Duff McKagan on how Guns N' Roses got their sound

[@devinsears5684]

"It's pretty obvious we didn't hide the cowbell". That's fucking hilarious.

[@1969ryson]

Izzy is without a doubt, the hidden gem of G-N-R as a songwriter and player. I mean a lot of people don't realize that Izzy co-wrote much of Velvet Revolvers first album. In my opinion that's why their first album was so much better than the second album.

[@romu7999]

Totally agree. I mean Izzy brought the skeletons of the songs and the other brought the skin. Both are important to have great songs. Their problem was they had too different influences. That worked for 3 records but that 's all.

[@romu7999]

IVAN X I meant the Illusions ones too. Look at the credits, he wrote 50%. For the first one, it's more difficult to know because the credits were common.

[@megeantivalo]

+IVAN X Those songs were pretty much written together

[@teodormrdenovic1981]

You guys talking about Duff or Izzy?

[@eddieshredder5740]

Slash came up with half the hits on Appetite, welcome to the jungle, rocket queen and paradise city and on illusions: civil war, coma, locomotive and don't damn me. Izzy is overrated.

[@Mineav]

Duff was always the coolest fuckin' bro ever. Love this guy!

[@jannorris4140]

The coolest bro ever? In the entire history of Bros?

[@fantasticphil1089]

This is a great example of the musical intelligence all through the band that made them so great. Duff, Axl, Slash, Izzy all had sensitivity and depth of understanding of music. It's what lifted them above the more generic hard rock bands. Their ability to riff and change within a song to explore new melodic and rhythmic areas made them mercurial and fascinating. They had great texture in their music and hear that here in duff talking about his influences like Prince and Sly. So many different elements coming together - like guns and roses. heh heh

[@charliehogan693]

Duff is the coolest and nicest member of gnu. He's a very down to earth kind of guy who loves meeting and talking to all the fans. A solid human being. I've met him a couple of times and the second and third meetings he actually remembered my name. What a cool dude!

[@janeclarke7755]

most deffos duff is a absolute gentleman

[@roshanmandvi5773]

Yeah

[@jespacey]

guns n' ulver?

[@rudysuryaman839]

Yes he is handsome in and out👍

[@auliakaliza1904]

*gnr

[@Scubadog_]

You do NOT steal a man's cowbell.

[@matthewmerrell1568]

Izzy and Duff are awesome

[@barbarino2000]

Cut him some slack. He grew up with a speech impediment. Buy Duff's book "It's So Easy". Really great insight into the guy, who was probably the most normal and friendliest of everyone in GNR. Hard not to like him and respect him.

[@barbarino2000]

My bad. He suffered a stroke not too long ago, which affects his speech. Shit happens. Especially to a rocker.

[@creepshowcrate]

Duff's is easily the most boring rock bio ever.

[@catalinamaes]

Steven had the strokes

[@CS-1988]

@@creepshowcrate then don't read it arsehole

[@philc4520]

Wow that is so insightful Duff's groovy funky Cameo-Prince inspired place. Instantly the bass groove on Rocket Queen comes to mind-that's a perfect example of it, right there.

[@1969ryson]

When was this interview? LOL, they stole stevens drums until he had the amount of drums that they wanted. Classic story.

[@SluffAdlin]

Chris J I think 2006 or 7, it's when Velvet Revolver was still active.

[@ontonightsepisode]

+Chris J Before he got sober.

[@1969ryson]

+Alan Bloomfield Duff was sober way before this. I think he had been sober for about 7 or 8 years at this point. I know he got sober in the 90's.

[@alicewang8954]

+Chris J yeah I think it's around 1994

[@theyellowwall7842]

+Alice Wang yeah, just read the part in his book. It was 1994 after his pancreas exploded

[@jondoe6273]

I've always loved his bass lines and how at times he made it sort of a lead instrument in parts of songs. He also sounds like the most sane member.

[@garysimonson1135]

Maybe now he does but he was nuts before he got clean

[@doctorbillzable]

Duff is, and will always be, the epitome of cool! Even the "Simpsons" writers thought he was cool enough to name a beer after."Duff, The King of Beers"....true story,

[@floydpitt7590]

+Stevie Wonder Not true at all according to Matt Groening.

