London Calling

REVERB
For Guns N' Roses, London Called Early

By Duff McKagan, Thursday, 11 March 2010

I am in London this week looking at a bunch of unsigned bands for a new venture that I am part of. It is fresh and fun to see some of these bands: startled kids with huge and hopeful eyes that see a world that is theirs for the taking, energetic, unjaded, and full of piss and vinegar. I need to see this now and again to remind me what music should be all about. It also reminds me of the first time I came over here: It was with GN'R in July of '87, a few weeks before Appetite for Destruction came out.

The year before, we had put out the Live Like a Suicide EP. This fast and furious collection of songs sort of just died everywhere else in the world except for the UK. Unbeknownst to us, a cult following of fans was building over here who were chomping at the bit for any news on the band. When Kerrang magazine sent a photographer to Los Angeles to shoot us for the cover, we couldn't actually believe it. We had received press coverage in LA at this point, but KERRANG?! Are you kidding me?

After we finished Appetite and were waiting for its release and tour opportunities, we were approached to go to London and play the famous Marquee club. The only place I had been outside the US was Vancouver, BC, to play punk-rock shows with my various Seattle bands when I was a teenager. This was BIG! Huge! Magnificent!

I think it's assumed these days that GN'R kind of "broke" straight from the get-go after the release of AFD. Truth is, it took us nearly a year of straight touring before anyone paid attention to us in a significant manner--except for the UK.

An odd clash of circumstances occurred in Britain about a year before Live Like a Suicide came out. Back then and before the Internet, the youth over here would sort of latch on to one rock-and-roll band and identify it as their clarion light. That band was Hanoi Rocks, an amazing group of Finns who had relocated to England and were writing some of the best and dirtiest rock songs. When Hanoi finally came to tour America for the first time in 1985, their drummer Razzle died in a car crash while making a booze run with Vince Neil in LA I had just moved to Hollywood, and Slash and I had tickets to that Hanoi gig that never happened. It was an incredibly sad moment not only in rock and roll, but all the way around. Hanoi Rocks never quite recovered.

Flash forward to our gig in the UK, July 1987. After the first Marquee gig sold out in record time, they added a second date. That sold out just as fast, so they added a third. By the time we arrived here (we stayed at a rent-by-the-week apartment because it was much cheaper than a hotel), we were kind of like little mini-celebrities. There were times that people would stop us on the street and they actually knew who we were! It was quite weird, even on a small scale.



I learned to ride the tube everywhere, and it just seemed that there were great gigs every night we were there. Slash and I went out to a suburb one night to see the Replacements, and got so drunk that we lost track where we were. We caught a tube to somewhere that was not anywhere even close to our apartment in Kensington. We got into a drunken fight when we got to the end of the line, and realized that there were no more trains running and that we didn't have anything close to the amount of money to take a cab. Come to think of it, I doubt we even knew the address of where we were staying; we only knew how to get there from our local tube stop. To this day, I am not sure how we ever got back that night. Did we sleep in the train station? Ah, the luck and providence shown to the young and drunken and foolish!

But the real reason we were here, of course, was to fucking rock. I must say that back in that period of the band's career, nobody did it with more purpose, sneer, and reckless bad intent than us. This is not me bragging - it's just that we were hitting on all the right cylinders at the same time. When we walked to the Marquee on that first night, we were met by the crowd that was in line surrounding the block. We were absolutely fucking amazed that all these people came to see us. We hung out there in the street with them before and after those three gigs. We found that we had suddenly become "that" band that the youth of England had been looking for to fill the void left after Hanoi Rocks' tragic demise. Within four years, we would be headlining in stadiums here.

I am here now as a real grown-up, an adult doing very "adult-like" business and meeting with real-life businessmen. I am glad to be taken seriously in these meetings, and for certain feel that I have earned the right to be doing the things that I do outside of just playing music. Coming back to London, though, always puts a smile on my face. That first 10-day stay here as a young man will forever be a brilliant memory that will always keep me from becoming jaded.
REVERB

Live Review: SLASH & Friends (LAYN Rocks)

ARTIST DIRECT
The power of the riff compelled Slash and pretty much everyone else at LAYN Rocks last night.

