2021.08.17 - Dennis Miller + One - Interview with Matt

Excerpts from Blabbermouth:
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Former Guns N' Roses drummer Matt Sorum was a recent guest on "Dennis Miller +1", an interview show hosted by American actor, comedian, talk show host and five-time Emmy award winner Dennis Miller. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about his time with Guns N' Roses, Matt said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth.net): "God, you know when you used to watch those VH1 'Behind The Music' [episodes], and [you'd go], 'Oh, God. There it goes again.' Sorry, it happened to me too. [Laughs] It was, like, do as much as you can until you can't do it anymore. Things got crazy, and believe it or not, everybody in Guns N' Roses is still alive. And that blows my mind. I got out alive.

"It was probably the greatest period of my life to actually be in a band like that," he added. "I remember playing Madison Square Garden [in New York City]. We did four nights there, sold out. And I remember driving up that ramp. Remember [the Led Zeppelin movie] 'The Song Remains The Same' where they go, 'Tour dates tomorrow and tomorrow'? And next thing they're opening with 'Rock And Roll'. I was driving up that same ramp with my bass player, Duff. And I look and I go, 'Oh my God. We're in the movie.' It was beyond anyone's wildest expectations or dreams as a kid wanting to be in a rock and roll band when you have those experiences."

https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/matt-sorum-looks-back-on-his-time-with-guns-n-roses-it-was-probably-the-greatest-period-of-my-life/

More excerpts from Ultimate Guitar:
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During a conversation with Dennis Miller, drummer Matt Sorum looked back on his 1990-1997 tenure in Guns N' Roses, while also reflecting on his time in The Cult back in the '80s, his recent collaboration with ZZ Top guitar icon Billy Gibbons, and more.

While discussing GN'R, Matt said (transcribed by UG):

"The Guns N' Roses thing - I was in The Cult, moved to England, here I am, a California kid, I totally understood pub life. Because it rained all the time. And I got why there were so many English bands - because it's raining and you can't skateboard and surf, so what do you do? You go inside and play a guitar and drink.

"And when I joined Guns N' Roses, these guys were from all over the place. They came to Hollywood, Duff came from Seattle, Slash was a Hollywood guy... His mother was the clothing designer for David Bowie and did all of his Ziggy Stardust period, and his father was a famous record illustrator, he did Joni Mitchell and all these beautiful album covers. Axl, he came from Indiana, and he had that mid-Western angst of a kid that had to get out of that little town. And if remember watching the 'Welcome to the Jungle' video, he comes off the bus, and he's got a piece of wheat in his mouth, and he leads Izzy Stradlin, who plays the drug dealer, and then all bets are off, and you're in Hollywood.

"When I joined that band, I don't believe I had a tattoo yet, and they took me down to Sunset Tattoo and said, 'Sit in the chair!' And then the level of party and excess, everything that went with it just seemed right, everything that we were doing was supposed to be what we were doing - if that makes any sense.

"Obviously, we grew up with The Stones, Aerosmith, The Who, all the great rock bands, and that was our script for, 'This is how it's supposed to be done.' I never got to drive a Rolls Royce into a swimming pool but I wanted to, you know? I tried everything else. By that time they started to tie TVs down in hotel rooms, you try to get it, and it's like, 'Oh, it's locked to the thing, I can't do this.'"

Keith Richards is still alive for god's sake, it absolutely blows my mind. Have you read his book? You would love his autobiography, he has the funniest story about how he falls out of a tree and gets a hematoma, he goes to the doctor, and the doc says, 'You can't do any accelerants,' and he says, 'You can't do cocaine,' and he says, 'That's alright, cocaine was just about to quit me...'

"Oh yeah, it's like when the fun has you. Very funny story. Axl showed up late to sit in with The Stones, I believe it was at the Coliseum or something. He was a little bit late, and Keith Richards walks up to him and says, 'I slept on a chandelier last night, and I'm here on time. What's your excuse? If you're going to be in a rock 'n' roll band, the least you can do is get here by 9 PM, you know what I mean?'"

That The Cult song 'She Sells Sanctuary'... That is a great rock 'n' roll song. Tell me about The Cult...

"Yeah, well, I was like everyone else that came to Hollywood and tried to make it - that was me. I came in the late '70s, slept on the couches, I said, 'I did a couch tour.' Along the way, I met a bunch of guys - Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols, and a bunch of other guys told The Cult about me, and obviously, they were British bands.

"So here I am, this California kid, and I got the audition in the late '80s, and then I went on to join the band and tour all over the world with them up until '90 when I joined Guns N' Roses.

"I was in The Cult, and I was on a tour bus, I thought, 'Here I am, playing arenas,' and then the next thing came and I jumped out of that band, but I'm still really good friends with those guys. They're still out there playing, Billy [Duffy, guitar] and Ian [Astbury, vocals] from The Cult - great band. A lot of people still come up to me that are real fans and say, 'I loved you the best when you were in The Cult.' I always say, 'Thank you, that was fun.'"

Tell me about Billy Gibbons, did you just put something together with Billy?

   "I'm just a bucket-list guy. I'm just living the dream. I am so grateful and honored to be here with you, honored to be in this life of rock 'n' roll, and Billy, god, man... I met that character - have you ever met the guy? I'm going to have him come on, you're going to love him. We met back about 10 or 15 years ago, and recently, we were playing, I have a little fun band called Kings of Chaos, and I go, 'Billy, we got to play everything off 'Tres Hombres' and 'Fandango,'' the early stuff. So I got to play 'Waitin' for the Bus,' 'Jesus Just Left Chicago,' 'Tush,' 'Beer Drinkers & Hell Raisers...'

"When it came time for him to do a solo record, I called him up during the pandemic, and he was like - here's a guy that's been on the road for 50 years, and I was concerned about his well-being not being on a tour bus. He's used to rolling down the highway, coming off, playing the show, getting back on the bus, and I said, 'Billy, how are you doing?' He goes 'Oh man, I don't know what to do with myself...' I said, 'Billy, we're going to make a record.' So he came out here. I'm out in the desert, and I got him to come to this area near Joshua Tree. We're staying in these old cabins, and we recorded this record called 'Hardware,' and it's actually out now - and it's doing really well. It's on a label called Concord. I mean, in my opinion, one of the greatest blues-rock guitarists alive."

I saw a documentary on them recently, and he was so damn cool, he was so, 'Less is more,' the opposite of sweat act, very dignified cat...

"He studies - it's like, I say to musicians, 'Go back and study the greats.' So he goes even further back than us. He's going back to like blues guys from the '30s, '40s, listening to all that stuff.

"So when we were making the record, he was turning me on to new stuff. I was listening to Lightin' Hopkins, he's like, 'Check out this...' We started listening to the old Dick Dale records, and we were like, 'Check out that reverb...' It was so fun, he's such an eccentric guy. He had to go to Walmart every day, he had to go enchiladas, which was like an hour drive from where we were.

"A lot of it was like, this experience with Billy, and his adventure, which is so amazing about him, he's a guy that just lives life, and I love him, and if you get the chance, check the record out."

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/drummer_recalls_what_keith_richards_had_to_tell_angsty_axl_rose_when_singer_was_late_speaks_on_what_gnr_made_him_do_when_he_joined.html