors.

Chad Bowar: Why was this the right time for another Loaded record?
Duff McKagan: We didn?t think it was going to take seven years for our next record. That?s just the way music happens, I suppose. Maybe if we would have tried to put the record in there between the two Velvet Revolver records, it might have seemed forced. Everything happens for a reason. After all the drama and stuff the whole band (Velvet Revolver) went through at the end with the things we went through with Scott (Weiland) and all the things twirling around that band, I was really questioning why I was in music anymore. I have to deal with this b.s. all the time? It?s not worth it.

The guys in Loaded are some of my best friends, and it?s fun all the time. I had some levity in my life again. We started sending bits and pieces of songs to each other via MP3, one thing led to the next, and we got together in Seattle and put the songs together. It was a really inspired bunch of songs, from beginning to end. I still think in terms of making a record, it being a journey that you listen to from the beginning to the end. We?re really not in that culture much anymore. People buy singles and stuff. I like a whole record.

In your other bands you?re not up front, but in Loaded you?re also the singer. Do you enjoy it?
It?s no big deal, because I don?t give a crap about what people think of me anymore. I don?t mean that in a conceited way. This is what I do. People come because they want to rock. It me my whole career to finally realize that. I?m really comfortable being the front guy.

I understand you?ve also been training to climb Mt. Rainier. When will that happen?
I?m always training for something. It keeps me sober. I kickbox and I?ve done martial arts for the last 14 years. I?ve done a marathon. I was asked to climb with a group of guys going up Rainier. I?m an armchair climber. I?ve read every climbing book there is. Growing up in Seattle and looking up at that huge mountain, I think now it?s finally time.

One of your training partners is Tim Medvetz, the big biker guy who was on the Discovery Channel reality series Everest.
We just did a peak in the Sierras right before this tour. He?s a big tough dude.

Could you ever see yourself trying to climb Mount Everest?
I don?t know. We?ll see. It is suffering, there?s no mistake. You have an 80 pound pack on, you?re climbing in thin air and you have crampons on. If you fall, you?re dead. It?s a lot of suffering, but I enjoy that kind of thing. Tim calls it ?feeding the rat,? meaning you can see what limits you can take your body to. It?s kind of a breakthrough and you can go out in normal life after that and know you?re capable of a lot more than you thought you were.

You went back to school and got a business degree and have been doing some writing on that topic. What do you write about?
We all got carried away and thinking we were stock experts. But you have to understand what a stock is first, and what a price-to-earnings ratio is, and all the financial jargon they use. My first order of business is to explain those terms and what they mean, and educate the reader so we all can be informed. We need to invest for the longer term. Your house is not your bank, it?s your home. Don?t take second mortgages out, don?t take loans against your home. It?s not your own personal bank. It just basic, solid advice.

These days I imagine touring is quite different than back in the Guns N? Roses days. Do you take your families along now?
My girls have grown up traveling the world. They are 8 and 11. They can pack a bag and be ready to go to Europe in 15 minutes. They grew up little world citizens. They are not U.S. centric. They realize we live in a big world and there?s different people and different cultures.

Have they shown any musical interest yet?
My 11 year old has been into musical theater since she was 4, but not rock. They think it?s too much hard work. You have to work 16 hours a day.

Most people think it?s a pretty glamorous type life.
There was one glamorous life moment when me and Slash and Axl went down to look at this plane that we leased for the Illusions tour. We went down and they treated us like kings. They sent limos for us to go down and look at the plane. They had a book of stewardesses that we could pick from. That lasted for about 30 minutes. That was the glamorous part, and then it was over.

We live on the bus. I just went to the gym, paid the 10 bucks, worked out, did my laundry in the shower. Now it?s drying out on the bus and I?m shopping at a mall for socks. Then I have to do a sound check and then play a show. Then it?s back on the bus and to the next city...

That?s a lot different than your partying days when you nearly died at one point.
I?m in extra innings. I?m here and I shouldn?t be. I wake up every morning and say it?s going to be a good day. I?m not ashamed of anything I did yesterday, and that?s the kind of life I try to live right now and do right by my family and my fans. That goes back to last spring when there was so much crap swirling around and I started to question what I?m doing. If it would have continued, I was gone. I wasn?t going to go through that. It?s not worth it. I?ve seen the dark side, and it ain?t cool, it ain?t glamorous, it?s not sexy.

http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/duffmckagan.htm

[FunkyMonkey]

Another interview with Duff...

Duff McKagan, of Guns N' Roses, to perform at Croc Rock

Friday, May 15, 2009

By DUSTIN SCHOOF

Duff McKagan wants to set the record straight.

The songs on Loaded's new album, "Sick," are not about certain corn-rowed and fedora-sporting ex-band-mates.

"The funny thing about the way I write lyrics is that I write really direct and to the point, but I think they get misconstrued, like the song 'Sick.' People think that song is about (former Velvet Revolver singer) Scott (Weiland) but I wouldn't be that shallow," McKagan said over the phone.