The legendary Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver guitarist certainly knows how to give a crowd a good time and, alongside some friends, that's exactly what he did for almost two hours.

Those "friends" happened to be some of the most legendary men to ever pick up a microphone or a guitar. Sunday's AMA lineup far paled in comparison to LAYN Rocks—and the event was for a very good cause, helping homeless kids across Los Angeles.

Host George Lopez put it best, " With all due respect to the AMAs, this is the fuckin' place to be on Sunday night!"



Slash brought together the best and brightest rock n' roll stars of the past four decades for the most riff-tastic benefit show ever. There's nothing quite like watching him and Dave Navarro rip through Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song," volleying the classic riff back and forth with a new vibrancy.

Slash infused the solo with gritty gutter blues, and the entire crowd was mesmerized by the six-string God. During Thin Lizzy's "Jailbreak," Tom Morello tore through a scratchy lead that gave the song a hip hop fire and a spacey tone. Morello, Navarro and Slash complimented each other perfectly with each and every solo and riff brandishing its player's own signature.

Wolfmother's "Mother" had a deadly Black Sabbath-style stomp. Vocalist Andrew Stockdale gave a fiery performance worthy of the legends he shared the stage with, and Slash laid down a furious lead mid-song. During Zeppelin's "Tangerine," Slash donned a double neck and instantly transported the crowd back to the '70s.

However, the standout with Stockdale was he and Slash's original cut, "By the Sword," from Slash's forthcoming solo album. Smoky, ominous and psychedelic, the opening riff proved to be one of Slash's best. It's melancholy yet strangely energetic, and Stockdale's howl felt divinely otherworldly — a new classic.

Linkin Park and Dead By Sunrise mainman Chester Bennington gave "Good Times, Bad Times" a serious gusto that even Robert Plant couldn't conjure. Chester's got a classic old school rock n' roll edge and a modern sensitivity that makes him a true star. He's got one foot planted in tradition, but he's also the most forward thinking singer on the scene. He proved that during "Slither" and a raucous "Paradise City" complete with Stephen Adler behind the kit and Duff McKagan on bass. Chester definitely stood proudly even alongside Perry Farrell who did phenomenal renditions of "Mountain Song," "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Jane Says."

It all came back to the riff when Ozzy Osbourne hit the stage though. "I Don't Know," "Iron Man," "Crazy Train" and "Paranoid" exploded with Slash and Navarro lighting their fret boards up to finish the evening.

As Ozzy requested, the crowd went "fucking crazy," but it was all for a good cause—and the riffs are still resounding ... [ARTIST DIRECT]

—Rick Florino
11.23.09

(Check out Rick Florino's new novel Dolor available now for FREE here ...)

Slash Teams with Ozzy, Billy Idol, Tom Morello & Chester Bennington

NME
Slash teamed up with Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello and Linkin Park's Chester Bennington for a special benefit concert in Los Angeles last night (November 22).



The ex-Guns N' Roses guitarist joined forces with a host of guest stars at the LAYN charity show at the Avalon to help raise funds for the homeless.

He was joined by his former bandmates Duff McKagan and Steve Adler, who also played with him in Velvet Revolver, plus Bennington, who fronted their rendition of "Paradise City.".

Slash was also joined by Wolfmother's Andrew Stockdale, Jane's Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro and Blink-182's Travis Barker for the show.



The guitarist is currently working on his solo album Slash And Friends which includes many of the guests who joined him onstage last night.

