Superstar Facts & Pix - No.16 - 1988
One-on-one with Guns
N' Roses' gutsy guitarist Izzy Stradlin.
Q: How'd it feel those first few band practices with this line-up? Was
the chemistry there?
A: Oh yeah, we hit it off. We rehearsed for three days and went right
out on a club tour. We did a punk thing. Duff had booking connections
in Seattle so off we went. We loaded all our stuff in this big car and
only made it 200 miles out of L.A. before the car broke down. We had hardly
any money but we slung our guitars over our shoulders and hitch-hiked
with all our stuff. Boy, what a road trip for our very first one! But
the crowd response was good and that's when we really took off. We were
doing a little bit of everything - Elvis Presley tunes, blues, you name
it! We didn't give a damn about anyone or anything. We just wanted to
play.
Q: Slash was explaining to
me about how you guys can get so crazy onstage yet keep it so tight.
A: It's from constant touring. You develop that tightness. When you're
playing you lose track of any sense of real timing and a subconscious
thing sets in. It's like your body's playing but your head's not there...
your head's a million miles away from earth. Hopefully, it all works.
Q: When I saw you, you were
improvising madly, Slash was really working out, Axl was dancing around
all while Steven and Duff were plugging away seemingly in their own world.
Yet at a certain point, you five stopped on a dime!
A: It's amazing to me. That night at the Felt Forum in New York when you
saw us was a particularly good night. I mean, sometimes we make bad mistakes
onstage too. I remember in the old days we'd go so nuts we'd fall right
off the stage. Sometimes we'd jump off the stage on purpose. You can't
stay too tight when you do that!
Q: I saw kids getting crunched
up to the foot of the stage and having to be rescued by security guards.
I saw kids hurling themselves on top of other people right in front of
you. Does that happen at every gig?
A: Oh, that was one of the more mellow gigs. In Europe, it's like a football
game. Kids are flying through the air and landing on stage all the time.
Q: How can you keep playing?
A: It's not easy. Many times I'll be playing and some big kid will be
hurtling through the air at 100 miles per hour right at me. I can't imagine
what that must look like from the audience. But I'm sure it adds an excitement
to the show. When these kids go flying past me and I never see it comimg,
it gives me a rush of adrenalin like you wouldn't believe.
Q: That's downright dangerous!
A: Sure it is. But it's also on the edge and that's what makes
good rock 'n' roll.
Q: That's what I like too.
You never know what's gonna happen at a Guns N' Roses concert.
A: We don't even know ourselves from one minute to the next. We don't
even use a songlist anymore.
Q: When Axl rode that bicycle
across the stage, people freaked!
A: I had no idea he would do that. It caught me by surprise.
Q: Did you purposely set
out to marry hard-as-hell rock with a punk feel?
A: It's that punk thing that motivates us. I love the energy of those
early punk days.
Q: They no doubt shook up
the rock world even though a lot of them couldn't even play their instruments.
What was great is that they stuck up their middle fingers to the rock
establishment. You guys are great because you flaunt that same rebellion
plus you can also play.
A: That's true. It was a case of attitude over substance with a lot of
those bands but I still like 'em. We take out our agressions while
we're playing. It's like therapy. It's such a high.
Q: Do you crash when you
get off stage?
A: The feeling stays with you long after you leave that stage. It makes
you not able to sleep and keeps you pumped up for hours afterwards. There's
no feeling like it in the world. On an average tour day, I try to get
about four or five hours of sleep. Sometimes it's just not possible so
I'll sleep only two or three hours and then on an off day, I'll sleep
all day! That gets your body back to normal.
Q: Has the band disciplined
itself for a life on the road? You tour so extensively... you really have
to take care of yourself.
A: We're not at all as crazy as we used to be. Now we know what we have
to do and we do it. What's fun is getting to meet all the people whose
music we listen to. It's a gas! We met Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick...
he was the greatest! He hung out with us when we played Rockford, Illinois
and he got totally plastered! No more tequila for you, Rick! When he pulled
that stuff out, I knew there'd be problems. What a wild guy! We loved
him. When we left him, he was sacked out on the floor.
Q: Who are some of the people
who you'd like to meet?
A: The guys in the Rolling Stones... we haven't met them yet.
Q: Is there really gonna
be a 15-minute song on your next album filled with synthesizers and strings?
A: (laughing) Could be. There's talk. We constantly disagree and keep
changing our minds about everything from one day to the next.
Q: One of the new songs,
"I Used To Love Her But I Had To Kill Her," should elicit some
sharp response from women's groups.
A: Let 'em howl.
Q: The Stones got blasted
for Black & Blue.
A: Right, right. I remember that. "I Used To Love Her But I Had To
Kill Her" is a joke. I was sitting around listening to the radio
and some guy was whining about a broad who was treating him bad.
I wanted to take the radio and smash it against the wall. Such self-pity!
What a wimp! So we rewrote that same song we heard with a better ending,
it's a real New York type of song.
Fast Facts
Name: Izzy Stradlin
Instrument: Guitar
Birthplace: Indiana
Birth Date: April 8
Height: 5 foot 11
Weight: 140
Currently Lives: "Abroad"
Favorite Song: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Rolling
Stones
Favorite Band: Smack (from Finland)
Favorite Musician: "Nobody"
Major Musical Influence: "From classical to punk"
Favorite City: Amsterdam (Holland)
Favorite Actor: Malcolm McDowell
Favorite Actress: None
Favorite Movie: Tommy
Favorite TV Shows: None
Favorite Food: Indian
Favorite Sport: "Touring"
Favorite Book: "I read philosophy books."
Looks For In A Girl: "Face Value"
Dream Date: "To my girlfriend's house"
Favorite Thing About Traveling: "Meeting all these bizarre people."
Least Favorite Thing About Traveling: "Incedintal expenses"
First Concert: David Cassidy
First Favorite Band: Three Dog Night
Former Job: "Illegal"
If Not Doing This You'd Be: "I don't want to think about it."
Biggest Turn-On: "music and life itself"
Self Description: "Quiet, articulate and full of shit"
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