With songs about God, love and hope, Duff McKagan’s new album Lighthouse might be a long way from the music he’s best known for, but he says it still reflects the punk rocker in him.
Even on Zoom, Duff McKagan exudes rock-star cool, right down to the old-school Instinct-era Iggy Pop T-shirt he’s wearing. “Iggy’s a deity to me – there’s Prince, Lemmy and him,” says Duff. Iggy is one of the guests on the Guns N’ Roses bassist’s rootsy new solo album, Lighthouse, which feels like a slightly punkier companion piece to 2019’s lovely Tenderness.
Questions about GN’R’s upcoming plans are off limits today, but there’s still plenty to talk about, from a great lost Slash guitar solo, to Bob Dylan’s unexpected papal blessing.
What was the spark for Lighthouse?
Guns were going to go out on tour, but we played one show and – boom – covid hit. I’d already recorded two or three songs, but I went back home and went into my studio five days a week and just kept writing and recording. I ended up with enough for four records. This Lighthouse record is the first one.
What does the Lighthouse of the title track represent to you? Is it a place? A person? A state of mind?
In the simplest context, it’s a love song. It’s a summation of mine and [wife] Susan’s relationship. I’m the person going across the ocean, getting washed up on the shore, and she’s the lighthouse. But also, in a broader way, during covid we were all fucking confused and freaked out: “What’s next?” I was always looking for something beautiful to grasp on to.
In the song I Saw God On 10th St, you imagine God as an angry homeless guy swearing and spitting in the street. What was the inspiration for that?
God On 10th St is about how we’re all fucking up. If there is a God, he might be that fucking dude on the corner who’s spitting and cursing and we think he’s got some mental illness. Nah, that’s God, and he’s fucking pissed at the whole thing, and he’s fucking pissed at you.
Jerry Cantrell of Alice In Chains appears on the track I Just Don’t Know. Where did you first meet him?
Alice In Chains played The Palladium in Hollywood in 1990 and I got up and played. We hung out for the next three or four days up at my house – me and the whole band. That began a really great friendship that has carried on through all kinds of ups and downs, but we both came out of it pretty good. We’re talking about doing an album together at some point.
Slash plays on Hope. Do you tell him what you want him to play, or do you just step aside and let him get on with being Slash?
No, we just have this great musical relationship. I never say: “Hey, play this”, it’s just there. That part dates back to 1996. During covid, I got the masters back from a record I made at my hou