Big Show Tonight

Immigrant Song (Franky Perez, Slash, Dave Navarro, Chris Chaney, Travis Barker)
Jailbreak (Perez, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker, Tom Morello)
Whole Lotta Love (Perez, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker, Morello)
Out Ta Get Me (Billy Idol, Slash, Navarro, Duff McKagan, Barker)
Rebel Yell (Idol, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
Down On the Street (Idol, Slash, Navarro, Barker, Duff)
Woman (Andrew Stockdale, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
Tangerine (Stockdale, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
By The Sword (Stockdale, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
Good Times, Bad Times (Chester Bennington, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
Slither (Bennington, Slash, Navarro, Duff, Barker)
Paradise City (Bennington, Steven Adler, Slash, Duff, Navarro)
Mountain Song (Perry Farrell, Slash, Navarro, Morello, Chaney, Barker)
Sympathy For The Devil (Farrell, Slash, Navarro, Morello, Chaney, Barker)
Jane Says (Farrell, Slash, Navarro, Morello, Chaney, Barker)
I Don't Know (Ozzy Osbourne, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
Iron Man (Ozzy, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
Crazy Train (Ozzy, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)
Paranoid (Ozzy, Slash, Navarro, Chaney, Barker)

Source: LESTAT at the Linkin Park Forum







Above photo: @eddog43



@RAFACORE: Shootin Slash, Dave navarro, Travis barker, Tom morello soundchrck! All star line up!!


Steven Adler, Slash and Duff McKagan (formerly of Guns N' Roses)

I'll be adding pics, a setlist and video as they become available.

"Sound Check was Awesome! Tonight, DUFF, SLASH AND I DOING PARADISE CITY at the benefit!

Dave Navarro on guitar (AMAZING PLAYER) and Chester from Linkin Park Singing!

Lots of others involved.

Billy Idol, George Lopez, Perry Ferrel, Tom Morello, Ozzy, Travis Barker!

LAYN ROCKS!"
http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=169850044&blogID=519549524

Slash:

"Gearing up for the LAYN fundraiser on the 22 at the Avalon.

With this line-up its a pretty historic event.

Ozzy Osbourne, Billy Idol, Perry Farrell, Chester Bennington, Andrew Stockdale, Tom Morello, Dave Navarro, Travis Barker, Franky Perez, Chris Chaney, myself & George Lopez hosting.

Be there & support Los Angeles Youth Network for the 1st LA "Slash & Friends" event!

Going to perform a new song off my record with Andrew Stockdale on Nov 22nd at the LAYN event."

Tickets
LAYN Rocks on Facebook

Duff's Loaded: Hi-Quality Nottingham Footage

via Blabbermouth
High quality fan-filmed video footage of Loaded's October 12, 2009 performance in Nottingham, England can be viewed below ("Thanks" goes to snakepituk).

Loaded to Tour South America

via Blabbermouth
Duff McKagan's Loaded will tour South America in early November.

The band is scheduled to perform at Willie Dixon in Rosario, Argentina on November 5, with dates in Brazil (November 8) and Chile (Santiago on November 11) also in the works.

In other news, McKagan will guest on "The BJ Shea Morning Experience" this Wednesday (September 30) on the Seattle radio station KISW 99.9 FM

Duff will appear at approximately 8:20 AM PST

Drummer Geoff Reading recently quit Loaded and was replaced by Isaac Carpenter.


In other news, Blabbermouth is reporting that former Guns N' Roses / Velvet Revolver drummer Matt Sorum told Blistering.com that Velvet Revolver will eventually get back together. He said, "We have been e-mailing back and forth, in search of a singer, so we have high expectations. We want to make sure this singer will work and be a better thing. We looked a long time before we got Scott, and I don't know if we got Scott because it seemed like an easy way to fill the bill.

I know we want to take it up a notch and make it better. When we got Scott, we jumped into it pretty quick. Even though Me, Slash, Duff and Dave had been working together on the first record before Scott came on, then Scott jumped on and we went on the road and did the record pretty quick.

The second album, I think, we fell prey to more of what Scott wanted to do and we wanted to straight-up rock and roll. I think this time around we would like to make a real strong rock album and stick with more of our roots.

