August 18, 2025 • 43 mins
Before Scott Weiland officially became the lead singer of Velvet Revolver, Slash and company went through hundreds of audition tapes. How close was Kelly Shaefer (vocalist of Atheist / Neurotica) to landing that gig first? Join us for his epic VR tale, parenting tips, and much more!
More info:
https://www.facebook.com/AtheistBand/
https://www.instagram.com/atheistband
https://www.facebook.com/kellyshaefer
Kelly's demos with VR: https://youtu.be/5SWl0otjqN0?si=xRYwtJS3jhxtSxrG
Our website:
www.afdpod.com
More info:
https://www.facebook.com/AtheistBand/
https://www.instagram.com/atheistband
https://www.facebook.com/kellyshaefer
Kelly's demos with VR: https://youtu.be/5SWl0otjqN0?si=xRYwtJS3jhxtSxrG
Our website:
www.afdpod.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You know, I just don't think skid roses would be
would be something that you know that we should probably do.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Sebastian's an old friend and.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Welcome to the podcast Appetite four Distortion. My name is Brando,
Episode number five hundred and twenty three. Welcome to the podcast,
mister Kelly Schaeffer.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
How are you, sir?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I'm fantastic. Brandon, how are you? Five twenty three?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Huh Yeah, it's like a lot of chats, I know,
and it's all centered around guns and roses. What we're
going to focus on Velvet Revolver in a little bit.
I know everyone and their mother gets has a podcast nowadays,
and I wanted to be a little different and see
all these little side characters and me find out stories
(00:47):
that people may not have heard before, so they kind
of get into it. There was a story about you
that I had never heard before that kind of came
out that you auditioned for Velvet Revolver.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
You know what I want to because I'm.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
A very natural kind of conversation. So that's the story
we're going to get into. Because you here, I got
distracted immediately. Do you hear my son in the background
saying no, no, no, no, no, okay, good, he's.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Not not in the bottom someone. I mean, it's all
it's all good. I'm so used to that anyway. I
have kids, so it's a it's a it's a normal,
normal sound for me.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
I wanted to ask because I guess, congratulations, your your
son Thor just started third grade.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
Is that what I g saw on social media?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, man, I got all that Facebook. Yeah, he's uh,
a little nervous.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
It's a tough first day, you know, he's uh, he
was on the bottom floor of his elementary school, which
is kindergarten, first and second. So now he's upstairs and
he doesn't know you know, he doesn't know all the
teachers up there, and so you know, I remember, I
remember being terrified of every first day of school. You know,
I thought the thing, I can can I speak for you?
Speaker 4 (01:56):
Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah that's his podcast.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Yeah, I definitely uh. I can feel his pain now.
But he's he's he's almost to his first week now,
so he's he's in a lot of better spirits.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Thanks for asking, you got it because once I saw
my Thoor.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
That's a cool name, because h Harrison Rex that's his
official name on the on the podcast, though he goes
by Baby Brownstone. Sometimes he makes an appearance we'll see.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
But I want to set him up for success, you know,
I didn't want to name him like Thurman or something,
you know, you know, maybe a tough life as a
thurmon you know, So I no disrespect to the Thurman's out.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
There, them Monson.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
I mean, you know, I was I was going to
see how new York you were.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
You're very New York.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Yeah, before my time, but I know enough Toman months
and I'm old enough to have watched him play I'll.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
Be I'll be forty two in a month race.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Yeah, well, my friend, I appreciate it, but yeah, before
before my time. But I wanted to get because one
of the things I saw in that Velvet Revolver post
was that the guys didn't know you were from this
band eight THEA. So before we even get to that,
how where's store? Are your kids know of Atheist? Do
they ask you what it is? Because my son, he
doesn't know what I'm doing. I'm like, daddy's working on
(03:10):
the computer. I cannot play Legos with you right now,
Like it's a hard time.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Yeah, not only does he not know, but he could,
he could probably care I couldn't care less.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Ye.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
I just got back from Australia and Japan and uh
on tour, and we're getting ready to head to Europe,
and you know, I mean, he just wants to know
when we're going to Taco Bell. Uh you know, when
we're going to go to Universal Studios, and uh, yeah,
I get no love for that.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
I mean, he understands it.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Every now and then I'll show him a video on YouTube,
you know, and I'll be like, that's debty, I mean,
especially about being confident.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
You know.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
I was like, listen, every single time Daddy walks on stage,
it's fucking terrifying, you know what I mean, especially if
you're the singer. I played guitar and sang for a
lot of years in the in the nineties, and I, uh,
you know, I I kind of felt like that was
my shield. So then in ninety three I stopped playing
guitar on stage. I still play every day, but I
just didn't want to play on stage anymore. And you know,
(04:07):
found myself feeling very vulnerable, you.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Know, without a guitar in front of me.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
So I tried to, you know, help him understand that
that's you know, every day that you go into school
and you feel like, you know, the classes looking at you.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
I said, that's how I feel.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
And I show him, you know, me standing in front
of thousands of people. We played in Mexico and it
was about ten twelve thousand people, and I was like,
wouldn't that fucking terrify you?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
You know.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
I was like, but I did it. You see Daddy's
doing it. And I said, it's all about just being confidence,
you know. So I tried to try to use the
rock the rock for the lessons.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
I I appreciate that. Yeah, he's my My son is
the first one. So I gotta I'm going to learn
these things of how to teach him about confidence and
then teach him because I know I talk about it
on this podcast just because I'm in radio, I'll be
doing it for twenty years. I still get nervous. I'm
nervous before this interview. I got to teach him to
be confident within himself and his abilities, something that was
(05:00):
a challenge for me. Uh, but I think I'm in
a point in my life where I'm good, So I'm
looking forward to that challenge, challenge.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
You know what else I tell him is also you
know that you know that never goes away. I mean,
and it shouldn't go away because the moment you become
that complacent about whatever you do, be a podcasting, performing,
you know, if you don't give a ship, then probably
shouldn't be doing it, you know. I mean, there should
be a tingle. There should be an anxiety to performing
(05:30):
into you know, uh, being in an interviewer or having
a talk show, all these kinds of things you know
that are you know, because that matters, if it matters
to you, then then you should feel that anxiety. And
I told him, I've said that you know the fact
that you go into third grade and you're and you're
you're nervous means that you you care, you want you
want to know that the teacher knows that you're you're
paying attention.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Because he's a really good dude. He's smart.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
But you know, he went through a lot of ship
when he was in kindergarten because he's got really long hair,
and and I couldn't believe, like, you know, I mean,
when I was at school, bullying was very, very tough.
