GUNS N' ROSES/SIXX: A.M. Guitarist DJ ASHBA: 'I Was Judged My Whole Life, Looking Like I Do'

May 17, 2011

Nui Te Koha of the Herald Sun recently conducted an interview with GUNS N' ROSES/SIXX: A.M. guitarist DJ Ashba. A few excerpts from the chat follow below.

On his dark and abusive childhood in smalltown Indiana and Illinois:

"A lot of (the pictures in SIXX: A.M. bandmate Nikki Sixx's 'This Is Gonna Hurt' book) hit home for me. I had a really bad childhood.

"My dad was an angry guy. I remember being really little and scared to death."

"I was judged my whole life, looking like I do, before I became what I became.

"People always looking at me like I never fit in."

"I played music and believed in my dream and never lost focus. I caught a lot of flack for it."

"Now I go home and it's like the hometown hero. The fact is, I ignored everybody and followed my heart that's the key to any success."

On chasing his dream:

"I built my career organically and I think I did it the right way. I turned down a lot of good gigs because I didn't feel they were right for me.

"It was never about the money or the fame. It was about following my heart and being true to who I am.

"It takes many years of eating ramen noodles, struggling, and never giving up."

On joining GUNS N' ROSES:

"[GUNS N' ROSES] auditioned for a year and a half on the down-low.

"They saw hundreds of guitarists. It was like going up for a movie role. You have to have the right look, right attitude, right this, right that.

"I had no idea I was on Axl's radar. He told me, 'I've been following your career for 10 years.'

"He knew everything about me. If you stay true, others will see that."

On SIXX: A.M.:

"SIXX: A.M. is a side project, a real treat. We don't write for radio. We don't have to please anyone. We write to make people think."

On his girlfriend his girlfriend, Australian model and actress Nicky Whelan:

"I had really given up on love when I met Nicky.

"I had a vision of finding that one person, falling in love and living happily ever after but after years in L.A., in my mind I started to really doubt it. I've been screwed over like the next guy many, many times. It was hard for me to trust it.

"But she came in and took a broken soldier and gave me a lot of love. She taught me there is a lot of unconditional love out there, still."

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