https://www.loudersound.com/features/duff-mckagan-gospel "Smile at your scared opponent and help them. If he's swinging wildly, chill him out": The Gospel according to Duff McKaganBy Emma Johnston
( Classic Rock )
Addiction can be beaten. Understand money. Put your partner first. Don’t hold grudges. Clothes maketh the man. These are among the things that shape Duff McKagan's world view
There are wild scenes in the McKagan household as Guns N’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan logs in to a video call for a chat with Classic Rock. Hadley, his puppy, is chewing up the room – which has stunning, peaceful views over a Seattle lake – desperate for someone to throw him a ball. It’s a scene of domestic contentment a million miles from the chaos of GN’R at their most hedonistic, and it’s the perfect backdrop for McKagan as he prepares to tour with songs from his solo albums Tenderness and Lighthouse, which themselves show his softer side.
“The way I wrote these songs is with an acoustic guitar up against my chest,” McKagan says. “I finally learned to listen to that reverberation of the guitar against your chest cavity, and that’ll tell you what to say and what melodies to sing. It just comes to you, guiding you.”
With this in mind, it seems like a good time to channel that inner voice and discover what wisdom he’s learned over the years.
Everything you need to know about rock’n’roll, you can learn from the Rolling StonesMy god, Mick moves like he’s thirty years old. I’m an athlete, I work out every day. You have to be an athlete to do what we do, three-hour shows. You’ve got to be fit and you’ve got to train in really smart ways. Be lighter than you are. And he’s just next-level on that. His posture’s straight and his feet are really light and he sings great. Ronnie and Keith’s guitar sounds are amazing. The band’s really gelling right now. It’s great to see.
Seattle is a city of survivorsThe early days here, the punk rock days into what’s called the grunge days, all this heroin came into this area. It was a port city. That’s why I left for Hollywood. I found out going to Hollywood, you couldn’t pull a geographical on heroin, it was there too. But it really did a number on this city. So there’s a lot of survivors that are my friends. And that kind of thing is heavy.
The secret to a happy marriage is putting each other first
I’ve been with Susan [Holmes] twenty-seven years. I think the secret is we really like each other, we really dig each other. But what I’ve discovered in the last ten or fifteen years is she’s got my back no matter what; my best interests are her best interests. And the same the other way around. We trust each other. If one of us wants to make a move on something, it’s for us. It’s not a selfish thing.
Ayone can develop a business brainI delayed myself in my twenties with the drink and the drugs. And I knew, even during that time, there’s way more to you than getting loaded, and I hated being addicted. But when I came out of that, and met Susan, I’m like, I’m gonna go to college, I’m gonna stop going on the road loaded, and we’re gonna be here for our children.
I went to Seattle University, the business school. You know, business school, there’s no big secret. It’s just there’s terminology and stuff that’s unneeded, and it kind of blocks the average people like me and you. Business school just unlocked all those dumb terms.
I really went to business school for selfish reasons. In my twenties I made money. I didn’t know what money was, I was afraid of it. I didn’t know if it’d last. Like: “How do I do any of this?” So that’s why I went in the first place, and then that kind of ballooned out a little bit to “I’m [an] expert guy in the business”, which I’m really not, but I’m attentive to it. I know how things work.
Addiction can be beaten, you can get soberIf I can do it, anybody can do it. Because I was just really a lost cause, I couldn’t figure out a way out. And I finally did, and once I got out around the corner there was no looking back on that. So there’s hope for you.
Making time for downtime can be trickyI have to talk myself into chilling. I came up in a family with a work ethic and depression-era values: work hard, never let up. So I’m in the studio right now. I can’t just come to Seattle and do nothing. I stay busy. My wife and I finally went to Hawaii. I did want to put my feet in the sand after that long Guns N’ Roses tour. I brought my guitar, I wrote a lot of lyrics and songs, but I kind of learned how to just play ball with my dog, take him for walks. I was like: “I can actually do this. This is kind of amazing. I don’t feel like I need to do something.” But that’s a first.