The first record he picked the songs. We had about fifty songs written. He just started to sing on them, that album happened real organically and really quickly.

When we went to write the second album it seemed to take different road, I always wanted to make a harder record, but I think we went a little lighter and the fans didn’t really care for that much. I think the second record is a good one but we did what we did. I think it was a weird chemistry between us."

You can read the full interview here.

Jungle Live Video Shoot 8/2/1987

This was shot live on the day Guns did the "Jungle" video shoot.



Check out the GN'R club days book Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses and the Making of Appetite for Destruction. It covers Guns N' Roses' first 50 gigs from the Sunset Strip 1981-1987.

RecklessRoad.com for more info

Marc Canter's YouTube Channel

Duff: "Plans are in Place to Reform VR Next Autumn"

California Chronicle
Duff McKagan proved he had an eye for figures when he was invited to a wild party at the legendary Playboy mansion. But the US rock star wasn't just eyeing up the scantily-clad Bunny Girls lounging around the home of millionaire Hugh Hefner.

The bassist impressed the sex industry mogul with his business knowledge and landed a job writing a financial column for Playboy magazine.

Duff said: "I went to business school and got my finance degree. It's an interesting time to be writing a financial column. It's great fun and keeps my brain ticking over."

Duff shot to fame playing with two of the biggest bands in rock history - Guns N' Roses and Velvet Revolver, so he's one of the few rockers equipped to keep tabs on the royalties he earns.

He said: "I keep a handle on where all our money goes. When Guns blew up we began creating huge income - not just for us but for other people. Musicians have no training for things like business managers and tax credits. I didn't want to get ripped off so I learned about it."

Duff brings his new band Loaded to the O2 Academy in Glasgow on October 17 supporting Black Stone Cherry.

The group will promote new single "Mother's Day," a track from their album, Sick.

Duff said: "I like the feeling of forward motion a tour gives you [everything] from the cameraderie of a band to the feedback from the audience."

He has fond memories of playing in Scotland with Velvet Revolver, the supergroup formed with ex-Guns' bandmates Slash and Matt Sorum.

He told me: "Our show at the SECC in Glasgow in 2004 is one of my three favourite gigs of my entire career. The crowd was figuratively carrying us on their shoulders. I felt so in the moment. I'd put it up there with when Guns played at Rock In Rio in 1991."

But Duff has promised we've not seen the last of Velvet Revolver.

In 2008, singer Scott Weiland announced on stage at the SECC he was quitting the band but Duff says plans are in place to reform the band next autumn.

He said: "We've got a top 10 list of singers we'd like to try out, and enough material for a great new record."

Duff's Story (Part I)

Part one of Duff's life story, from his Seattle weekly blog.

I packed my bags and cut my ties with my hometown of Seattle in September 1984. The idea of driving to New York in my beat-up 1971 Ford Maverick became moot as soon as I realized that, on a budget of $360, the East Coast was just too far away. I decided Los Angeles was a safer place for me than the heroin-infested punk scene of the Pacific Northwest. I was badly mistaken.



There was really no discernible rock scene there in the fall of '84--only the palpable hangover of a once-thriving punk movement, mixed with "cow-punk" and really bad heavy metal (Metallica had just moved back to S.F.). I met Slash and Steven Adler shortly after my move, through a "musicians wanted" ad I saw in a newspaper. Izzy Stradlin moved into an apartment across the street from me. (We lived on one of the most drug-infested lanes in Hollywood, visited nightly by dealers, hookers, and cops. Stories of this street alone would make a GREAT book.) Axl, a childhood friend of Izzy's, soon moved in around the corner in our cheap-rent neighborhood. We formed our band shortly thereafter, a happy bunch of malcontents!