[@doctorbillzable]

Well true according to Duff Mckagan.

[@floydpitt7590]

+Stevie Wonder True according to Duff, but NOT true according to the guy who actually wrote 'The Simpsons.' Oh, the dilemma of who to believe.

[@ianspeight8313]

@@iamablackwood like "The Shinning"

[@LAOCAppraiser]

Duff gives props to Prince. RIP the Purple One

[@majorsmythe1]

+LAOCAppraiser EVERYONE gives Props to Prince. All the greats did. Guy was a genius. RIP Legend.

[@paulbrough4861]

If you analyse alot of their music it's alot busier than you might first realise. Izzy was a second lead rather than a chord pumping rhythm guitarist. He and Duff gave everything that little bit extra feel along with Stevens simple yet soulful drumming.

[@ashpreet.singh07]

exactly and this is one of the reasons i do not see why people dont like guns n roses

[@Farewelltokingz]

@@ashpreet.singh07Because they became kinda Cliché. Everybody who doesn’t know much about them knows them as the “Sweet Child O Mine Hard rock pretty boys” and thinks that they are overrated. In due to having only like 4 chart toppers. But obviously their music was so much better beyond their singles, people just are too ignorant.

[@jjmah7]

Sometimes lightning just strikes and you get a magical combination of styles/sounds/equipment that just makes the sweetest sounds possible. GnR is no exception

[@joshedillon9534]

I wonder why Duff and Izzy didn't mess with Matt Sorum's drums.

[@nightraven5760]

He wasnt *their* drummer. He did the stuff of the UYI albums, but he was with another band, but on break.

[@rbilleaud]

Little bit different because Matt was a seasoned pro when he joined. He wasn't some green drummer who hadn't worked with a band before. Plus the GNR sound was more mature by that time so there was room for more complex drum arrangements.

[@1m60]

Money maybe, after Axl fired Adler

[@adonisapalla7212]

At that time things had changed and axl kinda like what the band has so I guess dats one of the reasons

[@fxexpert4541]

@@nightraven5760 damn i didnt know that

[@spokes5201]

Got to finally see them in Philly back in July. Great show with awesome fans, and the refound brotherhood that they displayed was chill worthy. Duff actually writes left handed and plays right handed (same here), and the guy is always low key. My favorite clip was when he was at a comedy roast and everybody just wouldn't bust his balls hard because he just has that way about him. It was more funny to watch people back off than any of the other shit. There are probably so many untold stories... Thanks for the upload

[@lateremortis6115]

"too many fucking.....drums" hahaha

[@SinkMan434]

Izzy stole Stevens drums 😂😂😂 Izzy my favourite guitarist

[@dnb419]

Great interview. Dug the stained glass behind with St Anthony and the Child Jesus. As I replay the song in my mind's eye, I can hear the wild, unabandoned, uncontrolled chaos in the end of "Paradise City" and I remember the 1st time KNAC played it, that's what appealed to me. The mistakes, the run with it attitude like they lived and how the live show was in 88 with Aerosmith. Damn that's a long time ago. Good thing Dragons live long lives. Except for Puff, of course...SSSMOKIN!!

[@Jim5150jvc]

+MsDragonFire Love St. Anthony of Padua! Maybe Duff was always losing things, and prayed to St. Anthony to find them?

[@dnb419]

+Jim5150jvc DO YA THINK??!!! lol So it's actually St Anthony of Padua? Seems I heard that back in the 70s in Catholic School. Yes, guys likie the good girls in plaid LMAO! Tx for that info, very interesting. Duff got it together and seems happy. His interviews are intelligent like Slash. Peace!

[@Jim5150jvc]

peace to you too!!! yes, Saint "Tony" is known by both names. According to tradition, he died at only 35 years old, but was a great preacher. the rest of his body decayed normally, but his tongue is incorruptible. it even made the rounds at one of the museums in San Diego, CA about a decade ago. I always give him a shout when I lose my car keys (which with my ADD is quite often, lol)

[@BatByte82]

izzy did write most of VR. listen to Izzys Bomb.

