Former GUNS N' ROSES Bassist Furthers His Education

June 22, 2002

It may come as a surprise to some that former GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan, once considered a poster boy for rock'n'roll excess, is attending Seattle University, majoring in business and finance.

"My mom always wanted me to be a lawyer, and my Uncle John graduated from SU in '48," McKagan told Seattle University Online. "And in the back of my head, I knew I always wanted to further my education."

Though he had achieved professional and financial success of the kind few people—particularly musicians—will ever know, Duff was cowed by the prospect of facing college admissions officers. A high-school dropout, he earned his GED before signing up for a handful of classes at Seattle Central Community College, then applying to SU last fall.

"Business is a natural for me," Duff explained. "I'm still a principal in GNR Corp., we still sell a million CDs a year. It's something that seems practical to me."

Ultimately, he says, he'd like to earn an MBA, maybe work for a corporation. "Why not?" he asks. "I've been in a band, I understand working as a team. There's probably an accountant downtown somewhere who's dreaming about being a rock star. But I've already done that.

"I've grown up a lot in the last year, intellectually. For me, this is like a dream."

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