My new musical comrades and I shared an uncanny similarity in the "fuck-everyone-except-us" approach to writing, playing, and living our music. We sought to do this thing on our own terms and in our own way. This was simply a way of life. At that point in life, you've just got nothing to lose . . . a relatable point to anyone reading, I am sure.



The first gigs we got back then were with bands like Social Distortion, Tex and the Horseheads, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The "glam" scene across town seemed to be a private club that had some mysterious secret handshake. The Troubadour was always packed on weekends. At the time, I think that we were thought of as a little too dirty to get an opening slot on those most-coveted Friday and Saturday night bills. We would have to get there on our own.

Our social circle soon included a group of recently transplanted New Yorkers who moved out West to--I always suspected--escape legal problems. "Red" Ed, Petey, and Del melded nicely into our lifestyle, which included 24-hour alcohol consumption, scoring any available drugs, sundry debauchery, and plenty of Rolling Stones, Motorhead, Sly and the Family Stone, and Rose Tattoo (Sly lived in the apartment right above me, as it turned out, but that's another story). West Arkeen was another co-conspirator who became valuable not only for his friendship but for his songwriting. West co-wrote "It's So Easy," which became a dark anthem for a legion of disenfranchised youth. West died a few short years later from complications stemming from acute crack and heroin use.



In 1985-86, AIDS was definitely something to think about, but not a huge threat yet in the heterosexual psyche. The scene in Hollywood became an orgy of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. Perhaps there has been no other time in recent history when the doors were so wide open to EVERYTHING. Needles were shared as well as girlfriends and boyfriends. Everyone seemed to be living in and for the moment, and it seemed as if nothing was off-limits. A real feeling of camaraderie was felt within our band and small group of friends. "Live fast and die young" was our unspoken credo. Sounds corny now.

Our living and rehearsal arrangements became one and the same as we became closer-knit. We found a 10x14 foot bathroom-less space behind the Hollywood Guitar Center that became the center of our musical universe and HQ for all things hedonistic. We raided a nearby construction site for some two-by-fours and plywood that we used to install a ramshackle sleeping loft in our tiny new home. We rehearsed twice daily in this space. For $1.29 a bottle, we could supply ourselves with enough Night Train wine to get us by. Food was always optional in those days.



We slowly began to be a draw at local clubs, and our song craftsmanship really started to get a solid base. We were soon on weekend bills as opening slots gave way to headlining. A&R staff from major labels started to pop up at gigs, and our shows were now selling out. We settled on a record deal with Geffen Records that gave us free rein as far as artistic freedom went. At the end of the day, no one was going to tell us how to make our record. Our songs were by far the most important thing to us.

REVERB

Thanks to Emma [YouTube | deviantART] for the great artwork!

Duff McKagan's Loaded Drummer Quits

via Blabbermouth

Drummer Geoff Reading has left Duff McKagan's Loaded. He says in a statement, "The pressures of being in the 'Duff from Guns N' Roses' spotlight, while thrilling, have left me unable to get back to the performer I was pre-cancer, and unable properly provide for my family. This combination has plagued my mental recovery, and I need to take time now to focus on these things.

The fellas have hired the great Isaac Carpenter (Loudermilk, Gosling, Ours, The Exiles) to fill in for the UK tour, with a warm-up show at the Chop Suey in Seattle on October 3. I wouldn't miss this show for anything. Isaac is an AMAZING drummer and I, for one, will be right there in front of the stage, with all you Capitol Hill hipsters, arms folded, judging them.

Thank you all for the love and support you've shown me and Loaded."

For more information on the new Duff McKagan's Loaded drummer, visit his MySpace page.

Loaded to Play Acoustic Benefit Gig Tuesday

Next Tuesday, August 18 at the Sunset Tavern in Ballard section of Seattle, Duff McKagan will be playing with Loaded's acoustic offshoot, the Rainmakers, at a benefit concert for Dave Ravenscroft, who has been suffering through Squamous-cell Carcinoma.

Dave has not been able to work for the last 12 months while going through multiple surgeries and chemotherapy.

