DUFF MCKAGAN: How AXL ROSE And SLASH Inspire Me To Become Better Musician

In a brand new interview with Mistress Carrie of the Worcester/Boston, Massachusetts radio station WAAF, Duff McKagan spoke about how his GUNS N' ROSES bandmates Axl Rose and Slash inspire him to be a better musician.

"Watching Axl prepare for a show — an hour and a half [of] vocal warmups," Duff said (hear audio below). "And then when he goes onstage and just kind of the thing that comes over him… That guy couldn't phone in a gig… He couldn't do it. He would die first, I think; you would have to shoot him in the head. And then the hour-and-a-half warmdowns. And watching Slash play guitar all day long, and then lose himself when we play the shows. Sometimes he's just gone. When he's [doing] his solo, I have to sometimes actually tap him on the foot, like, 'Dude, come back into the song.' 'Oh, what? Okay.' So that makes me work."

He continued: "I don't know if I'm as talented as those guys, so I feel like I always have to work twice as hard, and I love that. So I go in my basement. And my wife knows — I go to the basement. I'm there for six hours or seven hours. It's just where I go to do my thing. Sometimes she'll come down and I'll play for her, and then she'll go back, but she knows that's the time when I've gotta put in my work, my hours. And I love putting in my hours."

McKagan kicked off a two-week North American solo tour last night (Thursday, May 30) in Philadelphia. McKagan is touring in support of his newly released solo album, "Tenderness", which sees him reflecting on his experiences traveling the globe over two and a half years on GUNS N' ROSES' "Not In This Lifetime" tour. Backing McKagan on the trek is Shooter Jennings, who produced the LP, and members of Shooter's band.

GUNS N' ROSES will play three festival shows in October — Louder Than Life, Austin City Limits and Exit 111. They will mark the band's first live appearances since ending its reunion tour in December 2018.

GUNS N' ROSES' "Not In This Lifetime" tour began in April 2016, and after 159 shows in 41 countries, it played its last date at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 8, 2018.