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GN'R bass player Duff McKagan's story begins slightly to the north of Los Angeles. Born Michael McKagan on February 5, 1964, the youngest of eight children. Duff hails originally from Seattle, Washington. He describes his home city as "a rowdy rock 'n' roll town with a hip underground".
Back when Duff was just a brown-haired kid who couldn't make up his mind whether he wanted to play electric guitar or bass or drums, the Seattle music was thriving. "There where millions of bands and places to play," He remembers. That's barely an exaggeration: Duff passed through over 31 bands during his early days in Seattle - including a hardcore punk band called the Fartz. While there was an overbundance of opportunities to meet other musicians and jam, playing Seattle clubs was ultimately a dead end for a serious musician. "You wouldn't get anywhere, except for Queensryche, who got signed; but for me, Seattle was a good training ground."
"Like future bandmates Slash and Axl, Duff was totally into The Sex Pistols; in fact , Duff cites Sid Vicious as his sole musical influence because... he was the coolest bass player ever. Little wonder then, that upon arriving in L.A., Duff chose to devote himself entirely to bass playing. He traded all his gear for a bass and a small bass amp speculating: "There's a million guitar players down here and I wasn't that good. So just to get my foot in the door, I said, ´Okay, I'll come playing bass, because bass players are pretty rare to find. ´Basically, that's how I got started. I wasn't really that good at the beginning."
"Nineteen-year-old Duff McKagan, who'd earned his living as a musician for the past four years, found himself starting from scratch. He didn't know a soul in town, except for a brother who lived out in the San Fernando Valley, but he was thrilled nonetheless: "It was good learning experience for me in a lot of ways, to move to a big city and not know anybody. It was an exciting feeling, just coming here not knowing what the next day was going to involve."
"That sence of the unexpected Duff sought caught up with him one day when he answered a local newspaper ad reading something like, "Looking for a bass player - Aerosmith, Alice Cooper. Slash." Judging by the name, Duff expected some punk with a penchant for '70s rock; but when he kept the appointed rendezvous at Canter's (L.A.'s "legendary" 24 hour deli and rock hangout) he found two long-haired guys instead. "When I met Slash and Steve Adler for the first time, it was weird, ´cause I'd never met guys like this before - L.A. locals. We went out that night and got drunk, and then we had this illfated band. It was Slash's band, Road Crew."
"Before Guns N' Roses became Guns N' Roses, they (Duff, Slash n' Steven) played together in L.A. Guns. After a while W.Axl Rose left his band ´Hollywood Rose´ for L.A. Guns. This created some problems cause in the meantime Izzy (who played in the same band as Axl) had booked a gig for Hollywood Rose, and there was no band left, then Tracii booked a gig for L.A. Guns and there was no band there either. The problems in those 2 bands was the begining of a new band, they mixed what was left of them and Guns N' Roses was born. The new line-up was finalized on June 6th, 1985. Duff became the band's bassist, and after two days of rehearsal Duff & Co. played their debut gig with GN'R on a Thursday night at "L.A.'s Troubadour".
Duff has just like Slash and Gilby made a solocareer, and in 1993 he released the album "Believe in me". Amongst others he has also been recording together with Iggy Pop and former bandmate Gilby Clarke (on the album Pawnshop guitars).
In 1997 he was playing together with GN'R drummer Matt Sorum, The Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones and Duran Duran bassist John Taylor in the punk-rock-band Neurotic Outsiders. In 1996 they released an album, simply called Neurotic Outsiders. They have also made a lot of live performances at various Night Clubs. The last time Duff was on a tour as a solo artist was during 1993, then he looked wasted and totally out of shape. But now together with ´Neurotic Outsiders´ he seems to have cleaned up his act, sporting a pumped-up physique. Apparently he's been exercising quite a lot, going on long trips with his mountain bike.
In Neurotic Outsiders Duff plays guitar, as well as Steve Jones, while Mr. Taylor plays the bass, and Matt on the drums. Other interesting things to know about him is that he appeared on the sci-fi show called "Sliders" as a dead rocker vampire, in May 1997.
"It was so much fun," he recalls, laughing. "I read the part, and I was really bad and nervous. Eddie [Barry Livingston] from "My Three Sons" played a rock critic who wrote a bad review of our band. So I blew him up. And later, they killed me."
When you're an integral part of one of the world's biggest rock bands, your future would seem guaranteed. But for Duff McKagan, living the proverbial rock 'n' roll lifestyle as Guns N' Roses' bass player had unexpected consequences, not the least of which brought him literally to the brink of death.
