DUFF MCKAGAN Says He Initially Felt 'Uncomfortable' Learning JANE'S ADDICTION Classics

May 20, 2010

Former GUNS N' ROSES and current VELVET REVOLVER/JANE'S ADDICTION bassist Duff McKagan has penned the latest installment of his weekly column, which appears on Reverb at SeattleWeekly.com. An excerpt follows below.

"A couple of weeks ago, as I was in the JANE'S rehearsal room going through a set of JA classics, I found myself feeling really uncomfortable and unsettled. I couldn't figure it out. Was my bass rig not sounding right? Could I not hear Stephen Perkins' bass drum well enough? Was I playing in the right groove and at the right volume? These are not things one should be thinking while playing. You should be in the moment and let things flow. And suddenly it dawned on me: I was playing bass parts for a whole set of songs that were written by someone else WITH the band that had recorded them. Oh . . . this is new!

"JA's founding bassist, Eric Avery, was always a guy whom I very much respected as a bass player. Back in the mid-'80s club days in L.A., I remember going to see JA just to watch Avery and Perkins. The way they interwove rhythm was ridiculous, and a bit groundbreaking. For some reason over the years, he and I never actually met. This added to his mystique for me. So now as I am playing some of those bass lines, I feel the pressure that I perceive is probably out there. You know: Everyone will be looking at ME to see how I play those beloved bass lines, an integral part of the JA sound."

Read McKagan's entire column at SeattleWeekly.com.

JANE'S ADDICTION debuted a brand new song, "Soulmate", during an intimate one-off Cinco de Mayo concert on May 5, 2010 at Bardot, Hollywood in Hollywood, California. The Corzo-sponsored event marked the official live debut of McKagan, who joins original members Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro and Stephen Perkins.

Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be viewed below (courtesy of Christy Borgman).

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