You know, I went through at hardcore to the point
where I quit high school. But I didn't think it
would happen. In kindergarten, and because of his long hair,
he had these little assholes in his classroom were like,
(06:12):
you should use the girls room. And to this day,
he's in third grade now and he won't let me
put his hair in a ponytail except and let's wear
at home. Wow. You know, it's it's ninety five degrees
and one hundred percent humidity in Florida right now. When
you're on the playground, you're trying to run and he's
got you know, he's got slash hair, but blonde, you
know what I mean. He's trying to run and it's like,
(06:33):
you know, it's in his mouth and I'm like, budd,
if you just let me put it in a ponytail,
he's still, you know, And I show him all the
guy all my friends and all the you know, my
band members.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I'm like, see, buddy, long hair.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
You know, it doesn't Those kids are the ones that
are the outcast, not you, you know, And so it's
just hard because he's really he's one of the maybe
two or three kids in his whole school that have
hair that long. You know, as a boys, It's like,
but do you want to cut it, and he's like, no, no, no,
I don't want to go.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
It's a busses heart.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
I appreciate that story because my son has long blonde hair,
believed or not.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
When I was born, I was blond hair, blue eyed.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
I mean I came out, I came out a different race,
I guess, and I lost it.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
Just it changed.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
So yeah, my eyes are green now, lost my hair whatever,
But yeah, he's long hair. My wife we sometimes he
baby bun man bun whatever because he's he's et a
popsible easy.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
And you know, yogurt. It's all in his hair.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Everywhere he comes. He's running around the you know, the park,
sweating everywhere. We talk about that. When are we to
cut his hair? And well, it's just it's it's said,
that's still a thing in twenty twenty five, and especially
in kindergarten.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
So it's yeah, the only reason kindergarten knows to be
that much of a little dick is because dad's a dick, clearly,
you know what I mean. So you know there's no
way that that I know that Thor would ever treat
anybody like that. He would never, you know, be its
skin color or hairlinth He was just you know, unless
unless you're hearing that from your parents or you're a
down that kind of mentality and you're not going to
(08:02):
repeat that ship. But what happens is also there could
be just one kid and then the other kids hear
that and they think, gad, now he's long hairs for girls.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
You know, you should be using the girls room.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
But I just like, God, it's six years old, you know,
so anyway, Yeah, it's ah.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
So it was.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
That was tough, and he and and still you know,
like I said, he won't he won't let me put
it back. I'm like, I show him even Thor the
character Thor, I'm like, only tall man bun. Look every
time I see somebody with that, I was like, look
at that guy. He's a man's man, you know what
I mean, Like he's he'll get over it though, He'll
he'll laugh about it, uh when he gets older, or
he'll cut his hair and just move on.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
You know, yeah, either either or.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Right now.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
That's why I I had to.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
I wanted to bring it up just because you know,
I can relate to a bit, and you know, I
feel like I'm getting some advice here for the future,
So I appreciate that, and then they get to know
you a little bit because this all sounds like a
cool guy. I would have loved to have seen front
Velvet Revolver.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
So so it came out a few weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
I guess it was posted by Metal Sucks and it
was unearthed that you had some demos with VR. And
I've had people on the podcast who like Josh Todd,
who's with Buck Cherry, who kind of started that with Slash.
It was never a Velvet Revolver, but just different stories
of people, recently Jimmy Nico who thought he was going
(09:22):
to get close to being hired, a lot of different
people with different Velvet Revolver stories.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
I had never heard yours. So if you can kind of.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Take us back to you how you found out about
the audition and what again I found really interesting is
because they were looking at certain names people they knew,
did they know who you are and associated with atheist
because it seems like that wasn't the case.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
No. I was in a band called Nerotica and we
were on oz Fest in two thousand and two, and
the band had been together about eight years that Our
first album was produced by Brian from ACDC, and then
we ended up being the first band sign to the
WWE SmackDown Records.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
So, you know, we we were having a.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Good run with Neurotica, and then after that tour was over,
basically Linda McMahon and Vince McMahon were like, you know,
we don't have the infrastructure to be a proper record label,
so rather than be like most labels, they gave us
all of our masters back, which is amazing.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
And then so I came back.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
I owned a tattoo shop at that time in my
life as well, and so when I came back off
that tour, I just happened to be looking at blabbermouth
dot net and there was a story whereas Slash is,
you know, saying there was a he's putting together the
project and there are no real rock frontmen around anymore.
They've been listening to hundreds of demos, and so I
(10:42):
was like, you know, I come from even though I play,
you know, I have a pretty uh strange career. You know.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
I started in the late eighties with Atheist, which is a.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Groundbreaking jazz fusion death metal band when there wasn't anything
like that. And so we were known for sort of
creating technical metal and and you know, sort of Rush
meets Slayer, you know, I mean, it's really really interesting.
And that band broke up in ninety three and I
put Neurotica together and moved out. But I've always had
this I come from that or that, you know that
(11:13):
we're Bavidly Roth is a god, you know, uh singers,
you know what I mean, they're you know, the the
idea of a rock singer gets sort of stifled in
a middle in a metal setting.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
But I still had that at heart.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
I'm still that guy I like to to to uh
not take myself too seriously and got I got it.
So when I saw that, I was like, fuck that.
So I called my manager at the time, was a
guy named Doug k and I was like, hey, man,
let's send him the Neurotica record. He was like, uh,
you know, you know, in his defense, he's probably right,
you know, he's like, he's in LA, he's got he's
got it. He can hand pick anybody, you know what,
(11:46):
why is he gonna choose you? And I was like, well,
first of all, thanks and uh and then I just
you know, and he he pretty much said no, you
know and and you know, I didn't get too mad
about it at that time. I just remembered that our
publicist for Neurotica, who worked at Cotch Records, a girl
named Lulu, had been Slash's publicist prior to that. And
I remember telling me that story just randomly, and I
(12:08):
was like, shit, I'm gonna call her. And I called
her and because it, you know, it was a pretty
big announcement when when Slash said, you know, after they
played the Randy Castillo gig with Josh Todd, I think
they that kind of opened their eyes to hey, you know,
maybe we should get together and write some music. And
then I, uh so, so when that came, when that
(12:28):
came about, I reached out to her, and she, immediately
before I even finished the sentence, was like, oh, I'm.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Going to send it to him right away. I'll send
it the Neurotica Records.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
So fast forward a few days later, and uh, I
missed the call initially from Slash.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
I went to voicemail.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
I was at a bar having a drink and I
go out to have a cigarette and I checked my
voicemail and there it is, you know, and Slash. And
so I remember going back in and talking to the
guys that I was sitting with. I was like, Eric,
gonna fucking believe is on my voicemail right there, and
they were like, ohh And I was like, Slash just
called me and they were like and so I passed.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
The phone around, you know, let them all listen. And
it was cool. Man.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
I'm keep in mind, I'm an underground metal guy, you know.
