Exclusive Interview with Izzy Stradlin (Re-post)

“It is difficult to maintain your mental health when you are surrounded by madness”

In the only interview that he’s granted this year, Izzy Stradlin tells our correspondent in Brazil, Thiago Sarkis, just what any follower of this man wishes to know: Why he decided to tour again with Axl Rose, how he feels about the possibility of a GN'R reunion, how his present relations are with Slash, Duff, Steven and company, and how he remembers the glory years of the band.

Exclusively for Popular 1 - Izzy Stradlin.

What have you been doing the last two or three years? If time is difficult to track, can you talk about the discs Miami and Fire?

Izzy: “Sure. Every year I record material. The album Miami - I recorded it years ago in Miami, Florida, in an old studio where they had worked with people like James Brown, The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac, a fantastic place. After that album, I recorded Fire in a very short period of time. One is simply a more basic version than what I usually do."

Do you think that fans can appreciate facets of you as a solo musician that couldn't be seen in Guns N' Roses?

Izzy: "Each song that I've recorded since I left Guns N' Roses, is the same type of song that I did when I was in GN'R. What happened then was that I composed a song, and then Slash added his part and Axl added his part, and that became Guns N' Roses. Whereas, what you hear when you put on one of my CDs, is the same ideas and the same inspiration that I had in Guns N' Roses but without Slash or Axl. It is the more basic version."

What are you working on now?

Izzy: “Right now I am in contact with people in Argentina that want us to tour there, and I would really like very much to do it. Recently I have recorded another disc called Concrete and that you can acquire through iTunes."

Before you spoke of the process of composition in Guns N' Roses. Since then, Slash became an icon, thanks to his attitude, his image and his style as a guitarist. Nevertheless, we who followed GN'R from the beginning, know that you were one of the main composers of the band. How would you describe the way you worked with Axl and Slash in those years?

Izzy: “There was a chemistry there that worked well. Sometimes, our way of work was slow and difficult, if I compare it to what I do now, but the main thing was that the results were very good. Now, everything is easier for me. It’s much simpler to write for my band. Now I don’t have to discuss it with two other people whenever I write something."

Do you think that your role in GN'R was the one of creative composer, whereas Slash existed mainly as guitar-hero?

Izzy: “The other day I read somewhere that Slash is the last guitar-hero of history. (Laughter) I don’t know. I don’t know how to respond to that."

How was your relationship with Slash, as much at a musical level as at a personal level?

Izzy: “Musically, we contributed things mutually, and we tried to put in more effort than the others. (Laughter) And at personal level, we took many drugs together in the ‘80s, and after a time got we clean and left it. I still consider him a friend and we stay in contact."

You returned to tour with GN'R in 2006. How did you get back in contact with Axl?

Izzy: “I don’t know. It’s been two years since we did that tour of Europe … it’s hard to think … I believe that they gave the number me of his management … No, now I remember: I went to his house, then he called me because they were going to do shows in New York and I said to him: “Hey, why don't I play with you? It could be great." And we did it. And then we toured Europe."

At that time you had already solved your problems with him?

Izzy: “See, I’ve known him for so many years, that there is a familiarity between us. We grew up in the same place, the same atmosphere, and I believe that part of our friendship always will be there."

I’ve always read that you are a calm and reserved type, who doesn’t like to tour or to spend too much time far from home. What made you want to get back together with GN'R?

Izzy: “You know, there exists a very special connection with rock' n' roll audiences, and I had the desire to experience that again. When we play songs like "Nightrain," "Mr. Brownstone" or "Welcome to the Jungle," an instantaneous connection between the band and the listeners takes place, it’s something electrical, and I had the desire to experience that again."

How did you feel at your first show with the new Guns N' Roses?

Izzy: “I arrived at Heathrow airport, I rode in a van and they took me to the Donnington Festival. I had fatal jet lag, but I went to the scene and I felt better instantly. It’s magic."

Much has been said about the present formation of Guns N' Roses. What’s your opinion of the present band compared to the original Guns N’ Roses?

Izzy: “They are more together than we were. (Laughter) Those guys are great musicians. We let ourselves go more."

But do you like the way they interpret the songs or do you prefer your ‘80s style, more direct and wild?

Izzy: “During that tour I only played four or five songs a night and didn’t see a lot of the show. So, I really wouldn’t know.”

Which GN'R song is most special to you, and why?

Izzy: "Knockin' on Heaven's Door” was brilliant. The fact that we took to an old Bob Dylan song and turned and it into this enormous hymn was really special."

How did it feel to play four or five GN’R songs every night? Did you have to learn some of them again?

Izzy: “Yes I had forgotten them almost completely. I had to learn to play them again.”

Which song was the hardest?

