Steven Adler discussed how he and Izzy Stradlin have reacted to Frank Ferrer and Richard Fortus taking their jobs on the Guns N’ Roses Not In This Lifetime tour in a new Hysteria Mag interview.
“The thing about Guns N’ Roses that made us so great and so magical is because we were a magic band, like Led Zeppelin, or Aerosmith, or Queen,” he continues with an air of ennui. “Once we were together we couldn’t do anything wrong. If one person left the band and did Appetite, Appetite would not be Appetite. And it’s a shame because Use Your Illusion when we did the demo tape, I kept saying, or we kept saying, it was gonna be bigger and better than Appetite but once they kicked me out of the band, part of the magic was gone. It’s a different band. A completely different band.”
For Adler, there’s never too much damage done that the chance for reconciliation has passed. “You know, if they want me, they know my number–I’m ready to rock,” he says. “My goal was to finish what I started, and Izzy’s too [former guitarist Izzy Stradlin]. Iz is just as heartbroken as I am that the three of them decided to leave us out and bring three strangers in–who are those people? It’s just not cool.
“I love those songs, I love those records. I practice them here at home every day because I love them and I’m so proud of them and I’m proud of what the five of us did–we accomplished our dream exactly the way we wanted to. It didn’t end the way we wanted, or I wanted, but we did it our way. Like Frank Sinatra said, ‘I did it my way.’”
Adler certainly, despite everything, is still doing it his way.