So when the band was regrouping in 1998, the Duff had something to think about. "They wanted to keep me in the band," he recalls over lunch at a Hollywood restaurant. "They were depending on me." The promise of large sums of money -- guaranteed -- was dangled before him. But, Duff says, "I thought, 'Wait a minute. I have a house, I've got a car. More than that, I never did this for the money in the first place, so why would I start now?'"
Like "Who's to Blame," the song from Duff's new album, "Beautiful Disease," that serves as his statement about the dissolution of the group with which he spent more than a decade, there's no bitterness in this story, just a Zen-like clarity. In fact, as raucous as the recording is, a kind of serenity permeates this widely varied collection of 13 songs, which is alternately serious and playful, furious and joyful, thunderous and tranquil.
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To be really honest with yourself -- I'd never done that," Duff says. "Once you start being a little bit honest, it gets bigger. I began to appreciate the little things in life. And other things started to become smaller to me."
Fueled by the disparate, but compatible, musical sensibilities of Duff's twin resident cities, Los Angeles and Seattle, the album was crafted in his L.A. home studio. Where songs like "Who's to Blame" and the title track touch on his personal experiences in the aftermath of life with GNR, others examine the compelling tales of characters who, like the addict model that seemingly vanishes from the face of the Earth in "Song for Beverly," also found their paths leading to the edge of an abyss ... and managed to step back.
Duff explains that his Geffen A&R rep, Todd Sullivan, summed up the album's mood perfectly. "He said, 'It reminds me of the Apocalypse, but you're still standing afterwards, going, "Fuck it all, I'm still here!"' Lyrically, that's kind of what it is. I'm not criticizing any one thing; if anybody, I'm criticizing myself."
The concept of "Beautiful Disease" is rooted, not so much in Duff's past alcohol and drug abuse, or in his almost five years of sobriety, but in the effect those experiences (and others) had on him. At the turning point five years ago, he faced a simple choice of literally life or death, when his pancreas exploded and he was hospitalized in his hometown of Seattle.
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When I was released, the doctor said, 'If you go and just have one drink, you will die. Just have a beer, and you'll die,'" recalls Duff. "I'm fortunate that happened. I was trying to stop, but I couldn't. But that was that." In martial arts, he found the discipline he needed to rebuild his life. His worldview began to change. Soon he was settled down with his girlfriend, Susan, raising their daughter, Grace, named after the album by the late, great singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley.
In reality, Duff's not anywhere near that intense about his music. In fact, "Beautiful Disease" reflects his newfound conviction that, basically, life is to be cherished.
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I just lost it, in a good way, for a while," he says. "I started taking responsibility for what I was doing. I went around feeling extremely happy that I can do whatever I want. I can be good to people, and re-shape feelings.
Recorded and in some cases co-written with a variety of diversely talented musicians, "Beautiful Disease" was co-produced by expatriate Canadian Noel Golden (Sammy Hagar, Beth Hart, Dakota Moon). Duff had hooked up with veteran jazz drummer Abe Laboriel after seeing him perform. "I met him when he was playing for Seal, eal sweetheart, and an amazing drummer."
The album also features the explosive guitar stylings of Duff's former bandmates, Izzy Stradlin and Slash, as well as the unique sonics of Plexi's Michael Barragan. "He plays through Echoplexes and a Moog and stuff. He's a guitar hero of another sort, not like a Slash or an Yngwie Malmsteen, but it's just the ³sound,² enthuses Duff.
The personnel were easily gathered, but the process was a little tougher going. "When I started making the record, I tried to make it with a band." First he got together with old pal Kurt Bloch, of venerable Seattle punk band the Fastbacks (Duff was their first drummer), and Kurt's brother Al. "We did write and record some songs, and we did one of Al's songs, 'Shinin' Down.' But you can't get into a room and go, 'OK, let's write some songs.' It's just gotta happen, you know?" Much like he had done for his 1993 debut, "Believe in Me," Duff went off and wrote some songs by himself, then built them up with other players from his own bass, drum, and vocal tracks. Next thing he knew, he had 29 tunes!
With the final cut ready to hit the streets, Duff was ready to hit the road, supported by another stellar collection of musicians, including guitarist Barragan, rhythm guitarist Dez Cadena of Black Flag fame, Paul Roessler (from Twisted Root and DC3), and drummer Walter Earl. However, Interscope/Geffen records decided not to release the album for some reason. Then Duff and his new band Loaded went on road and released a live album that they sold trough Duff's official web site. Unfortunetly, there were only about 1000 copies avaliable. Right now (2000), Duff has finished touring with Izzy in support of Izzy's new album "Ride On" and that's pretty much it.