Donations can be made to the Dave Ravenscroft Benevolent Fund at any Chase branch.

"Sick" Released on Limited-Edition Vinyl

via Blabbermouth
Sick, the second full-length album from Duff McKagan's Loaded, has been released in the US on limited-edition vinyl.

According to the band, "The custom multi-colored record comes with LP-only cover art by Mexican Chocolate Design, and is packaged with a white label two-song 7-inch!"


You can buy it at cockroachmedia.com

The Return of Camp Freddy

Camp Freddy returned to the Sunset Strip on Saturday night for the Annual ESPN X-Games party at The House Of Blues in Los Angeles.

The band played for over an hour, opening with Deep Purple's "Highway Star," and culminating with four Ozzy Osbourne/Black Sabbath songs featuring Ozzy himself. "Iron Man" and "Crazy Train" featured 3 guitarists - Steve Stevens, Dave Navarro and Billy Morrison. Ace Frehely joined the band on guitar for "Cold Gin" and "I Wanna Rock And Roll All Night."



SETLIST:
Highway Star, Jean Genie, Highway To Hell, Firewoman, Surrender, Cold Gin, I Wanna Rock And Roll All Night, It's So Easy, Brand New Cadillac, White Wedding, God Save The Queen, Fat Bottomed Girls, I Believe In A Thing Called Love, I Dont Know, Iron Man, Crazy Train, Paranoid.

GUESTS:
Ozzy Osbourne, Ace Frehley, Steve Stevens, Billy Duffy, Steve Jones, Duff McKagan, Justin Hawkins, Franky Perez and Naveen Andrews.

Camp Freddy are also scheduled to appear on September 10 at The House Of Blues as part of the Sunset Strip Music Festival. The show is on the opening night of the Festival.

Billy Morrison confirmed that a Camp Freddy television show is in the works for 2010.

Baz: I Was In VR For Three Weeks

Ask any musician, and they'll tell ya: one of the hardest thing about this "business" is finding the "right" band members. I can remember being in Velvet Revolver for about 15 minutes or so (about three weeks, actually) and the thing I loved about that experience (working with Duff McKagan especially) is that those guys had at least 30-40 songs on the demo CD Duff gave me, and all of us had one goal in mind: creating some great music.

That's it.

We rehearsed at Mates for five hours at a time. No one asked, "How much am I getting paid to rehearse?" "Who's paying my gas money to write this song?" etc. The subject of money never came up. We rehearsed, wrote songs and hung out together because we loved playing more than anything else, and are happier playing music than doing anything else.

www.sebastianbach.com

Duff McKagan's Loaded Re-Loads for Another Round

According to his twitter page, Duff "will be writing new LOADED songs tonite and tomorrow. Some great ideas and riffs have come on this latest tour. Excited for sure!"

This is bittersweet news for many of Duff's fans. In my opinion, it implies that Velvet Revolver is indeed staying parked on the back burner. 2010 will see Slash's solo album and I presume, an ensuing tour. Loaded, in turn, will likely cycle through another period of songwriting, recording, touring, etc. I imagine it will be a few years before VR convenes again, if ever.

Later today, Duff tweeted:

"VR will continue our search for our singer. It WILL happen! When I speak of Loaded, I am certainly not speaking against VR!"

Okay.

I've been listening to Loaded's latest Sick, and while I do enjoy it, it's a little to happy and upbeat for my tastes. I prefer their 2001 release, Dark Days.

There are some great songs on this record though. "Sick" has aggressive lyrics and a crazy guitar solo. "Forgive Me" is a perfect little alt-pop-rock song that crystallizes Loaded's sound quite well. Duff's vocals sound great on that track. "Wasted Heart" wouldn't sound out of place on the Stones' Beggars Banquet LP. "No More" is probably the catchiest tune on the disc.

In an interview with Guitar World Magazine, Duff explained that the band decided to write a new album when, at a Christmas benefit gig, they realized how many good unrecorded songs they had.

