Original Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler discussed the future of the band in a new Reddit AMA with his mother Deanna.
A fan asked:
Hey Steven! I have a few, hopefully simple, quick questions.
Why do they call you Steven ‘Popcorn’ Adler? Is it cause you’re energetic, and bounce up and down when you’re beating on the drums?
And
Will you be joining GNR for a larger portion of the NITL Tour? Rather than a few appearances here and there?
Steven and his mother Deanna answered:
Steven: I think that’s what Axl was thinking. We played that show at the Ritz that was live on MTV one night and he introduced me as Steven Popcorn Adler. That one and only time. He would always introduce me as Steven California Indica Bud Adler. I’m a big pot smoker. So, that one night that it happened to be live on TV, out of nowhere he just called me popcorn and it just stuck. I think it was like when I play my hair bounces up and down. Like popcorn popping in a machine. I don’t know. He’s insane. I don’t know why the hell he did it. It just happened. He just called me that.
Deanna: I never like that, by the way. I never liked that.
Steven: I had a great time last year doing the couple shows that I got to do with them, but it was everything that I thought it was going to be. It was the complete opposite. If it was going be just the five original guys with [Izzy] and Axl, Slash, and Duff and myself, then yes I will, but otherwise, it’s not the magic and it’s not fair to the fans. Me and [Izzy] actually really do wanna be a part of it.
Adler also discussed his sobriety.
Steven: Be patient. Just live your life one second, one day at a time. Hang around with people who are not addicts. You are who you hang around with. If you hang around with junkies, you are going to be a junkie. If you hang out with nice, happy, good loving, caring people, you’re going to be good, happy, loving, caring person. Definitely go to meetings and listen, and talk. One thing that is really cool about my mom writing her book and then me writing me book was that you should take a pen and paper and write down your life. Be completely honest, it’s yourself, you can’t lie to yourself, even though people do. Be completely honest and write down your life, everything that was good and bad, and read it, and then burn it and move forward.
Deanna: I am so glad that Steven is back with me, he’s back on top, He knows what he’s doing. To make sure that everyone out there can find strength and inspiration from this book and hopefully free themselves from addiction.
Deanna: I would also say the same thing, go to these meetings. You can go to Al-Anon, you could go to AA, talk to your friends, talk to your minister, talk to your Rabbi, just don’t keep it inside. Don’t be like me, where I kept everything inside and denied everything. When I finished writing this book, it was so cathartic for me, because all of a sudden I don’t care if anyone knew what was going on in my life. It was wonderful. I’m not ashamed anymore that my son is called a “drug addict” and “alcoholic. “it’s okay I’m not alone. I want people to realize this, that they are not alone.
Steven: Don’t give up on this person that you love and just realize that it’s a disease. Just like if you had asthma or cancer, you’re not going to give up on that person because they need an inhaler. It’s a disease. When I was doing drugs and I was hurting my mom, my family, my wife, people around me, I wasn’t doing it on purpose. I wasn’t waking up like “I’m gonna get high just so I can fuck with my family and piss them off and hurt them.” It’s a disease and you have to be patient. Don’t give up.
Deanna: The book “Sweet Child of Mine” has everything that I went through. I never gave up on my son. He’ll tell you, he can stop calling me for a year, and as soon as he called me, I was there in five minutes. I never gave up on him and these parents should never give up on their children because they’re babies! They’re children.