[@NigelFortune]

Great story. The drummer was probably so out of it he didn't notice his drums were being stolen lol.

[@Ethanolus]

I can hear hem say "where the f*** are my.... oh well"

[@ItsGarrettBrah]

Nah when this was going on Steven wasn't on drugs this was back in like 1985 so no one was really on the hard stuff yet. (Credit from Slash's Autobiography)

[@b00i00d]

Love this guy, he was also the hidden musical glue to early GnR!...

[@Town101]

WOW. New respect for Duff. There was a LOT of insight in this video. Sly and the Family stone AND the Ramones. Love it. So tired of current bands getting their "influence" from an INTEL Processor.

[@wavpunch]

GN'R consisted of the most strong members in the rock history since Kiss, maybe better. Every guy has something special on his own. Duff and especially Steven was too underrated as many say. Maybe that's why they couldn't be together long...even though somebody wants to blame Axl.

[@SluffAdlin]

KISS? Really? They always reminded me of early Aerosmith or The Stonees when Mick Taylor was in the band, but to each his own.. The band chemistry on "Appetite" is so good and tight it almost sounds animated. Slash's view; "that period of Guns existance, the late 80's....you know when you've done something really cool and unique and once it's done it's done. You don't want try and replicate it. I don't dwell on it, I'm more interested in looking ahead but not to far ahead."

[@1969ryson]

I agree except about the Kiss part. I think Ace was the best musician of the bunch and even he could be VERY sloppy live sometimes. Maybe it had to do with how much he had to drink before the show, I don't know. But live musically, Kiss was hit and miss. Just a fact.

[@knucklehead99-z1w]

+wavpunch True! Oddly, though, none of their solo efforts turned out anything close to G 'N R. Slash has some good 'outside of G n R' stuff he can be proud of and some Velvet Revolver stuff is pretty good, but that's about the extent of it. "Guns n' Roses" today is just sad with that guitarist who is just nothing like Slash. By the same token, when that "Miles Kennedy" guy sings "Sweet Child O' Mine", it makes me want to jump off a bridge. The original lineup needs to get back together before one of 'em dies.

[@rbilleaud]

Of all the bands that came out of that California late 80s scene, GnR definitely had a more prominent bass sound than any of them. Without that I don't think GnR would have had nearly the same appeal.

[@NJDVLS9500]

Definitely, also L.A. Guns and Faster Pussycat.

[@1969ryson]

gnrcrueratt FFFFFaster Pussycat! Loved them back then. Really underrated.

[@MetalheadYA]

Rob Billeaud I agree. I think they knew they had a badass bassist in Duff and they were smart enough to record him forward in the mix... Well, their producer and engineer were smart enough to get him recorded up front... His sound was massive on Appetite.. They were all golden on that record and I think its one of the best debut's of all-time, and timed perfectly, as fans were getting sick of fake glam metal and wanted some kick-ass, from the gut rock n roll... Appetite was the whole ball of wax... Unfortunately, a few of them got big heads after their early success and they pussed out... Such is life....

[@rosielea2844]

I totally agree. Like the bass on Rocket Queen sets that whole song up. It wouldn't be the same if someone else with a less funky rock sound was playing. Duff is a master musician and all around cool dude who seems so chill. Even before when he was drinking a bottle of vodka a day you listen to the interviews he comes off as the chill and affable one who's top priority is always the music.

[@rbilleaud]

@wildcatter63 OK, let me rephrase that then. Of all the HARD ROCK bands in California in the late 80s ... Apparently you were the only one who didn't get that's what I was talking about.

[@ma.lenellbaltazar7598]

Love u duff....your a sweet heart❤️❤️❤️

[@screamengine]

After the events in The Matrix, NEO went back through time and became a blond haired rockin bass player in Seattle. Once again, he freed the people. And, once again, Mr. Smith tried to ruin it all in the form of Poison.

[@adamrob30]

Duff is the most underated bass player to ever grace the stage this guy get nowhere near the dredit he deserves!

[@skunkape2]

AFD is still so good and always will be.