Izzy: "Nightrain.” I kept forgetting the part in the middle, I don’t know why, after all I wrote it!"

I have heard that you are in contact with all the original members of Guns N' Roses. How is your relationship with them?

Izzy: "Slash, Duff, Matt and even Steven Adler, we all call each other from time to time, and sometimes we see each other in Los Angeles or where ever. We all have very good relationships. We are all still friends."

Steven Adler has spoken frequently lately of his desire for a reunion of the original GN'R. Tell me what you think of that and how your relationship with Steven is at the present.

Izzy: “Steven lives a very confused life."

But if it were to occur, you would consider the possibility of a reunion?

Izzy: “Yes, of course. I wrote a great deal of that material."

You said once, when Matt Sorum entered the band, that you missed the style of Steven Adler. What differences did you see between the two of them?

Izzy: “Steven had a more accidental style and Matt is more precise."

Have you read Slash’s autobiography?

Izzy: “No, I have not read it. I listened to something about it on the radio the other day and it seemed to me to be gracious."

Slash comments in the book about the last shows that you did before you left the band, when you asked Axl to show up on time.

Izzy: “Axl continued arriving at each concert behind schedule. In 1991, the regular thing was that Axl delayed each concert, like minimum, two hours."

Why did you reject the invitation to reunite with Velvet Revolver?

Izzy: "I wanted it to be a quartet: Slash, Duff, Matt and I, but they really desired a singer, and as we know, singers can be quite problematic sometimes. So I simply decided to follow my own path."

Is it true that you suggested that you Duff would take care of the vocal tasks in the band?

Izzy: “Yes. That would have been better."

How did they respond to that idea?

Izzy: “I believe that Duff liked the idea, but Slash said no."

Don’t you think that Scott Weiland was the worst decision for musicians like them, who had so many problems with Axl in the past?

Izzy: “That’s a very legitimate question, but I don’t have an answer."

It was impossible for something like that to work.

Izzy: "I don’t know."

As I commented to you before, your public image is the one of a calm and reserved man. Is it hard for you to have to always respond to questions on GN'R from fans and the press?

Izzy: “You are the first journalist with whom I have spoken this year, so it is not something that I do quite often (Laughter).”

Oh thanks (Laughter).

Izzy: “In the last years I’ve limited myself to releasing one disc every year with iTunes, and I don’t give any interviews."

But, how you feel being an ex-member of the greatest band in the history of the rock?

Izzy: "It’s insane when I’m going to a store to buy cords for my guitar, and the young employee tries to sell me a Les Paul Guitar with Slash’s name on it. (Laughter) The guy asks me: ' Have you seen the new Slash Les Paul guitar?' I respond to that no, and he says to me: 'Oh, we just got five today!’ (Laughter)”

That must be strange for you, but at the same time, I imagine that you feel good knowing that you were part of the same band.

Izzy: ”I feel good.”

You can read Part II of this interview here.

News Round-Up

Duff McKagan's Loaded has inked a deal with Eagle Rock Entertainment for the release of their next album, which was recently recorded at a Seattle-area studio with veteran rock producer Terry Date (Soundgarden, Pantera, Deftones). Tentatively due in March, the CD will include the track "We Win," which is being used by ESPN and Major League Baseball for their coverage of the American League Championship Series, National League Championship Series and World Series games (Blabbermouth).

Deanna Adler, the mother of famed Guns N' Roses drummer Steve Adler, is putting the finishing touches on a tell-all book about her son’s rise and fall "in the most exciting rock band of all time." Deanna traces Steven’s life from the cradle to his ultimate rocker destiny. She relives her son’s life in the world of sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll. The name of the book will be Sweet Child Of Mine. HarperCollins is tentatively scheduled to release Sweet Child Of Mine in May/June 2011. (Ultimate Guitar).

Guns N' Roses lead singer Axl Rose has been accused of treating a 2006 Bentley Flying Spur like one of his hotel rooms. In a lawsuit filed by Bentley Financial Services, the company claims Rose returned a leased vehicle after skirting payments, blowing past the mileage limits and seriously damaging the $192,000 vehicle. The suit, filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, says Rose leased the car in 2005, then failed to make $73,976.42 in payments. When he finally returned the car several months past the lease's expiration, it had: a cracked windshield, two damaged tires, broken glass on the rear tail light, two dented doors and a gouged bumper. To top it off, he was 42,397 miles over the lease's mileage limit and turned the vehicle in with a mismatched spare key and a broken remote key, valued at $91, which is chump change compared to the rest of what he owes (Body Shop Business).



