DUFF MCKAGAN: 'When I Play Shows, I Don't Think There's A Difference Between Up On Stage And The People Out Watching'

On November 12, Duff McKagan, bassist of GUNS N' ROSES, sat down with Matt Pinfield for an intimate conversation at the KLOS Helpful Honda Rock Room. They discuss McKagan's experiences growing up in Seattle, moving to Los Angeles, meeting Slash and Steven Adler and forming GUNS N' ROSES, Duff's greatest inspirations, McKagan's latest solo album, "Lighthouse", and much more.

Asked if he and his GUNS N' ROSES bandmates will play any special shows next year for the band's 40th anniversary, Duff responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Is it the 40th anniversary? Thanks for letting me know. Man, we played, [my solo] band played a place in Boston last week, called The Paradise. It's a famous old club — legendary. We go to play the Paradise, and I'm, like, 'Oh, yeah, this is the same place that GUNS played on 'Appetite [For Destruction]'. We did a club tour, a bunch of them, and we played the Paradise. And the owner of the place — he's still the owner — he just bought it, I think, then, in '87. He goes, 'Yeah, man, you played here October 19th, 1987.' It was my first time back. And I said, 'Man, 27 years ago.' He goes, 'No. 37 years ago.'

"I don't feel any different," he continued. "The thing is you say a number like 37 years or 40 years — ooh, that sounds like a lot of time, but I'm still the guy that was in his slant-six Maverick driving down [the street], getting the job at Black Angus [restaurant, working as an appetizer server]… There's no difference.

"I wanna say something," he added. "There's people here, and you talk about GUNS N' ROSES and live shows and stuff. I love to travel the world. I love to go places — coffee shops and museums and churches and castles and you name it. My wife and I are complete nerds. We do all the stuff. And I've done this since the '80s. What happens is you get to meet people. And you get to see different cultures. And I like to stand back and watch the cultures, not insinuate myself into cultures. And I've been to Indonesia and Middle East and Asia and you name it — South America, Europe, of course, a million times. And America, it's got a bunch of different culture in it. And I've been in conversations with people, like, 'Oh, you just saved somebody's life yesterday.' 'Oh, fuck. What did I do?' But I meet the most amazing people, [and they] have their own epic stories. And we all have such depth. None of us are just like a fucking punter. We all have depth.

"When I play shows, I don't think there's a difference between up on stage and the people out watching. We're all in this fucking thing together. So, I'm honored that people would come, 'cause we all have the depth and the stories, and that you take the time to come and see me play or anything I'm doing play. I'm honored, and I always look out. It's kind of overwhelming. If you look out and you're, like, 'I wonder what his story is. I wonder what her story is,' and the energy. And [I'm], like, 'Oh, shit. Okay. Stop. Shut it down for a second. You've gotta finish '[Welcome To The] Jungle'.' But it's really appreciated, you guys. Cheers."

In October, Duff heralded the U.S. kickoff of his "Lighthouse" tour 2024 with the premiere of three new songs that saw him joined by a trio of iconic punk legends who accompanied him on select dates of the headline run.

The U.S. leg of McKagan's "Lighthouse" tour 2024 got underway on November 4 at Boston, Massachusetts's Paradise Rock Club. Highlights included intimate shows at New York City's Le Poisson Rouge (November 6),Chicago, Illinois's Outset (November 8),and Denver, Colorado's Bluebird Theater (November 10),all of which saw support from Lee Ving's RANGE WAR, marking the first live performances from the famed FEAR founder's groundbreaking country-punk outfit in over three decades. "Lighthouse" tour '24 then hit Los Angeles, California's historic El Rey Theatre (November 13) with support from acclaimed singer-songwriter — and Duff's daughter — Grace McKagan, before wrapping up at Portland, Oregon's Aladdin Theater (November 18) and Seattle, Washington's The Showbox (November 20) joined by extremely rare solo acoustic performances by legendary D.O.A. co-founder Joey "Shithead" Keithley.

McKagan and his band wrapped the European leg of the "Lighthouse" tour in October following sold-out stops in Scotland, England, the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, France, and Sweden. Among the tour's highlights was a very special guest appearance by SEX PISTOLS co-founding guitarist Steve Jones at London, England's Islington Assembly Hall that saw the two longtime friends (and NEUROTIC OUTSIDERS bandmates) joining forces for electrifying renditions of Johnny Thunders's "You Can't Put Your Arms Around A Memory" and David Bowie's "Heroes", the latter of which can be viewed now at McKagan's official YouTube channel.

McKagan marked the start of "Lighthouse" tour in September with the debut of a double-sided single including a distinctive cover of Bowie's timeless "Heroes" backed with "True To The Death Rock N Roll Ballad", both available now. "Heroes" is joined by an official visualizer streaming now at YouTube.

In addition, McKagan recently announced "Duff McKagan Live At Easy Street", a Record Store Day exclusive vinyl LP release of his hometown performance last December at Seattle, Washington's Easy Street Records, arriving for RSD Black Friday 2024 on November 29. The limited-edition release features ten searing live tracks, including performances of songs from McKagan's critically acclaimed third solo album, "Lighthouse".