021: Steven Adler (Guns N' Roses)

The Trap Set with Joe Wong

Joe Wong

Joewong, Drums, Comedy, Performing Arts, Arts, Drummers

4.8 • 709 Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2015

⏱️ 32 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

As the original drummer for Guns N' Roses, Steven Adler was the swaggering pulse of the 80's Los Angeles hard rock scene. But as the band exploded, so did Adler's addiction to drugs and booze and he was ejected from the band. Steven discusses his difficult past, his lifelong relationship with Slash, and feeling better than ever thanks to his newfound sobriety. Also, Laser Drum Art.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The Trap Set will always be available for free, but we rely on donations from our listeners.
0:05.1	Please visit our website at thetrapset.net and click Donate.
0:08.9	Subscribe to our show on iTunes, and if you enjoy what you hear, give us a review.
0:13.1	This episode of The Trap Set is brought to you in part by Collecivo Coffee, handmade coffee since 1993.
0:20.5	Check them out online at collectivo with one l.com.
0:24.5	This is Joe Wong. Welcome to the Trapset, where each week we explore the lives of drummers.
0:43.3	I want to play something for you.
0:49.3	Please welcome Ella, LA's hardest band, Guns and Rose!
1:00.3	This is the sound of the Ritz Theater in New York on October 23, 1988.
1:06.4	Guns and Roses had released their debut album, Appetite for Destruction, over a year before this night.
1:12.0	Album sales had started off slow, but a string of singles, including Welcome to the Jungle,
1:16.9	Paradise City, and especially sweet child of mine, eventually caught fire on the radio and MTV.
1:23.6	They would soon become the biggest hard rock band of the 80s, but tonight Guns and Roses was still on the rise,
1:30.3	still hungry enough to bring a sense of swagger and danger to the mainstream musical landscape.
1:35.3	And driving it all was the ferocious drumming of today's guest, Stephen Adler.
1:41.3	Adler was kicked out of the band in 1990 as his drug habit began to eclipse even those of his heavily strung-out bandmates.
1:50.0	His natural feel and boozy swing, however, proved crucial to the original sound, the one that made the world stand up and take notice.
1:59.0	G&R would have success after Adler's ouster, but none of their albums, especially the $14 million
2:05.5	production of Chinese democracy, are as beloved as appetite for destruction.
2:14.3	After he was removed from the band, Stephen won a successful legal battle for royalties,
2:20.3	but he continued a descent into drugs and booze that lasted for over 10 years.
2:26.3	Now sober, he's gearing up for tour with Adler, his latest band.
	...

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