Last night, Slash appeared on Late Night with David Letterman to promote the deluxe edition of his solo album. He jammed with Paul Shaffer's band the entire show. They played instrumental versions of "Ghost," "Slither" and "Highway to Hell" among others. Slash will be doing the same thing tonight with Late Night with Jimmy Fallon's house band, The Roots. Afterwards, Slash will be heading over to Q 104.3 for an interview with none other than Eddie Trunk (11 PM PT)! Slash will also take questions on Rockline with Bob Coburn, Monday, November 15 at 11:30 PM ET. Fans can call in at 1-800-344-ROCK (7625). Also, don't miss VH1's coverage of Glastonbury 2010 tonight at 11 PM ET.

Beautiful, Dangerous

"Beautiful Dangerous," the new sexually charged video from Slash, can be viewed below. In the clip, which was filmed on August 27, Fergie plays an obsessed fan who will do anything to get her man, stalking the famous guitarist around the seedy bars of Los Angeles. Slash said in a Twitter posting, "The concept is twisted; Fergie's idea."

Duff Tells His Story

via Blabbermouth
Duff McKagan talked to KISW 99.9 FM and about his surprise guest appearance last week with GN'R at London, England's O2 arena:

"Things happen, in life, pretty crazy at times you least expect things to happen."

"I haven't talked to anybody publicly about it. And really, it's kind of ... I know we're public figures, or whatever you wanna say, but it was kind of a private matter even though we played together on stage in front of 14,000 people or something."

"Over the years, especially in business and what-not, if you have a fracture in business, you start to demonize each other and if it's a public fracture in business, other people help you demonize ..."

"It was kind of goofy ... As soon as I played last Thursday, my e-mail was just going crazy ... It was Rolling Stone [magazine] and whatever or what-not. 'Can we get a quote or statement?' And I don't have a statement."

"It's really not that big of a story. It was really kind of ... It was great."

"I got to London last Thursday. I was there on separate business — a separate business even from music. I checked into the hotel in London I stay at all the time. And the hotel manager came, 'Hey, Duff, we'll show you up to your room.' He goes, 'So you're playing tonight?' And I said, 'No, no, I'm here on just business this time — I'm not playing this time around.' And he looks at me strangely. 'What? You're not playing tonight?' I had no idea Axl [Rose] and Guns N' Roses were in London — I had no idea. So we're going up the elevator and he said, 'You know, Axl is in the room next to us.' And I had to go straight into meetings. All the meetings were ... I was staying in sort of a conference room and bedroom — it was a conference room on one side of the wall and the bedroom on the other. And I went straight into these meetings and these were with sort of Wall Street people. So it was very serious meetings I was into, something I had worked on for a year. So I'm in these meetings and my phone starts ringing later on in the day in my hotel room; it was kind of managers and tour managers. The word [was] out I [was] in the hotel. And it came down to the simple fact... Axl and I just sort of met up, we saw each other and we hugged. I went down to the gig with him. There were a couple of guys hanging out. There was a lot of, sort of... Like what I was saying, 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 of 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."

On hanging out with his old buddy Axl Rose again:

"Yeah, I missed it. I did. I missed it. And it couldn't have happened in a more odd way, really."

On the actual performance:

"The show is going on and I'm watching it. And somebody comes over with a bass ... 'Now, I haven't played 'You Could Be Mine' since 1993. A lot of the other songs, like 'Paradise City' and 'Mr. Brownstone' and 'It's So Easy', I've played with Velvet Revolver or Loaded, but 'You Could Be Mine', I was, like, 'Oh, God. OK, I can play it. I think I remember it.' There's a bridge there. I'd forgotten the second part of the bridge, and I had to look at Bumblefoot [chuckles], his guitar neck, to see where the next guitar chord was. But, yeah, it was fun. I had a great time."

"It was a little but heavy. When people saw it ... It wasn't heavy for me so much. I was kind of more concerned about the band that he's put together — great, great players [and] great guys. I've gotten to know Bumblefoot and Tommy and Frank, the drummer. And, of course, there's Dizzy. It's a great band and I didn't wanna do anything to lessen what they were doing."

On whether this increases the chances of a reunion of the classic Guns N' Roses lineup:

"I have nothing to say about it. It's not ... I don't know. It's not anything that I worked or planned for. I work and plan for my kids next year in school, or my business, or indeed Loaded. But that kind of thing, it's not something I sit there and go, 'OK, one day this is gonna happen.' Last thing happened, and it was very serendipitous, and the blood was in the water, no doubt. After that show in London, I could have gotten a free dinner and free car service everywhere I went every night I was in London after that. And I had to kind of hide. I went and saw Ronnie Wood play Tuesday night, and I had to kind of watch out for the sharks running about, even at that gig — it was kind of a private gig, and there were the manager types and the agent types. All of a sudden I was a little more handsome than I'd been before I came to London because everybody was complimenting me. 'Hey, Duff, you look great.'"