[@MisfitsFiendClub138]

Not good, GREAT!!!!

[@Docteur666]

00:39: That's actually Lars Ulrichs drumkit when thay jammed togheter in 1990 (spot the dannish flag)

[@TheSonsofHorusx]

hell yeah, back when slash used the red mockingbird

[@nkmcfrln]

+Christopher Fish He didn't like it. The only reason he used it was for the Floyd Rose.

[@405zx]

These guys in their prime were like the 96 Chicago bulls of rock

[@garysimonson1135]

I feel like that was Nirvana with Nevermind. Nothing fancy but they just annihilated everything in their path.

[@richards6363]

I love the setting for this interview! The church vibe just works.

[@bobdouglass8010]

took me a long time to realize that duff's the central piece to appetite's sound. his bass playing isn't flashy but it's not boring either.

[@LetsGoMetsGo33]

0:39 Duff wearing a Ramones shirt. 0:41 Slash wearing a Ramones shirt. 0:49 Axl wearing a Ramones shirt. 1:19 Steven's kit is compared to the Ramones. a) awesome. b) why didn't theey include a Ramones cover on Spaghetti Incident. Unlike all the band they covered, the Ramones wer still playing and would've appreciated the boost (well, there was a hidden Soundgarden song... and a version of UK Subs might have been playing around at the time, not sure.) Different note: 1:54 Duff's rocking a Sid Vicious shirt. Kinda funny, a good and smart bassist promoting a bad, idiot one (but I love Sid too).

[@janeclarke7893]

i love duff hes so so cool

[@kevinnoble6320]

I totally agree with what somone else here wrote too. Izzy put some additional little leads to songs lil parts the jus gave there sound so much thicker harder sound

[@magdamagda5771]

Hi I love Guns N Roses!!!!! Magda Poland

[@td5387]

duff and steven are way underrated they were all good musicians

[@jlarsena]

In the beginning GnR were huge Nazareth fans and showed up at their shows in the front row.

[@slaytalldeth18]

Idk if anybody else noticed but that Double bass drumkit shown here isn't even Steven's! It's Lars Ulrich's from a gig he did with some G'N'R and Skid Row members lol.

[@lordmiko1982]

It is around 2005 interview Duff already not young like in the 90' ,come on guys 1994 interview? seriously? :D I am fan since 1990 ...

[@stephenbruce4052]

Great doc cheers

[@johndobbins1105]

Steven was the best. He didn’t need a 118 piece drum kit to sound good.

[@ZacharySandstrom]

Did steven end up getting his stuff back?

[@rebelrocker3743]

Slash is the best !!! Seen them in detroit on this new tour 2 times , I just wish steven and izzy would of been there !!!

[@6672rock]

Keep it simple, straightforward and organic -- no mountains of rack gear or synthesizers out the wazoo. Then, they go completely against that philosophy and record 2 double albums worth of bloated filler that could've easily been condensed down to one album of solid material. Go figure!

[@d1saleh1]

So good

[@davidoglesby6771]

Gn'R were such a great combination of things Axl was a cross between Robert plant and John Lydon Slash was like Jimmy Page and Joe Perry Izzy was Keith Richards and Ronnie wood in one Duff was like Sid Vicious mixed with funk Steve Adler was Kiss and Van Halen Great mix

[@Linfindores]

I’d say he’s more of mix of Freddie Mercury as well

[@kevinnoble6320]

Izzy complimented slash parts and vice versa. Freat thick totally awesome sound the had and freat fuitar playin.

[@innoc3ntbystndr]

Unpopular take: Sweet child wouldn’t be iconic without Duffs bass line.

[@markymarco2570]

So yes Steven's sound was actually preconceived.

