Duff Talks Playing with GNR

Saikin

Direct link to the interview: http://www2.kisw.com/sites/default/file … -21-10.mp3

Credit: The BJ Shea Morning Experience 99.9 KISW

Thursday morning (10/21/10) Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver, Loaded) joined the BJ Shea Morning Experience on 99.9FM KISW in Seattle to talk about sharing a stage with Axl Rose last Thursday (10/14/10) in London. This was the first time that Axl and Duff played Guns N’ Roses songs together in over 17 years. For the first time since that performance, Duff exclusively shared with BJ Shea how this happened:

I got to London last Thursday. I was there on separate business; just actual separate business even from music. I check into the hotel; it’s a hotel in London I stay at all the time, and the hotel manager came up and “Hey Duff, we’ll show you to your room. So you’re playing tonight?’ and I said, “No, no, I’m here on just business this time; not playing this time around,” and he looks at me strangely and goes, “you’re not playing tonight?” I said “no”. I had no idea Axl and Guns N’ Roses was in London, I had no idea. So we’re going up the elevator and he said that Axl was in the room next to us! It came down to the simple fact that Axl and I just sort of met up and we saw each other, we hugged; I went down to the gig with him as a couple guys hanging out. You go through a lot of stuff in business and there’s some fractures and demonizing of each other and I think if nothing else… a couple old friends maybe got over some of those hurdles and had a nice talk. And I don’t want to do anything here to cheapen that by saying anything to you guys, but we had a nice dinner the day after the show and that was it.

Duff spoke about what it was like to be on stage, playing G N’ R songs with Axl again, G N’ R songs including “You Could Be Mine”, a song he hasn’t played since he left the band:

The show is going on and I’m watching it, and somebody comes over with a bass and… Now I haven’t played “You Could Be Mine” since ’93… A lot of the other songs like “Paradise City” and “Brownstone” and “It’s So Easy” I’ve played with VR (Velvet Revolver) or Loaded… but “You Could Be Mine” was like, “Oh God! I can play it, I think I remember,” and there’s a bridge there. I’d forgotten the second part of bridge… and I had to look at Bumblefoot, *laughs* his guitar neck, to see where the next chord was, but it was fun! I had a great time!

As for the potential of a G N’ R reunion now that the ice has been broken between Duff and Axl… Duff had this to say:

Yeah, I have nothing to say about it. It’s not… (long pause)… I don’t know, I’m speaking honestly to you guys right now and it’s sort of silence. It’s not anything that I worked or planned for, you know, I work and plan for my kids next year in school, or my business I’m doing, or Loaded. That kind of thing, it’s not something I sit there and go, “Ok, one day this is going to happen.” Last week happened, it was very serendipitous, and the blood was in the water no doubt!

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