I mean, I you know, you know, my band was
there in the very early stages of extreme metal, and
so that's been my m O, you know, and so
you know, Slash is kind of.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Like the the Joe Perry of.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
My generation, you know what I mean, He's the he's
the or the Keith Richards of my generation, but way
better guitar player, Keith Richard. Uh So I it was
just like I thought it was cool. So so yeah,
so I called him back and he said, uh he said, yeah,
you know, me and Duff we've been listening to, like,
you know, just hundreds of demos and we actually sat
and listened to this whole record what happened to this band?
(13:43):
And I said, out, you know, explain what happened and
we we just we called it the day after you know,
going through about eight years of shit. And he was like, Okay, well,
you know we've written like thirty six songs, and so
I want to send you three.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Just write your lyrics and record him and send him back.
So I was like okay.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
So, uh, I waited and I got a package from
Saul Hudson and the and the return address, and I.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Wish I kept it. I didn't.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Really, I'm terrible about keeping things. And I still regret
that because it was I remember getting it.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
What stamps did he use? Do you remember that?
Speaker 1 (14:13):
I do not, But I mean just seeing saw Hudson
and I thought, that's fucking great, man.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
I mean, what's he gonna write slash? You know, I
mean of course he had to write it. He might
go No, he's too.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Cool man flashes h slashes like he's got left attitude
in some of the you know, some local musicians I've
met over the years, you know, and very cool guy.
And so they sent many songs man, and I you know,
I'll never forget it.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
Man.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
I got in my car and I rode around I
listened to it. So I went to the studio and uh.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
And did my things.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
Tend it back and like three days later, I got
a uh confidence call with him and Duff and they
were like, uh, can you come out to l A.
And I was like yeah, and I said on my diamond.
They were like yeah, and I was like ship. So
then I was faced with the scenario of having to
figure out, you know, I had to come up with
some bucks to to I hadn't been paid for the
tour that I had been on just at that.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Point, you know, I mean, I'm not here to go
in anyone else's pocket, but they couldn't fly you out
at least come on.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
It was it was a hating man.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
I believe it was a I think it was purposeful
and you know, I guess kind of expected and uh
you know, I usually leave that part out of the story,
you know, I mean just because it sounds. You know,
I don't want to be derogatory to those guys because
they couldn't have been more mind but I think that's
you know, why should they They're fucking kings, you know,
I mean, why should they fly me out there?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
You know, it's an opportunity for me.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
If I can't find my way out to LA then
it's almost like a job.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Interview, you know. I mean, if you want to work here,
you got to be here. So I fucking.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Went out and uh, you know who I got to
pay for it was the manager who said, oh, come
on man, you know slashes, and you know, I was like, yeah,
you can pay for it.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
You can help me pay for it.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
He had a buddy nice doing well financially, so he
was like he was really blown away as well. He
was like, good you man, you know, and because I'm like,
you know, listen, everybody ships and wipes, they're asked the same,
you know. I know how musicians are the most humble
kind Brian Johnson Macy DC one of the kindest, most sincere,
humble people you'll ever meet in your life. Like, I know,
the deep down inside that it's there's that persona that
(16:17):
everybody has put on them. But most of them, you know,
people that are successful are very kind and and and
not you know, aloft like people might think.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
So so I get you know.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
When I was really excited when they both called, they
were like, yeah, we love it and it's great and
you know, come out here.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
And so I went out there and I was really prepared.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
You know, I mean I and I'm not sure that
they were prepared for my preparedness, you know what I mean,
because keep them. You know, I've been in Guns and
Roses fans since the beginning, and you know, I used
to work construction and listen to it on the job side.
And you know, even though I was into really happy
music as well, I always had appreciation for Guns and Roses.
I think even even the hardcore of the hardcore metal
(16:57):
people back then at least had an appreciation for the
grind am of GNR, especially compared to like Poison and
all that garbage.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Gun and Roses had balls, you know, they had had moxie.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
So so I, you know, I go out there and
Matt Sorem picks me up from the airport and I'm like,
holy fuck.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
You know this is cool because I'm a big Colt
fan too, you know.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Sure, And so it was, you know, for for again,
for a death metal guy, I was.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
I was outside of my element.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
And so we drive to uh, We drive to my hotel,
dropped my ship off, jump back on the truck, and
had to mate, which was a rehearsal studio in LA
that kind of everybody goes to to prepare for tours
and so like. At that time, like Finn Lizzie was
there and oddly Sebastian Bach was also there rehearsing for
a tour and and they had cameras set up in
(17:45):
there and they had everything was being recorded.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
So I was like, God, here we go.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
But before we went in, smoking a cigarette outside and
a Jaguar pulls up and you know, outcomes slash, you know,
and like like a cartoon character, you know, just literally
looks like you know, I mean, we're talking about a
guy that that can be recognized by his silhouette. There's
not a lot of rock stars that you could recognize
from one hundred yards from a silhouette.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
So I've said that on the podcast.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Yeah, like the.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Michael Jackson or the Michael Jordan thing like that slashes that,
you know. So, uh So he comes up man, and
he's like, hey, how's it going to I'm just super cool,
very laid back, and we went inside and I pulled
out all my papers and and then he says, uh
again not knowing where I come from saying, and.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
He says, uh, so you know we do you have
any earplugs?
Speaker 1 (18:34):
And I said, uh no, no, no, and he's like, uh,
you know, it's pretty loud, So you know, I just
want to let you know where he runs.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
I'm thinking ship Man.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
I've been standing in front of death metal guitars for
you know, loud at ship in a small rehearsal room.
