Velvet Revolver are this-close to naming a new lead singer, but bassist Duff McKagan is talking about another band that could be back in action: Guns N' Roses.
As in the original GN'R, not the lineup that Axl Rose is currently not fronting at an arena near you.
McKagan told Rolling Stone magazine that "It could very well happen. It would have to be right and it would have to be righteous for everybody...[I]t would have to be like a kick-ass thing, or it would just kind of be sour, I think."
McKagan hearts Rose
He added: "I love Axl. We've been through a lot of shit together, and nobody can take away from us, no matter what people try to make of a squabble."
McKagan certainly wasn't in a squabbling mood when MusicRadar sat down with him at the recent NAMM Show. Check out the video below in which the bassist heaps massive praise on both Axl and the album Chinese Democracy. (It's at the 7:58 mark, but you'll want to watch the whole thing.)
Axl and Slash...not so fast
But while McKagan harbors no ill will towards Rose, he might have to pull off some Henry Kissinger-style detente to get Axl in the same room with a certain guitarist who wields a Les Paul and wears a top hat.
Recently, Rose wrote on a Guns N' Roses fansite, "In regards to Slash, I read a desperate fan's message about, what if one of us were to die and looking back I had the possibility of a reunion now, blah blah blah...Give me a fucking break.
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"What's clear is that one of the two of us will die before a reunion and however sad, ugly or unfortunate anyone views it, it is how it is. Those decisions were made a long time ago and reiterated year after year by one man."
Translation: Good thing McKagan has Velvet Revolver to fall back on. This GN'R thing could take a while.
Joe is a freelance journalist who has, over the past few decades, interviewed hundreds of guitarists for Guitar World, Guitar Player, MusicRadar and Classic Rock. He is also a former editor of Guitar World, contributing writer for Guitar Aficionado and VP of A&R for Island Records. He’s an enthusiastic guitarist, but he’s nowhere near the likes of the people he interviews. Surprisingly, his skills are more suited to the drums. If you need a drummer for your Beatles tribute band, look him up.