Former GUNS N’ ROSES drummer Steven Adler was recently interviewed by Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3.
On rejoining GUNS N’ ROSES at several shows on the “Not In This Lifetime” tour in 2016, including three stops on the U.S. leg and one gig in Buenos Aires, Argentina, playing drums on “Out Ta Get Me” and “My Michelle”:
Adler: “It was so amazing. I thought for sure that Axl [Rose] and Slash and Duff [McKagan] were gonna go, ‘We’ve gotta bring Steve in more often.’ But they didn’t. And that’s okay. Like Freddie Mercury said, ‘One year loved is better than a lifetime alone.'”
On his well-publicized struggles with addiction:
Adler: “It sucks. But it’s life. And I’m not the first; I’m not the only [one to go through this]. I didn’t invent this sh*t. Unfortunately, I was born with this — what do they call it? — addictive personality. And I have other issues, like abandonment issues — my father left when I was born, so I never knew him. And then the band just deserted me, and that was really crushing. I went way over the edge on that one.
He added:
“There’s two ways I could have gone — I could have got myself better, which I was doing before they did that… I could have got better or went over the edge. There’s two ways to go — up or down — and I went way down. It was heartbreaking. It was just too much — overwhelming anxiety and depression, being thrown out like that. And then I had to sue them, ’cause they took all my money and my royalties. And that was a shame — that was even harder. I like to just think about the good times that we had. I look at the pictures of things that we’ve done — even just pictures of us hanging out at lunch or dinner in the past years. It’s just nice to see ’em. And Slash will always be a huge part of my life and my heart. And I love him. And I’m thankful that we are friends.”