So uh, I just kind of laughed it off and said, no,
I'm good, I'm good. And uh so we proceeded to
jam Man and it was fucking great. It was really
really good. And we got to the end of the
third song and you know, and it was it was
it was kind of like, you know, my my vocal
(19:03):
style is not unlike Axel in a way, it's a
little higher than normal. It's a little raunchy and and
raftby and and uh. You know, I've been around bands
long enough to recognize when, you know, when the band
is like, oh I get this guy out of here.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
You know, they were looking at it trailer like hey,
you know.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
And so I was like, hey, I'm gonna go to
smoke a cigarette because could tell they wanted to talk.
And so I go out and I smoke a cigarettes
and I'll never forget, you know. Duff comes out and
he looks at me from across the parking lot and
he goes and I.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Was thinking.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I got the job or you know. So they walk
over to him and he's like, hey, can you stay
over the weekend. So now I'm faced with another hotel dilemma.
So I have to call the manager back and say, hey,
they want me to stay for the weekend until Monday.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
So he's like, I'll pay for it. Pay for it.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
So so yeah, we we rehearsed another day, and so
I had two really really good days. We went out
to eat together, had great conversation, and you know, Duff
picked me up the second day and we went through
a car wash with his car, which was completely insane
for me, you know, like it just just like anybody else,
like is just never Mind's just Duff from Guns n'
(20:11):
Roses getting his car by saying with that wooden stick
in his hand. You know, we're sitting on the bench
waiting for them to call his names in his car.
But just you know, really cool guy. He reminded me
a lot. I'm friends with Scottie Hill from skid Row.
They actually talk a lot, very similar.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
And they came up in the same era.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
So I don't know, I just felt really comfortable with Duff,
probably the most comfortable with dove. He just seemed, you know,
very candid and transparent about all the shit he'd been
through with drugs, and because he was in great shape,
I was like, man, really, you know, must be working
out or somebody. He's like, yeah, you know, I took
well well buttrin and all these different things to quit
smoking and blah blah blah, and yeah he was super
(20:50):
lucid and clear and uh and great. So so not
to tell you the big long story. So anyway, we
so Sunday comes around. I'm supposed to meet up with
him on Monday for one last rehearsal and I'm out
at like this really packed bar in La with a
bass player from a band called o tep And who
I was on the os festour with me. And I
(21:13):
get a call from Slash and he's like, Hey, we're
in the studio right now.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Can you come? And I was like, where is it.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
I've already had a couple of drinks, you know, I'm
not supposed to see them today or anything and that
He's like, it's in the valley, and so I asked him.
I was like, where's the valley and he was like, oh, man,
it's like one in the morning. So I'm like shit,
and he's like, man, it's it's forty five fifty minutes
outside in the city.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
So I was like, he's like, i'll take you.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
I'll take you. So he takes me in. The studio
that that we went to was the place where they
did Appetite, and it was it was covered in barbed
wire and it looked like an abandoned building.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
From the outside, this looked super sketchy.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
And you know, again, by now, it's I don't know,
you know, probably quarter to two in the morning. So
I and then there's a gate and I bring myself
in and I go in, and so as I'm walking
down the hall, I can hear Slash soloing in one
of the rooms, and so I was like, oh.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Man, cool, you know.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
So anyway, fast forward, it turns out on that day
is the day that is he split.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
And so they told me what happened, and they're like, yeah,
you know, we were working on this song.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
I'm gonna do it, Slash like, I'm gonna do a
solo and then we're gonna split. And I was like, okay,
and I mind you. I never even heard this fucking
song or anything. So I had to on the spot,
sit there and write lyrics for it and do the
vocal and we did. And I sat with the engineers
until probably four in the morning, and then I had
(22:37):
no way to get back to my hotel, and so
I literally had to again call my manager and get
him to call the cab company give them the credit
card so I could get out of there and go
back to the next day, I go into rehearsal with them,
and you know, sound on the cast was Slash and
he was like, man, you know, he was talking to
me about Josh Todd and guys like that, you know,
(22:58):
some of the guys that they had to auditioned, and
why it didn't you know, it didn't work out. And
even Sebastian Buck He's like yeah. He literally said, you know,
I just don't think skid Roses would be would be
something that you know that we should probably do. Sebastian's
an old friend and and blah blah blah. He's just
really candid about it, which was cool.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
And he said, you know, I don't know where we're
going to go, I don't know which ways, but right now, here,
my guy. He's like, here, my guy.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
So I was like awesome, he goes, no matter what happens, like,
you're a fucking great singer. And I told this story
and a number of other occasions to Metal Metal Magazine
and stuff.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
That was the first time, even though Brian Johnson.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Gave me, you know, I worked with me on my vocals,
and so that was the first time I really felt
like a rock singer. I was like, oh man, you know,
I mean, I'll take that and put it in my bucket,
and so, you know, it was really cool, and I
flew back to Florida, and then what happened was I mean,
Wiland and and Wiland's wife and Duff's wife are really
good friends, and obviously they got the inside scoop.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
And then you know, I mean, but Rolling Stone ran
and article.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
I'm sure you've probably seen it if you're an enthusiast
where they had it was all about Bell Revolver and
what was happening, and the four pictures they used were Sebastian,
Travis Meeks, myself and.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Scott Wild and so so yeah, I mean, for the
audition for an audition that I never got, it was.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
An incredible experience and you know, I treasure and I
lost those the reason those resurfaced a couple of weeks
ago is because I lost my copy of my demo
and so like a late night one night, just like
I'm sitting out here in this very spot, and I
found them online somebody I remember, somebody, maybe I gave
(24:40):
them a copy of it or something, and sure enough
I found it, and so I just randomly posted like
one thirty in the morning, and then woke up the
next day and it was it was all over the place,
and my phone was all blowing up, and I was like, ah,
that's that's cool, you know, I mean, it was just
a lot of people in my world of atheist I
had no idea that that happened either, and so it's
just kind of like this, uh I call it sort
(25:02):
of the cat fishing moment, just because I just feel like,
you know, that's happened a lot in my career. People say, oh,
you're a professional musician, they go yeah, they go, oh,
what's the name of your band?
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Atheist? Immediately it's like dismissed as trivial or or.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Childlike or you know, depending on what age group I
was when I had the conversation, that's how people are
about religion. You know what I mean, And if you're
not in their tribe, then you atheist don't want to
So where you a devil worshiper? And I'm like, do
you have a dictionary? You know, you know, to know
what the word atheist means? You know, I mean, I've
just had that. I've been attacked so many times over
the years, so it was a natural defense mechanism to
(25:38):
not tell them about atheist. Who knows, you know, maybe
some guy in the band's like, no fucking way, we're
gonna have anybody.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
I don't care how good he is.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
You know, we're not gonna have a guy any and
you know, and that's been in a band called atheist.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
So I was like, shit, you're not You're not wrong.
