Duff McKagan: “If Bob Dylan wants to play with us, he’s welcome”

“We’ve started rehearsals for the ‘Lighthouse’ tour!” On the other side of the screen, speaking is Duff McKagan. When we reach him via Zoom, the Guns N’ Roses bassist says he has just finished his morning workout, ready to meet up with the band that will accompany him on tour for rehearsals in the afternoon. tourin support of McKagan’s latest solo album, “Lighthouse”, will start next September 30th from Dublin and also includes a stop in Italyexpected for the October 16th at Magazzini Generali in Milan.

The next series of concerts will see the 60-year-old musician to return to tour as a solo artist after five years from his previous shows in support of his 2019 album “Tenderness,” which he made with Shooter Jennings and some of his band members. That same year, McKagan began work on his next studio effort, which he completed almost entirely alone, in his home studio with producer Martin Feveyear, due to the pandemic. Having worked almost independently on “Lighthouse”released in 2023 and featuring several guests, including Slash, drummer Abe Laboriel Jr., Jerry Cantrell and Iggy Pop, For the new tour Duff had to recruit a special band. The Guns N’ Roses bassist, who also released the live album “Tenderness: Live in Los Angeles” in May, is also on tour and does not rule out the possibility to call some friends on stage. “I have a lot of friends around the world, and some of them are great musicians,” Duff McKagan tells Rockol, in his blue tank top and with his shock of blond hair hidden under a baseball cap with the white word “Jaws”. With kindness and a friendly tone, he adds: “If any of them want to join us on stage, that’s great for me.. Some of my friends would definitely add to the show. We’ll see!” Taking the opportunity to also ask about Bob Dylan’s praise and Duff’s subsequent invitation to collaborate, McKagan jokes: “Well, if Bob Dylan wants to play with us, when we are in New York or Los Angeles, he is welcome! The invitation is always valid, even for his son, Jakob”.

Rockol: At the end of September you will start your new solo tour in support of “Lighthouse”. You have already started rehearsals with your band: how do you feel about this new solo tour?
Duff McKagan: I’m nervous.

On the “Tenderness” tour I had Shooter Jennings and his band with me – a band that has been playing together since 2011 and that played on that record of mine. Of course, they were also my support band. Since I made “Lighthouse” pretty much alone, with just a few musicians due to Covid, for the new tour I had to put together a band and find the right people who can present this new record and “Tenderness” live. Luckily I found a really great group of musicians. So, yes: I am nervous. We are in the middle of rehearsals, which will continue throughout September. I am not the type of person to tell others how to play or do something, so I am trying to give everyone freedom, given how good and kind they are. I am convinced that the tour will be great.

Rockol: If I’m not mistaken, even though you recorded a live show at Easy Street Records in Seattle last December, the “Lighthouse Tour ’24” will be your first solo tour after the pandemic, so after about five years…
Duff: Wow, has it been that long already? What a strange thing Covid is: it stole two years of our lives.
Rockol:You said you were nervous: in view of the start of the tour, what feelings, emotions, fears and expectations accompany you?
Duff: Lots of these things.

To say I’m nervous is a bit of an understatement. You have to do this kind of work with a lot of confidence, even if it’s like burying yourself in a kind of security, and you do it because you know it’s going to work.
For this tour I’ve been working on my voice a lot for the last couple of months, especially after we made the record, playing and getting ready for rehearsals. So in the end, with a lot of work, you hope that everything will work out. The same thing happens with Guns N’ Roses: we rehearse for about two months before we go on tour, because you want to make sure everything is great. On this solo tour, I’m playing smaller venues, where every guitar, every snare hit, and so on, will be heard clearly. So everything has to work. The band has to be tight, and even though I admit I’m a little nervous, I feel confident that this will be one of the best bands I’ve ever played with.

Rockol:The “Lighthouse Tour ’24” includes a date here in Italy, where you will return as a soloist after five years. What is your relationship with our country, and what are your best memories related to it?
Duff: I’ll tell you something, to start: about two weeks ago, my wife and I went to Portofino for our twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, together with our daughters. Portofino is wonderful.
Returning to the question: as far as I’m concerned, Italy occupies an important part of my experience as a musician, the relationship between the music I’m involved in and Italy is very strong.

The Italian crowd is very passionate. It’s different from the rest of Europe. Italians really identify with a song, they’re not afraid to show their emotions. With Guns N’ Roses, it’s always crazy. Italy, Argentina and Brazil are the three most passionate places. During the “Tenderness” tour, I played in Milan and it was awesome: it was the last show of the tour before going back to the States, and the crowd was so great, we played extra songs because no one wanted us to leave. I can’t wait to go back to Italy. Not to put down France or Switzerland, but Italy has that extra passion.

