During a recent appearance on “Another FN Podcast With Izzy Presley”, former GUNS N’ ROSES guitarist Gilby Clarke was asked if it was any different playing with Slash and Duff McKagan at the 2012 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony compared to how it was when they were at the height of their addiction to drugs and alcohol in the early 1990s. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “I don’t really think it really is any different, because it’s a musical thing. Look, there was a point towards the end of that GUNS N’ ROSES tour, the ‘[Use Your] Illusion’ tour, where Duff was looking pretty ragged — [due to] the alcohol abuse. And granted, his playing wasn’t at its best, but I have played when he was at his best, even in those days.
“There’s a certain feel that GUNS N’ ROSES had about their music, and I just feel like when we play, it clicks,” he explained. “I had actually played with Steven [Adler, drums] before, so [the Rock Hall ceremony] wasn’t the first time playing with Steven. When Steven steps in, even though it’s songs that Matt [Sorum] has played or whatever, we locked — we just clicked. So I don’t think there really is a difference between the two musically.”
Asked if Matt and Steven‘s drumming styles were noticeably dissimilar, Gilby said: “Absolutely. Look, Matt is a powerhouse. There’s nothing Matt can’t do. Matt hits harder — he’s got more snap — so the snare sound different. Steven doesn’t hit as hard as him, but Steven has this kind of swing. And Steven plays with the guitar, where Matt, we play to Matt. Matt lays it down and we play to Matt.”
Clarke, along with Slash, McKagan, Adler and Sorum, played three “Appetite For Destruction” songs with Myles Kennedy at GUNS N’ ROSES‘s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony in April 2012 in Cleveland, Ohio, although Gilby himself was not inducted as part of the group. Kennedy, who handles lead vocals in Slash‘s solo band and ALTER BRIDGE, sang “Mr. Brownstone”, “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City”, with “Use Your Illusion”-era member Sorum sitting behind the drum kit on “Brownstone” and the man he replaced in GN’R, Adler, pounding the skins for the other two songs.
Clarke joined GUNS N’ ROSES in November 1991, replacing Izzy Stradlin, who quit the group in the middle of a 28-month world tour. Gilby has also played with ROCKSTAR SUPERNOVA, HEART, NANCY SINATRA, Kathy Valentine (of THE GO-GO’S) and the reformed MC5 on their 2005 European tour.
Gilby released his first solo album in two decades, “The Gospel Truth”, on April 23 via Golden Robot Records.