[@nkmcfrln]

Between Matt joining and Izzy leaving was Guns N' Roses at their peak. 1991 was their best year. You're such a goof. The last people who are with Steven are Duff and Slash. Get that through your head; kzbin.info/www/bejne/h2qXgZ2DeKmkhKM kzbin.info/www/bejne/pZ6tfa2Gfc12nq8&feature=share During a recent interview with Eddie Trunk, Steven Adler said he hasn’t heard anything about a Guns N’ Roses reunion, but that he would probably be the last to know. He also said he keeps trying to hang out with Slash but he continually blows him off because he is busy with ‘work.’ Adler said, via Blabbermouth: “I love those guys, and I always will, but Duff, he doesn’t think I’m cool,” Adler said. “He doesn’t think I’m a cool guy. This is what people tell me. And he doesn’t think I’m cool and that I’m not that great of a drummer. And Slash, he doesn’t believe that I have 21 months and 21 days sober. He doesn’t believe it. I don’t know why, but they forget that at one time in their life, they were doing drugs and drinking and they were fucking up. They forget that they were like that too. Duff has got 20 years sober or more, Slash has got, like, 11 or 12 years sober, and I’ve got a year, nine months and 21 days. So everybody gets it at a different time. I’m just thankful I got it.” He went on to say: “They don’t think I’m cool and they don’t think I can play drums that great and they don’t think I’m sober.

[@casualguy393]

Why does it look and sound like there should be a stuttering ventriloquist behind him, reading through a 1980's teleprompter that shorts out every 3 seconds?

[@thinkingagain5966]

Casualguy 939 lmfaoo

[@jackfrost3919]

they took bros drums... bet he didnt notice..

[@mitchkincaid6680]

With all the drugs they were on at the time I bet he didn't.

[@brentschmoeckel1420]

Their sound was like no other band

[@danny355]

Amen!

[@AlobytesOgniddove]

very expert! ^^

[@MisfitsFiendClub138]

So many GnR songs you can hear the influence of 70's Aerosmith

[@eija8042]

Omg, your are ewen more beautiful today, ... So humble and gourgeus.....

[@remnantchannel2434]

After Izzy left the band. It was doomed for GnR to destruction. No more hidden Gem for the band. It was over.

[@markeddeckmusic7202]

Very blues sound is the main ingredient , these lot need to go back and listen to the black guys , Slash is very Freddy King , if he knows it or not

[@VHR-5150]

👍🏼👍🏼✌🏼

[@Davo-gj7gl]

Dont touch the cowbell lol

[@Whiskel]

Part Giraffe.

[@momoney2720]

he talks like paul senior from OCC....lots of little stops between words

[@josemiguelcarrizo7373]

Hollow body guitar doesn`t seem to have to do much with Keith Richard`s style. Anyway I don`t see many similarities between Izzy and Keith`s stlye either despite Izzy`s love for the Stones

[@CS-1988]

How would you know, I'll listen to his bandmate before you or anyone else

[@robertisham5279]

why does he keep stuttering

[@bigfish-zr5ef]

Farhan Mckinnons drugs/strokes

[@splash5427]

Farhan Mckinnons he's always been that way.

[@rossthesparky4848]

Kids, don't do drugs...

[@malcolmboyd3467]

or have a stroke thats why he's speaking like that

[@catalinamaes]

Duff had his pancreas explode, Steven Adler's the one who had strokes.

[@maxbray6927]

speech impediment all his life

[@StormReefProductions]

the fuck is on the floor?

[@kevinnoble6320]

Izzy had a hand in all the writing in ALL of there songs. Also tempo melodieies of the sings. Izzy was the heart n soul of classic guns. Steven and izzy left guns was not as goos anymore. They lost there edge

[@julesmpc1314]

Whats with the balls??

[@TVisTheRetina]

How Guns N' Roses got their sound? Just basically copy Nazareth.

[@CS-1988]

If they copied that joke band they would suck, so get educated and piss off

[@jamesrockford2626]

to me Guns was Aerosmith meets the Sex pistols. Duff is delusional... sly and the family stone? prince? lol.. he wished he was not that good. Duff was the same as a mediocre punk bass player and on his bets day he was like Tom Hamilton

[@garysimonson1135]

I disagree - his bass lines were the glue that held AFD together. And he has great rhythm.

[@motorcity7137]

Jesus Christ spit the words out. Not that hard Duff

[@ghenny69420]

Sam Smith he has speech issues dipshit

[@CS-1988]

He has an impediment so piss off