Speaker 6 (25:52):
Well you're not right, you know, you know.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
I I unfortunately, I could see that because people are judgmental.
And look, I've been judged by the name of my podcast.
That's why I can't get Slasher Duff on it, because
of the name of the podcast. So it's just like, yeah, yeah,
you never you just never know. But it's the name
worked for you in other areas. The name is working
(26:15):
for me in other areas. I guess I appreciate that
entire story, even though it didn't end a certain way.
I mean, I I love hearing it because you are.
It's a combination of being a fan. You know, Wow,
here I am with Slash. You know, I'm sitting on
a bench with Duff. You know this gun's a Roses
young kid. But also the professional of you being like
(26:37):
you guys don't even know what I'm capable of, like
kind of a kind of thing.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
It's just so so cool.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
Now you mentioned that's today, that Izzy split. Did you
ever get a chance to meet him or was that okay?
Speaker 1 (26:50):
In fact, I was told that. I can't remember which
one of them told me. I think it was Matt. Oh,
it was Matt, because Matt took me out to a
party at at the Sunset Marquee. I think the bar
there is called Whiskey or something like that, or though
Whiskey it's not the it's not the Whiskey on Sunset,
but it's called the Whiskey Bar or something like that.
(27:12):
And I go in there and you can't smoke in there,
so obviously I go out to smoke. And it's like
Twiggy Ramirez, all the guys from the Strokes I mean,
and I come from a pretty small town in Florida,
so you know, it's not a regular occurrence. And I
go out to smoke cigarette and there's literally like it's
all who's who of la outside, and Matt had been
talking to them, apparently pretty good because they ought and
(27:35):
like Twiggy Ramirez came over and said, hey, you know,
I heard things went well today and this weekend. I
was like, yeah, I think you know, I think it felt.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Good, you know.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
I mean, I just think that, you know, the version
that would have happened if I had been the singer
would have been probably closer to the Guns N' Roses,
but just a little nastier, you know, just a little
darker probably than the route they went with the Wiland.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
But I mean, I love the record they made, you know.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I mean, I'm the first records actually, and I don't
feel like I got the I don't feel like I
got the cream of the crop of the thirty six songs.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
That they had written.
Speaker 5 (28:06):
After getting some of the other songs on the record,
I'm like, damn, I would have loved to have written,
you know, to to the music of all the pieces,
you know, I mean, that would have been a great
opportunity for me to really kind of show my thing,
you know, and because I have a lot of different voices.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
I but you know, again, it was just an honor
and especially after finding out all the people.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
I mean, I think the guy from.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Litt you know, a lot of people try it out,
you know, and so it was fun, you know, just
one of those fun things that I'll you know, I'll
be able to tell me.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
I'll be able to tell Thor when he gets old
enough to.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
Give a shit and exactly you know what I mean,
because at that point that'll be like this legend, you know,
guns n' Roses.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Oh you know, I mean, it's like the Stones, you
know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
So you're part of that whole tree, which is what
I love doing this podcast. You are part of now
that guns with six degrees of gn R Bacon as
I affectionately call it.
Speaker 6 (28:57):
That's cool, you know, without saw the other there's a
there's another video a couple of what's on my Facebook actually,
and it's a radio DJ and out.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
They were out of a w EBN in Cincinnati. It
was Bob Garrett and Jeff Zido and they had a
morning show and they asked Duff about it, and and
Duff was like, and then there's a recorded interview of
it and it's again it's on my Facebook, but it's you.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Know, where it was after Wiland was gone.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
And they said, you know, or they said, how close
was Kelly Shaffer because we know him, and Duff goes,
he was very very close, and he goes, as a
matter of fact, maybe I should revisit that. And they
were like, well, you know, we were thinking the same thing,
and we give you his phone number and he goes, yeah, yeah,
you know, And so that was a really cool thing too.
That was years at you know, that was after whild
So you know, that's pretty cool because I mean, I
know they auditioned a lot of people. I mean, I'm
(29:47):
told six over six hundred tapes. They were telling me
how painful it was that just to come in and
and just sit and listen to horrible singers all day,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
People just aren't realistic about their abilities. And he's like,
you know, and that Neurotica record, which was a really
good record.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
I'm proud of it, and it was you know, it
was uh, you know, it's done to hit factor in
New York and it was it was full of rock
solid songs. So they were like, you know, that really
really good fucking record. So we was refreshing to hear that,
and uh and so it was cool. But you know,
I've often told my close friends and you know, I'll
tell you now that I think I was probably I
think that there was an element my feeling from those guys.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
And I've I've hung out with a lot of people
that have had, you know, bouts.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
With drugs and heroin especially, and when they kicked the heroin,
it's almost like they don't they know they have to,
but they don't want to.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
It's kind of like that.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Super hot, crazy ass girlfriend that you have when you're young,
you know, but you know she's trouble. You know she's
gonna get you arrested, you know she's going to get
you in fights in bars, but you know she's super hot,
you know. And so that's kind of how they talked
about everything. And I remember that was at the same time,
this was two thousand and three of them was taken
(31:00):
where Axel had done an MTV performance at the MTV
Music Awards, and it was it was terrible and he
was super out of breath and it was just painful
to watch, and myself, Matt and Duff and Dave.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Kushner were talking about it. You know, he didn't see it.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
Slash was like, no, I didn't see he goes, But
all I'm saying is that's the greatest rock front man.
Like he was all about Axel and they you know
they they were. That was well before they ever got
back together. And so he had great admiration for Axel.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
And I don't blame him, you know.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
What I mean, he's not lying, you know, I mean,
he's he's truly the real deal. You know, he was
a pain in the ass, but you know, so it
was Ozzie, you know, and so it was daily robs o.
We're all the greats, you know. I mean, there's a
there's a you know, there's a reason why they're they're
rock gods, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
So, but I mean just.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
Listening to that, and then I remember also sitting on
one of the rehearsals and a young kid came by
their Whereolse It was friends with Matt, and he had
a beer in his back pocket and he looked like
a like a typical La singer and he was talking
to Mat about, you know, wanting to get an audition,
and I saw him talking to Slash.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
He's like, yas, it's like a real la deal, you.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
Know, And they were talking back and forth, and I thought,
maybe I came in here too prepared.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
Maybe I came into you know.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Because I was like, I got my papers and I
got my lyrics and older and I'm ready to go.
