"The thing is, when you see guys like Iggy Pop and the Rolling Stones you realize 'oh shit, I'm kinda young!"

He is: 1. The bass player of VELVET REVOLVER 2.В The ex bass player ofВ GUNS N' ROSES 3. The biggest punk rocker of all the guys in both bands 4. He agreed to write a weekly financial column for Playboy 5. He has several side and solo projects.

TheВ thing Duff is currentlyВ involved into is called LOADED:

an interview conducted by Vassil Varbanov

ISВ THIS JUST A SOLO RECORD OR WE ARE TALKINGВ OF ANOTHER GROUP ENTITY HERE?
Yeah, it is another group entity! It is definitely not a solo record. The songs are mostly group-written or if some of the songs started with me – they were definitely finished by the band.

It has been a band for the last 10 years. I mean we haven't play a lot during the Velvet Revolver tenure. But we played like a couple of times every year up in Seattle. Last summer after the VR tour was done we started talking about making a new record. We had a bunch of songs and we went into a studio as a band. Somehow, we got very inspired while we were writing this record. We had a really good time. And it is definitely a band record.

WELL YEAH, OBVIOUSLY IT IS A BAND, SINCE THIS SOLO ALBUM OF YOURS IN 1993 WAS SIMPLY SIGNED 'DUFF MCKAGAN' AND NOW WE HAVE THE 'LOADED' THING. ACTUALLY, WHO CHOSE THE NAME?
Ok, so I did start the band in the late 90's when I moved back to Seattle and got into a school I wanted to get into. I was playing some gigs with Mark Lanegan and playing with some friends of mine up in Seattle. But I wanted to have like a rock’n’roll band you know, like a hard hitting kind of rock'n’ roll band.

And I think I had been writing something about my 12 years of kind of being fucked up. I was basically loaded for 12 years and I was writing something about that in my journal. And when I came across the word 'Loaded" I thought “Wow, that’s a killer name for a band!”

WHEN YOU SAY 'LOADED', COULD YOU PLEASE TRY TO BE MORE PRECISE…LOADED OF WHAT?
‘Loaded’ is English slang for been inebriated, of been drunk or high. Or drunk AND high in my case.

TWO YEARS AGO WE HAD THE CHANCE TO TALK WITH JOHN TAYLOR FROM DURAN DURAN ABOUT THE NEUROTIC OUTSIDERS. I THINK IT WAS A HELL OF A RECORD..
Well, me too man!

IS LOADED AND ATTEMPT TO DO SUCH A THING AGAIN, BUT WITH LOADED?
It is not an attempt. It is not a conscious attempt to do anything. It’s just …This is what I do. I write and record and play live music. And I can do two things at once. I can play bass in one band and play guitar in another. And they are separate entities for me.

But back to your point - Neurotic Outsiders was a great time for me. I got to discover a really great friend in John Taylor andВ inВ Steve Jones.В  And we had a kickass band, we were really good.

EXACTLY. IT WON'T BE EASY TO DO THE NEUROTIC OUTSIDERS AGAIN?
You never know! We could, one day. The thing is when you see guys like Iggy Pop and the Rolling Stones you realize 'oh shit, I'm kinda young'. By comparison. I can do whatever I want.

Loaded has been compared a couple of times to the Neurotic Outsiders thing which I think is great. If people want to draw that kind of conclusion, that’s fine, but certainly wasn't a conscious attempt to do get back to anything like that.

YOU'RE BORN AND SPENT YOUR LIFE IN THE US. AND IT SEEMS THAT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY AND THE CONCEPT OF THE AMERICAN DREAM HAS BEEN BUILT AROUND THE IDEA OF COMPETITION.В  SO, TO WHAT EXTENT YOU POSSIBLY BEING DISGUSTED OF THE COMPETITION THING HAD MADE OF YOU THE GUY WITH THE MOST DISTINCTIVE PUNK ATTITUDE IN BANDS LIKE, LET SAY, GUNS'N ROSES?
Well, that's an interesting question. I’ve never been asked anything close to that. I got to say where I was from in Seattle there was no competition. As a matter of fact, bands would help out each other. And it was a very interesting observation you make about Americans being competitive.

I’ve played in a bunch of punk rock bands in Seattle. And they would help each other – like you borrow each others vans and gear and share ideas musically etc. When I moved to LA when I was 19 or 20 the big difference I noticed was – Oh these bands are competing with each other! They’ll do anything they can do to sabotage the other band, you know. Really marked difference. Wow, this is cutthroat down here.

So, even within the United States there are differences. I would say probably where I came up in Seattle, it is more... European maybe. So I don't know how to answer your question, really.

I'm not a competitive person as far as music comes. I know I like to work really hard and I like to be successful, but not let it get in the way of my musical ideas and my art. I don't know how I balance all that shit, but so far, it has worked.

AND NOW TO THE WEEK'S HOT NEWS - FAITH NO MORE ARE GETTING BACK TOGETHER. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THESE REUNIONS AS A WHOLE? A LOT OF BANDS FROM THE 90'S ARE GETTING BACK THESE DAYS.
What do I think in general? Well, I'd like to see Soundgarden again. I'd love to see Faith No More again. I'd go. I don't know how commercial it will be.

I don't know how many people would go see Faith No More. If there is a big resurgence and people go and get that record 'The Real Thing', all of a sudden maybe they might.

BACK TO YOUR HEALTH, DUFF. RECENTLY THE WORLD LOST TWO OF ITS BIG PUNK HEROES. LUX INTERIOR OF THE CRAMPS AND RON ASHETON OF THE STOOGES. SO IS THERE A CHANCE THAT YOU HAVE FOUND YOUR WAY OF BEING MORE HEALTH ORIENTED?
I am a healthy guy, that’s for sure. You know, I turned the corner back in 1994 and I hope to never look back. I did a lot of damage. I probably won't live as long as I could have because I’ve done a lot of damage to myself. You know I probably took a few years off of my life. But that’s a morbid statement. It's just a kind of a fact.

THE LAST QUESTION IS ABOUT THE BIG CHANGE IN AMERICA. YOU'RE A MAN WHO CAN GIVE US INSIDE INFORMATION. TELL US, ACCORDING TO YOU - WHO THE REGULARS AT THE SUNSET BOULEVARD HAVE VOTED FOR?
How did the rockers vote? I think probably mostly for Barack Obama.

AND WHO IS GOING TO BE THE NEW VELVET REVOLVER SINGER?
I'm not sure. We're down to about three or four guys. That's all I can say.

ARE THERE ANY GOOD?
They're all good.

rights Tanga Mega Rock