One of the first 45s I ever bought was the Stooges' 'I Got a Right.' Probably one of my favorite singles, ever.Duff McKagan
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You turn road-gay on the road. After about 10 days, the fellas in your band start looking really good.Duff McKagan
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Attending Seattle Central was an awesome experience - it taught me a lot about discipline in a great way.Duff McKagan
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You know what's a great song that will be stuck in your head if I say it? 'Single Ladies,' by Beyonce. Killer song.Duff McKagan
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I didn't start off as a bass player, and Guns was the first band I really, like, 'Oh, I'm gonna be a bass player. This is what I'm gonna do.' And I really dove into it head first.Duff McKagan
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When you start a band, you have to find people that are good, have the same sort of mindset as you musically.Duff McKagan
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'Mr. Brownstone' is always a fun song to play because it's got that beat, and you see people bouncing.Duff McKagan
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You become friends with your kids' friends' parents. That's just the way it's gonna be. And sometimes you luck out, and it's great.Duff McKagan
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I didn't have any work to do, and I had files of my personal and Guns N' Roses financial statements for the previous eight years. I wanted to learn how to read these, but I didn't trust anybody. I just got a lightbulb in my head and said, 'I want to go to school.' That began my journey, taking accountancy and business classes at Seattle.Duff McKagan
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I started playing in punk-rock bands and touring when I was 15, so I missed high school.Duff McKagan
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I don't have resentments towards anyone I played with or to the guy who bullied me in the sixth grade. I've worked through it.Duff McKagan
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By the time Guns n' Roses spent 28 months from 1991 to 1993 touring the 'Use Your Illusion' albums, the tour staff sometimes approached 100 people. We were carrying not only backup girl singers, a horn section, and an extra keyboard player, but also chiropractors, masseuses, a singing coach, and a tattoo artist.Duff McKagan
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Music was going to be my thing. Was I going to make a living at it? That was kind of a joke. It was just my passion, and if I was broke doing my passion, so be it.Duff McKagan
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I had a column for the 'Seattle Weekly' for five years, and there was one column that was called 'How To Be A Man,' and it was kind of tongue in cheek; it was really tongue in cheek. And I got a book deal from that column.Duff McKagan
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Being in a band is the best place I can think of to be as up-front as possible. If you let something stew, it'll grow into a mountain of nonsensical black mud in no time.Duff McKagan
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When you're a musician, you are around your peers a lot, like Slipknot and Alice In Chains... you name the band. We're all just kind of friends.Duff McKagan
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I learned, by the time I was twenty, I'm not gonna die from a panic attack; you feel like you're going to.Duff McKagan
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I don't know where I'm rated. I don't pay attention to that. I'm really so just all into my craft. It's not a contest. I try to play the best.Duff McKagan
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If you don't have a good rhythm section, your band is toast; you're a bar band. Good rhythm section, you've got a chance to get out of the bar.Duff McKagan
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I think you can tell stories and give perspectives and yet still keep stuff for yourself, too. I keep a lot of my life private, even in a public forum like writing.Duff McKagan
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When the record company pays you an advance, it is just that - an advance. And it's at worse rates than any bank would charge you to pay them back.Duff McKagan
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Playing with Iggy pulled me back in for a while and reminded me of what I love about music.Duff McKagan
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Is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that important to me? No. Is it something I've aspired towards? No.Duff McKagan
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I have panic attacks here and there, like in the weirdest places ever, and I've learned to deal with them.Duff McKagan
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Turn off the TV, turn off the Internet, just go out, and I bet you your life will get better really quick.Duff McKagan
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Not to name names, but a lot of pop female artists you see, they don't write their own songs. Lot of top male artists and boy band artists, they don't write their own songs. They're just a product. They sell, they sell, they sell. They don't care about musical integrity, any of that kind of stuff.Duff McKagan
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The thing is that business and success, and how hard it is, doesn't look any different whether you're playing a gig at eleven o'clock at night or you're going to work at nine in the morning at a law firm.Duff McKagan
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When you're in a band, a marriage - whatever, it's kind of the same deal - there's a lot of things that you see, and people trust you with information about their lives. Call it a 'bro code' or whatever you wanna call it, but there are certain things you do not tell. At least, I don't.Duff McKagan
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In rock n' roll, we don't sell records at all like we used to. Yet the artist still has to pay to make records. So you've just got to get out on tour and be smarter about your merchandising.Duff McKagan
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It's funny: when I started playing bass in 1984, you had guys like Paul Simonon fron the Clash, John Paul Jones, Lemmy, and Nikki Sixx was the head guy in Motley Crue, and you had all this post-punk stuff like Magazine and Killing Joke where the bass sort of lead the way. Not that I picked it to sort of be a main dude, but it intrigued me.Duff McKagan
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Going to talk to my little girl's teacher is a far cry from what people probably think I spend my time doing.Duff McKagan
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People in Seattle - and I'm speaking from experience - are indoors more. It used to just rain a ton, and as a result, you'd be inside listening to music all the time and playing. You'd all rehearse at each other's houses and share ideas. There was no competition. When I got to L.A., I was really stunned by the competition.Duff McKagan
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I saw some really amazing stuff with Axl. We worked really well together. We were good friends. And I hope to perhaps have that friendship back one day, although it's not something I wait around for.Duff McKagan
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I've had a panic disorder since I was sixteen, and they always said that's a subset of depression. And I'm like, 'I don't have depression.'Duff McKagan
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