"I never write direct, spiteful songs. If anybody thinks a song on my record is about someone I worked with, they're reading too much into it."

McKagan is no stranger to controversy.

As bassist and a founding member of two of rock music's most raucous and celebrated bands -- Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver -- McKagan has seen his share of riots, rehab stints, in-fighting and a reputation as a rock 'n' roll hell-raiser.

Bu things are a little quieter and a little calmer for McKagan these days. While Velvet Revolver searches for Weiland's replacement, McKagan -- who handles rhythm guitar and lead vocal duties in Loaded -- has found a renewed sense of kinship.

"Loaded is certainly not just my influences," McKagan says. "I'm doing all the press and it does say Duff McKagan's Loaded but it is a band. We write songs together. I'm certainly not going back in time pulling influences from my teenage years. It's the chemistry of the four guys in the band."

Loaded recently hit the road for a brief cross-country stint and will perform Wednesday night at Crocodile Rock Cafe in Allentown.

McKagan recently discussed "Sick," his plans for Mother's Day and the legacy of Guns N' Roses.

Q. Are you ready for the new tour?

A. Yeah, we're pretty excited. This band is best on the road and we have some exposure over in places like Japan. Going out in the states though, it's a whole different animal. With the mainstream, it's pretty tough to kind of get something like this through. It's our first foray ever into trying to do some stuff beyond Seattle and Los Angeles.

Q. What was the toughest part of transitioning from bass and backing vocals in Velvet Revolver to guitar and lead vocals in Loaded?

A. Music has always been kind of natural for me. I wouldn't say it was hard or it was a hard transition. It's way easier for me to play rhythm guitar when I sing lead vocals. I grew up being a guitar player, bass player and drummer.

Q. Did you feel pressure to distance your sound from Guns N' Roses or Velvet Revolver?

A. There's no pressure. I never pressure myself on any of that stuff. In my whole career I never felt pressure to do anything. With Guns we didn't feel any pressure. We did what we wanted to do. So there was no commercial pressure. If the album sells five records, that's great, if it sells 5,000, that's great. There's no point of failure or success that is sort of quantified with this band.

Q. How much of the curtain, so to speak, did you allow yourself to pull back when it came to writing lyrics?

A. I'll write a love song about my wife or something but I like the poetry of lyrics. I grew up on punk and the lyrics were angry and mix that with Prince and those songs are about (making love). I was 13 and 14 years old at the time, so I guess it's hard for me to be fuzzy around the edges.

Q. What was the inspiration behind the song "Mother's Day?"

A. Every Loaded song came from riffs. No lyrics or melodies were written, it was just riffs. With that song, it was just Jeff and I playing bass in a room one day, which is something we never do. We started playing this haunting bass thing and I thought of the melody. I didn't know why I was writing about Mother's Day, but it's about three friends of mine who died of drug overdoses. It's my favorite song on the record, just how the song came together, this gentle little song.

Q. Is it still surreal to see the impact Guns N' Roses has now had on several generations of musicians and rock fans?

A. It's very surreal. I will never get the full understanding, get the full impact it obviously had because I was part of it and it's hard to get outside of yourself, you know?

Q. Slash recently appeared on "American Idol." Any chance we'll see Duff McKagan on that stage?

A. You mean me? (Laughs) It was good for him, you know. Everybody does their thing and that's killer. Slash, he's a cool dude. But nah, I'm not really into the TV stuff.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/entertainment/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/1242360365222860.xml&coll=3

[DJ_bullet]

Two interesting interviews...  His daughter is into musical theater while he's off doing metal.  Reminds me of my family .  Having four piano-teaching grandparents, an opera singing sister, and a brother who plays almost every genre on the drums...

[FunkyMonkey]

CHRISTOPHER: Ex-Gun McKagan is ?Loaded?

Published: Friday, May 15, 2009

By MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER Times Music Columnist

Duff McKagan has road tested his musical career in a couple of well-known bands. Now, he?s decided to temporarily ditch the bass, pick up the guitar and stand behind the mic for Loaded, a straight ahead rock outfit that combines hooky pop melodies and a powerful snarl that looks to upstage the rest of the bands on the heels of its new record ?Sick? at the ?MMR*B*Q? this Sunday at the Susquehanna Bank Center.

?I come from an age where you have to be good live first,? McKagan told Rock Music Menu this week. ?You have to have good songs first. You can?t go into the studio and let Pro Tools do the writing for you ? and you can?t depend on running Pro Tools onstage to supplement your sound, you gotta just go out and rock.?

To the casual music fan, heck, even to the dedicated rock and roller, it might come as a surprise that McKagan, the ex-Guns N? Roses/current Velvet Revolver bassist, has been toying around with Loaded for a decade.

He first put the band together in 1999, headed over to Japan for a tour, and came back to the States to concentrate on his family and finishing up his degree in business before unleashing his new musical project here.

