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."

Q&A with Ron 'Bumblefoot' Thal

Appetite for Discussion

Are you on Dizzy's solo record?

Yes.

What future music projects will you be involved in?

I have a new band that's coming together quickly; we should be out there by the Fall. More info as soon as we have something recorded and shows booked.

You can read the full interview here.

Fall to Pieces

Mary Weiland, the estranged wife of Stone Temple Pilots/ex-Velvet Revolver singer Scott Weiland, will publish her memoir, Fall to Pieces, on October 27, 2009 via William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.

A description of the book reads as follows:

"A visceral, rollercoaster ride inside bipolar disorder, rock 'n' roll, celebrity culture, and the competitive world of modeling from a rock star wife and recovering drug addict.

On the surface, Mary Weiland had a fairy-tale life. She was a highly paid fashion model married to successful rock star Scott Weiland, the notorious frontman for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver. Then came the rampage in a Burbank hotel room and the resulting media frenzy that revealed to the world her bipolar disorder and drug abuse.

In Fall to Pieces, Weiland describes the extreme highs and lows of her life, the volatility of which long hinted at mental illness. Working with acclaimed journalist Larkin Warren, Weiland tells her story with refreshing candor, unflinching detail, and more than a little humor. Reminiscent of celebrity memoirs by Tatum O'Neill, Brooke Shields, and Valerie Bertinelli, Weiland's story offers a window into the world of modeling and rock 'n' roll celebrity while providing deep insights into a serious and misunderstood psychological disorder."

Scott Weiland had this to say regarding the book:

"When I was 16 years old I dreamed of being a famous rock star. I never knew what came along with it - the good, the bad, and the straight up bullshit. I thought that creating beauty would bring beauty... Not always. At 16, Mary dreamed of being a famous model. She came close but she gave up her career for Noah, Lucy, and myself. She never got to see the 'what could have happened.'

Well as everyone knows by now we are getting divorced and yes, Mary is writing a book which I have not read. But what I want everyone to know is that it has nothing to do with infidelity. Neither the divorce, nor the book. Please don't place the red letter upon my children's mother.

One last thing... My love for her will never end. We just forgot how to be friends. She has now chosen a public career and one that brings both accolades and public scrutiny. There will be more of this sort of thing to deal with as time goes by... both good and bad.

Divorce is hell, I remember it well and we deal with it every day. And if you think about it, we both have our 'what ifs' and 'why nots,' but it's no cheaters story and all I ask is to not see her cry."