And you know, there was no no rock starism with me.
But I mean, what am I going to do come
in and pull that shit on some of the greatest
rock stars ever, you know, to ever do it?
Speaker 3 (32:27):
No, you did it the right way. That was the
way you had to do it, and you did it yourself.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
Was there?
Speaker 2 (32:31):
You know.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
I'm glad you would because I was going to ask
if they ever read because they were talked about after
Wiland they fired him and before he passed, because I
think that would have been weird if they didn't get
somebody after him passing. But it's I guess it was
just in an interview. They didn't obviously never officially reached
out again after.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
But what was the was there a.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Conversation when I guess when they end up meeting up
with Scott Wiland because stuff gave you the thumbs up,
slash says you're my guy. Was there a conversation after, Hey,
we's going to go in this direction?
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Not with me? No?
Speaker 1 (33:07):
No, uh, you know, come to think of it, I'm
trying to think, but I'm trying to think of who
was it told me?
Speaker 2 (33:14):
No, I'm not sure that anybody did. Pretty much.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
I'm pretty sure they just announced that that that Wyland
was going to be in and I just never you know,
I was like, well, of course I can't. Guy sold
four million records. I mean, I'm gonna go with an
unknown guy or they're gonna go you know, I mean.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
It's a management decision.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
I mean, I seem to remember it probably was tough
because he was the most sort of you know, friendly overall,
you know, just then, the most normal and conversing and
so uh.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
I mean he might have been the one who told me.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
But yeah, I mean they just and then it's just
from that point, you know, it blew up and I
just and I went on to reissue all the atheist
albums and we started a whole thing.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
That's been going alive and well ever since then.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
So you know, a lot of people are like, man,
I'm so glad it didn't happen, because Atheists probably wouldn't have.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
We had been broken up.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Atheists had been broken up at that point for a
lot of its ten years at that point, since ninety three,
and so it wasn't it wasn't even a band that
I was in anymore. Erotica was my main focus. That
was kind of, you know, a rock guy for a
long time, and it wasn't until six that we got
Atheists back together. And we've been you know, toying around
the world since. But that's crazy to think that it's
(34:25):
been twenty three years, almost next year, twenty three years
since that happened, and it really feels like just yesterday.
But you know, I got a little line and slash
his book, you know what I mean. So, I mean,
out of all the guys that you know that did audition,
I mean, I got a fucking line, you know. I mean,
so I must have made some sort of a mark,
you know. So you know, it makes me proud as
a like I said, as an extreme metal guy that
(34:46):
I I you know, not faked my way in there,
but I silently got past the the you know, the
the deep dark secret of my path.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
It's like a really it's cool because it's like a
success story. But then of course, yes, got wiolent. You
proved everybody either like your manager wrong or just certain
people right like you just here I am, and this
is just like you were the guy and you impressed everyone,
and it just didn't the universe was universe and whatever.
It didn't happen, but.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
You and my mom.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
I was like, Mom, I didn't get the cover of
Rolling Stone, but I'm fucking in Rolling Stone in a
Guns n' Roses article that'll never go away, that'll be
here one hundred years.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
From now, you know.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
And and so my mom has always been my biggest supporter,
and so she was disappointed obviously that I didn't.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
Get the gig.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
But a lot of my friends are like, wow, you know,
and you know again here we are talking about it
twenty almost twenty three years later. So for an audition
that I didn't get, you know, it's pretty cool, you
know what I mean. It's a I almost feel like
in a lot of ways, maybe you know, from my situation,
maybe it was better obviously be in a different financial
situation had I had that opportunity.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
But you never know what the butterfly effect. I mean,
you could have been on this whole timeline where you
accidentally in a walk off like a cliff or something go,
but you were involverable. I'm just you know, obviously using
crazy eye perbole, but you don't know what's gonna happen.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
But what's I tell you?
Speaker 1 (36:05):
My favorite, my favorite moment of the entire experience was
rehearsing in a very small room, like, you know, maybe
a twenty by thirty, you know, not a large garage,
but you know they had it set up and you
could tell they'd been in there writing songs for for
a number of months. And we're playing these songs, man,
and uh, you know, I get to the end of
(36:26):
my verse and I look over and Slash turns to
me and solos.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
At me, and I was like, fuck in my head,
I was like, you.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
Know what I'm saying, Like, you know, anybody that's a fan,
like you know what I mean, Like that that moment
that a guy like Slash turns to you and solo's
at you as the singer, I was like, oh God,
put that in my pocket and fucking take it with me,
you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Likes.
Speaker 1 (36:46):
Only he's only done that to Michael Jackson Rose and
you know, then me to a couple of other people
that he guested with. But fuck yeah, man Slash looked
at me and fucking solo at me. So I thought that,
you know, it seems cheesy, but you know what I'm saying,
if you're you're a true rock fan, you can appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Star.
Speaker 4 (37:02):
No, that's that's cheesy.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
No, I appreciate that now right on, but again that
these are moments to hold on to their special No
one could take away from you and the path that
you're on now which is leading you to And I
appreciate the time that you're given me because you're going
out on tour soon thirty fifth anniversary Right of Atheists album.
Yeah yeah, so of Europe and the and the UK.
Speaker 4 (37:24):
So you excited for that. I mean, I have listeners
all over the world.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
So yeah, it's our first headlining tour and we're doing
it with some friends that we just toured, and we
just toured with a band called Origin and in the
States we did a festival this year called Shredfest, which
was you know, the music with the Atheists is very
complex and very musician ship oriented, you know, completely different
(37:49):
than any sort of the rock mold. And you know,
we we back in eighty eight, we put actually it
didn't come out until nineteen ninety in America, so this
is the thirty fifth anniversary celebration that record, Piece of Time,
and it was groundbreaking, but at the time it was
not well received. It took about seventeen years for people
in the Internet to kind of pick up on this record,
(38:11):
so it always had a sort of an underground cult following,
but it wasn't until the Internet really became prominent that
a lot of young kids duck up those old records,
much like they did with Black Sabbath and you know,
and brought it back and then and then ever since then,
it's been it's been great and you know, we I've
just been enjoying a lot of you know, like I said,
we went to we played two shows in Tokyo just
(38:33):
a few weeks ago, and did a full tour of
Australia and played in Hawaii and.
Speaker 2 (38:38):
Did a full North American tour.