On whether he thinks the fact that he has done a lot of work on himself in the last few years has helped make the meeting go more smoothly:

"Well, for me, the big thing is, what's my part in it? We can all look back at our pasts and go, 'Well, he did this to me and ...?' [And you have to step back] and take a look in the mirror. What was my part in it? And that's what I've been working on for the last 10 or 15 years, but really in the last five years, and it's a work in the progress. You always paint yourself a little glossier in your own past in your life. I could have done things different — probably sometimes a lot better; sometimes I could have done things worse. But I look at my part and my accountability. I'm a grown-up; I take accountability for myself and my actions these days. I've got nothing to fear and I've got nothing to be ashamed of. What I've done is what I've done; what I'm gonna do is what I'm gonna do. I have fun while I do it now. Every day I wake and go, 'OK, let's go.' Joke time. I'm lucky to be here, and I don't forget that every day."

[Discussion]

Required Reading: Axl & Kurt

1991 might be remembered as the year of Nevermind, but no band was bigger at the time than GN-effin-R, and no rock star had more power than Axl Rose, a man that made wearing a bandana and spandex biker shorts in public credible by sheer force of personality.

Guns N’ Roses’ 1987 debut, Appetite For Destruction, ranked among the best-selling rock albums of all time, and it was the soundtrack for countless coming-of-age moments for teenagers in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Kids everywhere were getting laid, drunk, and beat up for the first time to the sounds of “Welcome To The Jungle” and “Paradise City.”

By 1991, Axl was so powerful that he was able to essentially coerce his record company, Geffen, into releasing two maniacally ambitious double-albums on the same day — Sept. 17, 1991 — rather than a year or two apart, which is what the label wanted to do because it happened to make a lot more sense. The dual release of the Use Your Illusion albums was an act of hubris so brazen in its arrogance and yet strangely admirable in its artistic stubbornness that nobody had been fucking crazy enough to try anything like it before, or attempt to copy it in the nearly two decades since. (Yes, there was Bruce Springsteen’s little-loved Human Touch/Lucky Town experiment the following year, and Nelly’s Sweat/Suit dual-release in 2004, but at least those weren’t double albums.)

We can debate about the greatness and importance of Nevermind — I’d rather we didn’t, but go ahead if you want — but there’s no arguing against the Use Your Illusion saga being a unique and historical event in rock history; in terms of excess, it planted a flag at the end of the world.

You can read the entire (fantastically well-written) piece here.

A Mug Shot of Axl Rose at Eighteen

Five years ago, GQ magazine assigned John Sullivan to write a piece on Axl Rose. A retrospective along with some amazing mug shots of Axl at age 18 are here.

An excerpt follows. You can read the full account here.

The most memorable trip I made in connection with Axl was to Lafayette, Indiana, where he grew up. I drove there hoping to track down his oldest childhood friend, a man named Dana, who’d never been interviewed. Dana turned out not surprisingly to be a very reclusive person, and although he did eventually meet with me, it took several days to coax him out. I spent them inventing little research projects. I visited the public library and found old yearbook pictures of Axl. I photographed the church where he sang in the choir. And lastly, on the morning of the day when Dana finally called me back, I went to the local police station. Did they have any records on Axl? No, they didn’t think so. Really? That seemed impossible. Would they mind checking under his many Indiana names? William Bruce Rose Jr.? William Bruce Bailey? Bill Bailey? W. Rose? A friendly lady officer agreed to help me out.

Sure enough, when I came back that evening, she had a whole folder of stuff. Arrest reports, warrants, and affidavits, as well as two treasures: mug shots that no one had ever seen. Axl’s first mug shots. In one case, the negative hadn’t even been processed before. The cop had sent it off to the Fotomat for me. I sat outside in my rental car, gazing on my luck.

The pictures showed him at eighteen and twenty. They were American masterpieces of the saddest, crappiest kind. GQ ended up running the latter, the one where he’s slightly older and looks like a burned-out strawberry Farrah Fawcett in a jean jacket. You can find it all over the Internet now. It stemmed from a fight in somebody’s yard—a woman screamed at Dana and Axl for hassling her kid. Axl had a splint on his arm. He hit her with the splint. They arrested him in the parking lot of the local Frozen Custard (spelled “Custored” in the police report).

It’s the shots of him at eighteen that move me, though. He isn’t pretty yet, he hasn’t begun to think of himself as a rock star. He’s a boy-man, with a trace of fear in his pugnacious stare. I can’t remember what he’d done, that time. Stolen another kid’s bike, I think. Or destroyed another kid’s bike. When I first saw his hair, I understood something Dana had told me hours before, at a bar: that when they were children, Axl was Raggedy Ann in the Christmas parade. Looking longer, a person could understand something else, too, about the Midwestern darkness in his voice.

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