Rockol:Back to the tour and your latest album, “Lighthouse”. How are you preparing to perform this new song live? Are there any musical elements or particular aspects that you focus on more to bring the songs live on stage?
Duff: There are certain things you can and can’t do with the live equipment we have. We don’t have a violin for “Tenderness,” for example, so Jeff Fielder, who can play everything from guitars to keyboards, has come up with some interesting alternatives for some songs, instead of Aubrey Richmond’s violin, using synthesizers and other instruments. So the song sounds different, but the song is the same.
In “Lighthouse” the instrumentation and some passages are rich and varied. There are a lot of acoustic guitars, a lot of choirs. So it’s essential to have a band with elements that can sing, and we are working a lot on the vocal parts. Live, some aspects will definitely be different than on the record, because we don’t have a horn section or strings. But we have Jeff Fielder, and he can do anything.

Rockol: So you’ll still try to build an impressive wall of sound?
Duff: Duff: I hope so, fingers crossed.

Rockol: “Lighthouse” touches on themes of reflection, resilience and, as in your previous works, your music often mixes different genres from punk to hard rock, but also softer sounds. How do these elements translate into your live performances? Will they influence the way you connect with the audience during this tour?
Duff: Duff: Absolutely, the themes and sounds of the songs influence how I connect with the audience.

And the songs from “Lighthouse” and “Tenderness” in particular. When I write lyrics I try to be as inclusive as possible. I try to use “we”, not “I”. Also, I am a person who loves to travel and I travel a lot: since I was twenty, in this way I have always come into contact with different cultures, observing and appreciating the places I visit, including museums. I also read a lot of history books and, in general, about the world. The result of this extensive traveling is the thought that, deep down, we are all the same. Most of us want the good and try to do good for others. Politics and social media are abrasive, but in civil society it is not like that. When I visit a new city, people just want to show what is beautiful in their country, without talking about politics.
Of the songs on my last two albums, I tend to like the softer side. I kind of developed that around 2015, with my acoustic guitar, playing chords, singing and looking for a melody, instead of screaming. I try to find a melody that my guitar tells me to sing. I think they are still punk songs. To borrow the title of my and my wife Susan’s radio show, “Three chords and a truth radio show,” they are three-chord songs, but with truth in them. That’s what I try to do.

Rockol: In a 2022 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Bob Dylan listed a series of bands and songs that he really liked, mentioning – among other things – your song “Chip away”. Last year you also said that you sent a letter to Dylan to thank him and invite him to collaborate. How did that evolve?
Duff: A couple of months ago my wife Susan and I went out to dinner and went to a Pearl Jam concert in Seattle with Jakob Dylan, Bob Dylan’s son.

It was really fun and we talked a little bit about what happened. It’s really cool to me. I wrote Bob Dylan a letter and sent him the deluxe edition of “Tenderness,” with the booklet and everything. I didn’t expect a response. After all, he’s Bob Dylan.
So it didn’t evolve, but the whole thing became a big story that people ask me about all the time. The day that article came out with Bob Dylan talking about “Chip Away” was a wonderful day for me. I started getting messages and emails from friends all over the world and I was like, “What’s going on?” And then I read the article and I was like, “Oh, that’s great! How did this get on my album?” This story has become part of my life now and I’m like, “Hey, Bob Dylan loves ‘Chip Away. That’s great!”
I am always open to any collaboration with him, I am available: I always have my acoustic guitar with me. So, Bob, if you want to write a song together, I am here!.

Rockol: Taking “Lighthouse” as an example: it’s a record full of great collaborations and important guests. I don’t know if you can anticipate something: have you thought or will you think about some collaboration or special participation during your tour?
Duff: Well, if Bob Dylan wants to play with us, when we are in New York or Los Angeles, he is welcome! The invitation is always valid, also for Jakob.
Anyway, I have a lot of friends around the world, and some of them are great musicians. In Italy, I don’t know, to be honest. But, I know a lot of people who play and if some of them want to join us on stage, that’s great for me. Some of my friends would definitely add to the show. We’ll see!

Rockol: During your career, you have been part of many projects and, of course, iconic bands. Thanks to your solo works, you have reached and evolved your own personal style of writing. How do you think the creative process is for you at the moment? And what are the differences between creating music for your solo work and for other projects, or with a band?
Duff: My creativity seems to be getting stronger and stronger. I’ve been writing a lot of songs in the last 10 years. Lyrically, it’s a special thing because my observations are personal. My lyrics might not work for someone else. So, I don’t write songs for other people because I don’t know how to do it. I just write for myself. Of course, I save some stuff for Guns N’ Roses. I record everything on GarageBand and when I have some material I can figure out if it’s better for a solo work or for Guns N’ Roses.
I have to say that it’s a great time for me right now. I always have an acoustic guitar with me, even when I travel, like I did in Portofino during my wedding anniversary. I’m fine and it’s a very positive time: I have a fantastic wife, incredible daughters, life is going great. All this allows me to write my songs in peace.