Speaker 1 (38:40):
So it's been really really a lot of fun because
these are songs I wrote when I was sixteen or
seventeen years old and I was doing sixteen and twenty,
so I you know, so I you know, it's amazing
to be and I'm playing it with guys in my
band that are in their twenties and early thirties.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
So I'm playing with young guys.
Speaker 1 (38:57):
I'm playing four young people, but I'm playing this really
music that's still loved and I'm probably appreciated more now
than ever, and so it's a lot of fun. So
we're looking forward that we start in Poland on September fourth,
So if you're in Poland, come see us.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
And uh, I had of it.
Speaker 3 (39:11):
I'm a third Polish so I need to visit there
at one point in my life. That's that's great, but
I don't think I'm going to get there this time around.
Speaker 4 (39:18):
What's that I know it's not you go ahead, boase.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
No, the the Polish metal fans are kind of like
just really rabid, very enthusiastic, much like South America. You know,
particular fans are different as you travel around the world.
In Japan, very reserved, very quietly respectful. You know, you
really have to piss really raw them up to get
them to you know, in an extreme metal and you know,
the typical reaction to a show is a mush bit,
(39:42):
you know, and uh, they're they'll stand there quietly until
you tell them it's okay, fucking go crazy, you.
Speaker 2 (39:48):
Know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Then they're okay, okay, okay, because just that culture is
so not used to that. So and a lot of
people told me that before I hit the stage in Tokyo.
They were like, don't get mad, you know, don't get mad.
They don't get you know, they don't get I was like,
fuck that, that's my job, my job to to.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
Raw them up. And so we had a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (40:06):
It was cool, but I am I mean, I'm really
looking forward to to getting over there again. And we've
got to London and Paris and and we've just been fortunate,
you know. I mean, the music game is a tough
one these days, you know, and so really kind of
the fruits of your labor are really kind of recognized
out on the road. That's when he kind of especially
I've been doing this for as long as I have,
(40:27):
Like I'm now seeing you know, the people that I
that were my age when we were coming up bringing
their you know, it sounds like a cliche, but they're
bringing their kids to the shows.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
And you know, so sometimes it's cool to be old,
you know.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
Yeah, sometimes I know you're picking on me that I
look younger than I am, but yeah, I'm like, I
feel all.
Speaker 2 (40:47):
Now, I can't believe you're what, forty two? Yeah, I'll be.
Speaker 3 (40:50):
Forty two, Yes, September eighth, you thought I was twenty eight.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
You can usually be twenty. I wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (40:54):
I wouldn't you know, Oh, I thought you said that,
So maybe I'm letting it go into my head.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
No, I'm thinking if I saw you, I would never
think you were forty two.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
Okay, First, you know, you look like every other twenty
eight to thirty two year old that I that I mean,
So that's good.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
Good for you.
Speaker 3 (41:07):
It's very hard for me to take a compliment. I
can give them. I've given them, you know, as you
can tell, it's hard for me to thank to take them.
Speaker 2 (41:15):
So it's very podcast you've given them.
Speaker 3 (41:17):
Yes, I appreciate that now because you're up until this,
what you're going on the tour, your career has been
something to really admire and and super cool and once uh,
the war is going to be like one day it's
going to happen.
Speaker 4 (41:30):
Dad, You're cool, I'm hoping.
Speaker 3 (41:33):
I man, I'm glad that Harrison he knows my name
now a little bit because he is said Brandon, right,
I don't know, he's still he's the sentence structure is
not there. He's like he's two and a half. He's
learning little things up.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
You're going to get you might get well, Brandon is
not as bad as Kelly.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
But you know, like my son was immediately like, you
have a girl's name.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
I said, I have a girl's name, buddy, And I said,
but it's also a guy's name, and so and then
I pointed out Kelly Slater and I found all the
cool Kelly. I found the Kelly from Bad News Bears
and I was like, come on now, there's a lot
of cool Kelly's out there.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
So funny.
Speaker 3 (42:13):
I'll tell you what next time, because I would love
to have you back on again. Let's see if we
can have co hosts store and Uh and little Baby Brownstone.
We'll have a little uh personal double interview.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
See.
Speaker 3 (42:23):
I look forward to see what happens there the catastrophe
that I'll probably turn into. Well, Kelly, just thank you
so much for your time. I appreciate your stories, your
outlook on life is super cool. Uh and yeah, so
I hope we do get to do this again. And
that does it for this episode of Appetite for Distortion.
When we see the next one in the words of Axl.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
Rose, September fourth and Poland, and it just starts, uh
yeah in Moretsaw, Poland.
Speaker 2 (42:51):
OK So that's the first show and wraps up at
the end of September, all through Europe. So come see it.
Speaker 3 (42:57):
All the stuff in the the summary, all the links
and everything.
Speaker 2 (43:03):
Beautiful.
Speaker 4 (43:04):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (43:04):
So that does a episode of Appetite for Distortion. When
do we see the next one? In the words Baxil
Rose concerning Chinese democracy, I don't know as soon as
the word, but you'll see it.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
Thanks to the lame ass security, I'm going home.
You know, I just don't think skid roses would be
would be something that you know that we should probably do.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Sebastian's an old friend and.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
Welcome to the podcast Appetite four Distortion. My name is Brando,
Episode number five hundred and twenty three. Welcome to the podcast,
mister Kelly Schaeffer.
Speaker 4 (00:22):
How are you, sir?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I'm fantastic. Brandon, how are you? Five twenty three?
Speaker 3 (00:26):
Huh Yeah, it's like a lot of chats, I know,
and it's all centered around guns and roses. What we're
going to focus on Velvet Revolver in a little bit.
I know everyone and their mother gets has a podcast nowadays,
and I wanted to be a little different and see
all these little side characters and me find out stories
(00:47):
that people may not have heard before, so they kind
of get into it. There was a story about you
that I had never heard before that kind of came
out that you auditioned for Velvet Revolver.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
You know what I want to because I'm.
Speaker 3 (01:02):
A very natural kind of conversation. So that's the story
we're going to get into. Because you here, I got
distracted immediately. Do you hear my son in the background
saying no, no, no, no, no, okay, good, he's.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
Not not in the bottom someone. I mean, it's all
it's all good. I'm so used to that anyway. I
have kids, so it's a it's a it's a normal,
normal sound for me.