?We had made a record in 2001, but I was in school full time, and it was kind of more of a thing just to keep playing music,? he said. ?I couldn?t just go to school and I was learning how to raise children at that point, and it wasn?t something I could put all of myself into then. We were about to do an American release, but then VR started and that was it.?

VR stands for Velvet Revolver, where McKagan rejoined forces with fellow ex-Gunners Slash and Matt Sorum and along with guitarist Dave Kushner began the search for a singer. Former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland landed in the slot, but left the band under a cloud of acrimony a little over a year ago. The hiatus while searching for a replacement left McKagan time to revive Loaded with a new line-up and album.

?This is the coming out, this is where I felt brave enough to go ?OK, we?re not just going to release this in Japan; hell or high-water this is going to have a worldwide release,?? he said. ?This band is just so much fun to be around and I think that easy sort of friendship that we have makes us just a killer, kick-ass rock band live.?

McKagan?s singing style has grown notably since laying down inspired but often out of tune vocals on Guns? tracks like ?So Fine? and his 1993 solo record ?Believe in Me.?

?I was singing on that record more Johnny Thunders-ish, but then I got sober, and I started actually thinking about singing,? he said. ?By the time I made this record, it seems I?m finally comfortable, I know my range. Maybe now, this will be the first Loaded record where ?Ok, I feel comfortable, I can sing.??

?Singing live is great, I?ve figured out some tricks and by the next record I hope to be able to do some full voice screaming; that?s one of my goals. Like Dave Grohl ? he can scream full voice. And Dave wasn?t a singer to begin with, but made himself into a pretty great rock singer.?

Back when he was in G N? R, McKagan was always known as the the one waving the punk rock flag, with streaked hair, Misfits? t-shirts and the perpetual ripped jeans/leather jacket combo serving as his wardrobe. Unfortunately, it?s a label that has stuck, leaving many a lazy critic to put Loaded in a category it doesn?t belong.

?The easiest thing to say and the most uninformed thing to say is ?Duff McKagan?s punk rock record!?? he said. ?Number one, yeah, I came up in an age where punk rock hit, but that was a long time ago; it?s not like I carry around punk rock in my writing and in my playing. What I listen to has morphed since then ? big time.?

His tastes may have grown, but McKagan?s roots are still strong. Back in the early-eighties, he was a staple on the tight-knit music scene in his hometown of Seattle before leaving for Los Angeles.

?I knew a lot of the Soundgarden guys; I knew Chris (Cornell), Kim (guitarist Thayil),? he said. ?I knew the Mother Love Bone guys really well, (singer) Andy Wood and I were good buddies.?

?When I saw Soundgarden for the first time, when they came down and played in L.A. in ?89, I was like, ?(Expletive) I could?ve stayed home and been in Soundgarden ? that would?ve been killer!? I definitely did wonder, ?I could?ve been in Alice in Chains, but the band that we formed was a whole different animal, and it was my path, for sure.?

He?s referring of course to the reckless life in Guns N? Roses, which combusted completely in the early ?90s, leaving frontman Axl Rose the sole remaining original member. McKagan, for his part, has had nary a bad thing to say about Guns or Rose, despite being consistently baited by the press.

?For this ?Sick? record I?ve done all different sorts of media, and I?ve probably done 300 interviews thus far, and I marvel that people ask me what I think about ?Chinese Democracy,?? he said. ?And first of all, the record came out last November, and what does my opinion really matter? I think that maybe people try to get a rise out of me, or ?Maybe we?ll get a quote that nobody else has! He?s gonna diss it!??

McKagan is now a financial columnist for Playboy magazine, writes for Seattle Weekly and is excited to finally get the chance to show rock fans in the States what Loaded is all about. The show this weekend is one of a handful of performances lined up to date.

?Philly has always been (expletive) great,? he said. ?The first time Guns played there was at The Trocadero, an amazing place to play.?

?The rock audiences in Philly are some of the best ever and it?s just a great town and I?m glad Loaded is playing one of our first American gigs there. We?re on the big radio festival which is fine, but I?d love to come back and play like an 800,000 seat club in Philly that?s packed and people are just hanging off the rafters; that would be really, really great.?

Tickets are still available for the MMR*B*Q this Sunday at Susquehanna Bank Center in Camden, NJ, featuring ZZ Top, Offspring, Papa Roach, Puddle of Mudd, Saliva, Duff McKagan?s Loaded and Halestorm. Check out livenation.com for more info.

Music columnist Michael Christopher appears Thursday nights at 9:45 p.m. on 1210-AM ?The Big Talker? with Dom Giordano. To contact him, send an e-mail to rockmusicmenu@hotmail.com

http://www.delcotimes.com/articles/2009/05/15/entertainment/doc4a0cd21102621434687872.txt

[coolman78SLASH]

cool interviews!
The last one, I think he shows us how the media is always searching for som kind of conflict, and I think its class act to avoid their traps! And I mean, they are in their mid 40's all of them, how long can you talk shit??