Duff McKagan

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.

I have mutual funds. I have a lot of individual stocks. I'm across the board, really well diversified.

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.

I made money in my 20s, became sober in my 30s, looked around, and didn't know who I could trust for money advice.

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.

Our family is mixed. My oldest sister married a black man in 1962, which was way out there then.

Axl's favorite record in 1987 was 'Faith,' by George Michael.

When you're in a band, it's a close-knit thing. There's a lot of emotional stuff.

Going to talk to my little girl's teacher is a far cry from what people probably think I spend my time doing.

I learned, by the time I was twenty, I'm not gonna die from a panic attack; you feel like you're going to.

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.

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.