Once described as this generation's sid vicious, Michael Duff McKagan, Guns N' Roses, lanky bassist, fits the archetype of a temperamental, rebellious rock n' roll star. Together with Axl and Slash, Duff makes up the core of the band that have been there since the heady days when their debut album "Appetite For Destruction" took the world by storm.

Before GNR formed, Seattle born Duff forged his musical carreer in the West Coast Punk scene with a succession of charmingly named bands like The Fartz, and these Punk roots were to become an important element in the Gunners vision. Punk nihilism with traditional, gutsy Hard Rock. Duff, replying to an ad, was the last person to join the original line-up.

In July 88, shortly after the release of "Appetite", Duff got married for the first time, but this didn't seem to have a calming influence as the band gained a growing reputation as "The Most Dangerous Band In The World" with reports of the usual rock n' roll excesses involving serious drug abuse and legions of groupies.

And if that wasn't enough Axl and rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin were getting arrested for various offences and there were visible signs of infighting amongst the band. In January 1990 Duff, along with Slash, took centre stage at the 17th American Music Awards to pick up an award for Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Act. But the pair were obviously inebriated and mouthed swear word on live TV.

Lies....the shocking truth

However, when questioned some years later on his own behaviour in GNR, Duff denied some of the accusations, like taking advantage of groupies, though he backed himself up by saying "Isn't the spirit of Rock N' Roll supposed to walk a little on the wild side. People put down Guns 'N' Roses for being outrageous or whatever. Fuck! We're just a Rock N' Roll band! And people damn us, they diss us for that shit!"

Despite the controversy, line-up charges, and seemingly endless delays with their next album "Use Your Illusion 1 & 2"  was finally releasedt in 1991 and GN'R cemented their status as the worlds biggest Metal band. Success followed success but this didn't necessarily mean personal happiness for Duff. "People think "Oh you've got money and fame and shit, money makes your life better" No!"

Duff explored these feelings on his 1993 solo debut LP "Believe In Me". "Believe In Me" is about keeping my head out of the hole", explained Duff. "Y'know, if you've got nobody else to believe in you then you've got to believe in yourself even when your beeing punished in the head emotionally. I'm a self-made man. I'm not from a rich family. I'm from a very poor family, and even if we're whining and crying and bitching, I love my family. But I've made myself to what I am, and I gotta hold on to that".

Duff McKagan Facts:

Joined the Fastbacks as a drummer in: 1980
End of Drum 'Internship': Left sometime in 1981-82
Other bands: The Vains, The Fartz, The Silly Killers, 10 Minute WarningThe D.T.'s Cleavage, Our Gang, Guns N' Roses, Neurotic Outsiders, Solo Artist
Current band(s): 10 Minute Warning, Solo Artist

Duff McKagan, bass player for the heavy metal band Guns n' Roses, grew up playing guitar and drums in Seattle. He moved to LA and became part of the punk scene, playing in dozens of bands before meeting Slash and Steven Adler (former drummer for Guns) in 1981 and forming the three-man band "Road Crew".

Duff joined the "Fastbacks" at the age of 15 while attending alternative school,his close friend Kim whom was 18 at the time was able to sign his slips for music credit. Duff started to play the drums and bass before turning his attention to playing the bass in his later career with Guns N Roses.

Veteran rockers debut :
Neurotic Outsiders

Neurotic Outsiders were an unlikely combination that worked. Steve Jones of the Sex Pistols, John Taylor of Duran Duran, and Duff McKagan and Matt  Sorum of Guns N Roses found their common ground when Sorum, the drummer, gathered them together to do a benefit show at a Los Angeles club.

They knew   from that moment that they wanted to do it again. They then became the Monday night house band at that club. "Then we started going out of town and doing more shows and we started to play one or two of my songs, one or two of  Steve's songs and the band got an identity fairly quickly," says Taylor, who plays bass and shares vocals with guitarists, Jones and McKagan.

They then released their self-titled CD on Maverick Records and a World Wide Tour was staged setting about promiting it.

Neurotic Outsiders played at the Sanctum in Pontiac, Michigan on September 13, 1996 near the start of this tour. They burst on stage with a rocked out version of Duran Duran's "Planet Earth", with Taylor on vocals. The set covered most of the album tracks along with a few other covers. It was humorous to hear Jones sing a ballad about The Sex Pistols in "Union" with the line, "Who's the sickest Sex Pistol of them all?" and chorus, "I wish I had a union." The crowd went wildest during the heavy, yet catchy single, "Jerk."

The band is heavily influenced by 70's English punk rock and their own rock and roll backgrounds. They included covers of Iggy Pop and the Stooges' "Raw Power" and The Sex Pistols' "Silly Thing" in their set as well as The Clash's "Janie Jones," which also appears on the album.

Their sound is raw, honest, and occasionally crude, yet fun. Jones tells it how it is. "Nasty Ho" is Jones' true story about being asked to pay for sex. In "Story of My Life" and "Better Way", they delve deep to confront their demons and uncover personal breakthroughs. "Good News" is a song for hateful people that use sexually transmitted diseases as murder weapons. Jones and Taylor contributed a few songs that they had written for solo projects to the album, and a few were written after Neurotic Outsiders first began playing together.

Taylor describes Neurotic Outsiders as "healthily retrogressive, multi-faceted, a think-tank for male menopause, a bunch of old slags, they're kinda different, and they're a bunch of sweethearts."

After a couple of weeks in North America, the band set off to Europe for a few dates. Taylor remarked that he was  looking forward to playing in cities they have not yet been to "just because it's like showing off a new car. It's like 'Wow! Look at me! Look at my new band.' You know, 'What do you think of THIS?'"

After being in high profile, high maintenance bands, Neurotic Outsiders gives its members a chance to feel completely loose. Now that Taylor has had the chance to try his hand at lead vocals, he's a changed man. "I'm a better singer than I was a yearand a half ago. I think I've got more confidence. I think I'm less frustrated. I'm happy, basically." It has been a great release for him. "It's like I've started something inside me now and I don't really want to put it on hold unless it was just a limited period.

Taylor will be bringing these new experiences back to Duran Duran. He thinks Duran Duran needs to try new things to remain exciting to the fans and to themselves. We should begin to see how the changes take effect after the release of their next studio album early in 1997. Guns N Roses have been rehearsing for their next project and The Sex Pistols will continue their reunion tour in Australia after the Neurotic Outsiders return from Europe.