Michael “Duff” McKagan is lucky to have a pulse. As the former bassist for notorious rock hell-raisers Guns ‘N Roses, McKagan’s appetite for destruction microwaved his pancreas into an ugly splatter of drugs and booze. “You basically ingest everything that’s in front of you on a daily basis and you’ll get there,” he says, phoning from his latest tattoo session.
Millions of worthy rock bands have flown beneath the radar, but few have weathered the public tailspin of glam contenders, Jetboy.
“Lyrically, the Toys were a mixed batch of rock and metal,” McMaster says. “’Sport’N A Woody’ is about my dick having a mind of its own, but ‘Bones in the Gutter’ is about a murder. So, yeah, the Toys were more about parties, but we also had room for the occasional psychopath.”
Not caring a Ratt’s ass about power ballads or stuffing their trousers, Junkyard played a tougher-than-denim blend of black-eyed blooze that snarled like Rose Tattoo getting wasted on Skynyrd’s moonshine. If Hollywood was a helium balloon filled with glammy guitar wankers and shirtless pretty boys, Junkyard was the dirty needle aiming to take it down.
By Metal Dave The most astonishing takeaway from Stephen Davis’ “Watch You Bleed” is not some tasty tidbit about Guns N’ Roses, but rather all the mistakes that flowed unfiltered onto the pages. Davis, you may recall, is the highly acclaimed author behind the classic Led Zeppelin book, “Hammer of the Gods,” and the Aerosmith…
“With ‘Choice of Weapon,’ we just said, ‘(Screw) it! We’re going to grab every jewel we can find. We’re going to play the ace and go as deep as we can.”
By Metal Dave Glessner Pure Rubbish hooked my attention at SXSW 2001 when word from the gutter had the kids pegged as the next Guns N’ Roses. I was further impressed to learn the Houston upstarts were winning favor with Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, and supposedly securing producer Mike Clink who played a vital role…
By Metal Dave Glessner In 2005, the Towers of London were all too willing to rekindle the sneering anarchy and excessive self-abuse that turned the Sex Pistols and Guns N’ Roses into rock-n-roll anti-heroes. Young, loud and snotty? You bet! A terrific band? Absolutely! Doomed to fizzle? Sadly, yes. After meeting the Towers at SXSW…
By Metal Dave Glessner Here’s a photo I like to call “Don’t Quit Your Day Job.” The shot was taken by Jerry Milton circa 2005 (?) at Headhunter’s in Austin, which has long been one of my regular haunts. On this night, a live band was playing karaoke requests behind shameless and willing wannabes such…
CHERRY ON TOP: The Last Vegas singer Chad Cherry digs chicks, monsters, rock-n-roll fashion, partying and opening for the likes of Motley Crue and AC/DC. Who doesn’t? By Metal Dave Glessner When it comes to shooting-star rock singers, they don’t burn hotter than Chad Cherry. A leather-legged version of vintage Rod Stewart spiked with the sex-bomb…
Loaded Gun: Duff McKagan, center, and his Loaded band mates (photos by Lance Mercer). By Metal Dave Glessner As the resident punk rocker of Guns N’ Roses, Duff McKagan holds a lot of promise for a 1-2-3-4 rant of a record. He is, after all, the same misfit who played drums for The Fartz and introduced…
It seems I went through a Rob Zombie/Phil Anselmo phase in 1997 as evidenced by the above photo of me and my beard hanging out with Slash.