Although Duff wrote most of the songs on Dark Days, much of Sick was composed by the band or with other writers. One track, the somber “Mothers Day,” took shape from McKagan and Rouse jamming together on bass guitars. It was called “Two Basses” until McKagan wrote lyrics about friends he’s lost to drugs.

Surprisingly, although doing time in GN’R and Velvet Revolver cemented his association with Slash, McKagan credits former Gunner Izzy Stradlin as the guitarist that most influenced his own rhythm playing. “I think from Izzy I learned where a rhythm guitar player should be, within the band,” McKagan says. “As a result, I don’t overthink it.”

Nardwuar the Human Serviette

My good friend Patrick recently turned me on to indie-rock expert Nardwuar, and his unique brand of Guerrilla journalism / "taking the piss." I'm amused.

"Who are you?"





Speaking of Duff, he blogged recently that he lost a bag at the airport, and it got me thinking - what would happen if Axl's luggage got misplaced? Does Axl carry around CDs of unreleased material? Is this the only way we'll ever hear "Atlas Shrugged" or "The General"? Personally, I don't check my bags - I always do carry-on. I don't trust anyone with my stuff.


Finally, I want to say "hola" to my readers at the ROCKIN' SLASH FORUM. Gracias Juan Manuel.

Franky Perez, Dave Kushner and Duff McKagan News

Franky Perez and Dave Kushner of Velvet Revolver have been working together in the studio on some material. "We've been writing some great songs and the collaboration has been amazing. I'm exited about the possibilities and I hope to post some new music soon."



Duff McKagan's Loaded has been added to Crüe Fest II's second stage. As a result, Loaded's previously announced short run of US club dates, which was scheduled for later this week, has been canceled. Crüe Fest 2, features additional support from Godsmack, Theory of a Deadman, Drowning Pool and Charm City Devils.

GN'R Road Trip Parts I-III

A Lena Boone 'toon.

Duff McKagan's Loaded Live in Munich

June 14, 2009. "Queen Joanasophina" and "I Wanna Be Your Dog."





Loaded Tour Dates:

6/22/09 - Wettingen - Sportzentrum
6/23/09 - Cologne - Palladium
6/26/09 - Milan - Idroscalo Festival
6/27/09 - Dessel, Belgium (Graspop Metal Meeting)
6/28/09 - Amsterdam - Melkweg

More dates to come. Check this link.

Alumni News

Via his Twitter account, Slash posted a recent picture of himself and his mother Ola Hudson. Great shirt Slash, and thanks for being so open with your fans during such a difficult time.

Slash is scheduled to play Norway's Quart Fest on June 30.


Canadian guitarist and vocalist Rob Lamothe just the posted MP3s of his Velvet Revolver audition on his official site.

I think he has a pretty cool voice.

"Heartbreak"

"Hollywood"

(right-click, save as)

Meanwhile, former Velvet Revolver vocalist Scott Weiland recently told ARTISTdirect that Stone Temple Pilots has "18 songs written, and vocals are written on about 10 of them."

Former Velvet Revolver bass player Duff McKagan was interviewed on June 10 at the Caribana festival in Switzerland. The interview focused mainly on Duff's new disc with his band Loaded. According to Duff, "it's a straight-up Rock 'n' Roll record."

Next week I'll be publishing my belated review of the album - Sick.



An extended video of Adler's Appetite playing this past Monday night at the SoDo nightclub in Colorado Springs, is embedded below.

Their set: Nightrain, My Michelle, Civil War, Mr. Brownstone, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, Rocket Queen, Mama Kin, Sweet Child O' Mine, Paradise City, Welcome To The Jungle.



Finally, thanks to the kind folks at ChopAway.com, I was able to put together this video slideshow of Izzy Stradlin performing "Battleship Chains" live. I'm guessing that the recording is from his 2000 European tour. Thanks for the audio guys. Enjoy.