STEVEN ADLER: I Will Always Play GUNS N' ROSES Songs

Mike Thiel of PostCrescent.com recently conducted an interview with former GUNS N' ROSES and current ADLER'S APPETITE drummer Steven Adler. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

PostCrescent.com: ADLER'S APPETITE shows blend original music with GUNS N' ROSES songs. Why do you still play GN'R?

Adler: Because those are my songs. My name's on there. I had a part of writing those songs so I'm always gonna play 'em. Out of all my musician friends I have that have made records for the last 30 years, none of them listen to any of their music. I love my records. I still listen to my music. I asked Sebastian [Bach], "You listen to SKID ROW?" He said, "No." I asked Fred Coury, "You ever listen to your CINDERELLA records?" He goes, "No." The only person who listens to their records that I know is Steven Tyler. He feels the same way. He goes, "Man I love my music. I always listen to it." (laughs)

PostCrescent.com: How long have you been clean?

Adler: I got off the heroin and the crack and the pills in 2008 when I first started working with Dr. Drew. And then I went on a marijuana maintenance program and that was working for a little while, but like all things, it started bringing me down and it kept me from getting to the next level. So I talked to Dr. Drew and he had me come work with him again on the new "Celebrity Rehab" that comes out June 29 to get off of marijuana and Jgermeister. I was drinking the loud mouth soup and smoking the herb. I was able to get to a certain level in my life and my career but the pot and Jger were holding me back, so I worked with him and it was very successful. It was just a blessing to be able to work with Dr. Drew and Bob Forrest again. In 2008, I feel like I made a 170-degree turn and now, this recent stint I've been working with Dr. Drew, I made a whole 180-degree turn in my life.

PostCrescent.com: Steven Tyler was quoted in his new memoir saying some things about you and "Celebrity Rehab". Here's one part: "It didn't seem to me all that ethical using actual (expletive) people like Steven Adler in a reality show. They then sensationalize on a melo-(expletive)-dramatic reality show, which so traumatizes them they end up in worse shape than ever from the drugs they bought with the money from the show."

Adler He's right in a way and he's wrong in a way. To make a couple bucks is a good thing, plus all of us that did the show have hit rock bottom, so we didn't have the money to survive, but the people could either take in the money, take an opportunity to get sober like I did and start my life again or I could've taken the money and went and bought drugs with it, which most of the people who did the show did do. But Dr. Drew gave everybody an opportunity to get their lives together, and doing it for me, personally, doing it on camera helped me so much. I say to anybody out there who has somebody in their life that's an addict or an alcoholic, videotape them when they're high or drunk. You know how people have those blackouts and their friends say, "Look, you did this and you did that." And the person goes, "No I didn't, you're crazy." You videotape them and they see how terrible they act, I'm telling you, it will change their whole world on what they're doing to themselves. When I did "Sober House" after "Celebrity Rehab", I showed up with a bag of heroin and syringes and aluminum foil, wasted, and they videotaped me. I have to speak for myself, but I would do drugs because it made me feel more comfortable around people. It'd make me feel like I was better looking. I felt like I was taller. I was funnier. But I saw myself high on heroin and I was not funnier. I was not taller and I was not better looking. So seeing that really opened my eyes. I didn't want to be like that anymore.

Read the entire interview from PostCrescent.com.