Speaker 3 (01:23):
I wanted to ask because I guess, congratulations, your your
son Thor just started third grade.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
Is that what I g saw on social media?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, man, I got all that Facebook. Yeah, he's uh,
a little nervous.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
It's a tough first day, you know, he's uh, he
was on the bottom floor of his elementary school, which
is kindergarten, first and second. So now he's upstairs and
he doesn't know you know, he doesn't know all the
teachers up there, and so you know, I remember, I
remember being terrified of every first day of school. You know,
I thought the thing, I can can I speak for you?
Speaker 4 (01:56):
Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah that's his podcast.
Speaker 1 (02:01):
Yeah, I definitely uh. I can feel his pain now.
But he's he's he's almost to his first week now,
so he's he's in a lot of better spirits.
Speaker 4 (02:09):
Thanks for asking, you got it because once I saw
my Thoor.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
That's a cool name, because h Harrison Rex that's his
official name on the on the podcast, though he goes
by Baby Brownstone. Sometimes he makes an appearance we'll see.
Speaker 1 (02:22):
But I want to set him up for success, you know,
I didn't want to name him like Thurman or something,
you know, you know, maybe a tough life as a
thurmon you know, So I no disrespect to the Thurman's out.
Speaker 4 (02:32):
There, them Monson.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
I mean, you know, I was I was going to
see how new York you were.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
You're very New York.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Yeah, before my time, but I know enough Toman months
and I'm old enough to have watched him play I'll.
Speaker 4 (02:46):
Be I'll be forty two in a month race.
Speaker 3 (02:49):
Yeah, well, my friend, I appreciate it, but yeah, before
before my time. But I wanted to get because one
of the things I saw in that Velvet Revolver post
was that the guys didn't know you were from this
band eight THEA. So before we even get to that,
how where's store? Are your kids know of Atheist? Do
they ask you what it is? Because my son, he
doesn't know what I'm doing. I'm like, daddy's working on
(03:10):
the computer. I cannot play Legos with you right now,
Like it's a hard time.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
Yeah, not only does he not know, but he could,
he could probably care I couldn't care less.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Ye.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
I just got back from Australia and Japan and uh
on tour, and we're getting ready to head to Europe,
and you know, I mean, he just wants to know
when we're going to Taco Bell. Uh you know, when
we're going to go to Universal Studios, and uh, yeah,
I get no love for that.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
I mean, he understands it.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
Every now and then I'll show him a video on YouTube,
you know, and I'll be like, that's debty, I mean,
especially about being confident.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
You know.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
I was like, listen, every single time Daddy walks on stage,
it's fucking terrifying, you know what I mean, especially if
you're the singer. I played guitar and sang for a
lot of years in the in the nineties, and I, uh,
you know, I I kind of felt like that was
my shield. So then in ninety three I stopped playing
guitar on stage. I still play every day, but I
just didn't want to play on stage anymore. And you know,
(04:07):
found myself feeling very vulnerable, you.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Know, without a guitar in front of me.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
So I tried to, you know, help him understand that
that's you know, every day that you go into school
and you feel like, you know, the classes looking at you.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
I said, that's how I feel.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
And I show him, you know, me standing in front
of thousands of people. We played in Mexico and it
was about ten twelve thousand people, and I was like,
wouldn't that fucking terrify you?
Speaker 2 (04:30):
You know.
Speaker 1 (04:30):
I was like, but I did it. You see Daddy's
doing it. And I said, it's all about just being confidence,
you know. So I tried to try to use the
rock the rock for the lessons.
Speaker 3 (04:40):
I I appreciate that. Yeah, he's my My son is
the first one. So I gotta I'm going to learn
these things of how to teach him about confidence and
then teach him because I know I talk about it
on this podcast just because I'm in radio, I'll be
doing it for twenty years. I still get nervous. I'm
nervous before this interview. I got to teach him to
be confident within himself and his abilities, something that was
(05:00):
a challenge for me. Uh, but I think I'm in
a point in my life where I'm good, So I'm
looking forward to that challenge, challenge.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
You know what else I tell him is also you
know that you know that never goes away. I mean,
and it shouldn't go away because the moment you become
that complacent about whatever you do, be a podcasting, performing,
you know, if you don't give a ship, then probably
shouldn't be doing it, you know. I mean, there should
be a tingle. There should be an anxiety to performing
(05:30):
into you know, uh, being in an interviewer or having
a talk show, all these kinds of things you know
that are you know, because that matters, if it matters
to you, then then you should feel that anxiety. And
I told him, I've said that you know the fact
that you go into third grade and you're and you're
you're nervous means that you you care, you want you
want to know that the teacher knows that you're you're
paying attention.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
Because he's a really good dude. He's smart.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
But you know, he went through a lot of ship
when he was in kindergarten because he's got really long hair,
and and I couldn't believe, like, you know, I mean,
when I was at school, bullying was very, very tough.
You know, I went through at hardcore to the point
where I quit high school. But I didn't think it
would happen. In kindergarten, and because of his long hair,
he had these little assholes in his classroom were like,
(06:12):
you should use the girls room. And to this day,
he's in third grade now and he won't let me
put his hair in a ponytail except and let's wear
at home. Wow. You know, it's it's ninety five degrees
and one hundred percent humidity in Florida right now. When
you're on the playground, you're trying to run and he's
got you know, he's got slash hair, but blonde, you
know what I mean. He's trying to run and it's like,
(06:33):
you know, it's in his mouth and I'm like, budd,
if you just let me put it in a ponytail,
he's still, you know, And I show him all the
guy all my friends and all the you know, my
band members.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
I'm like, see, buddy, long hair.
Speaker 1 (06:44):
You know, it doesn't Those kids are the ones that
are the outcast, not you, you know, And so it's
just hard because he's really he's one of the maybe
two or three kids in his whole school that have
hair that long. You know, as a boys, It's like,
but do you want to cut it, and he's like, no, no, no,
I don't want to go.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
It's a busses heart.
Speaker 3 (07:01):
I appreciate that story because my son has long blonde hair,
believed or not.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
When I was born, I was blond hair, blue eyed.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
I mean I came out, I came out a different race,
I guess, and I lost it.
Speaker 4 (07:13):
Just it changed.
Speaker 3 (07:14):
So yeah, my eyes are green now, lost my hair whatever,
But yeah, he's long hair. My wife we sometimes he
baby bun man bun whatever because he's he's et a
popsible easy.
Speaker 4 (07:24):
And you know, yogurt. It's all in his hair.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
Everywhere he comes. He's running around the you know, the park,
sweating everywhere. We talk about that. When are we to
cut his hair? And well, it's just it's it's said,
that's still a thing in twenty twenty five, and especially
in kindergarten.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
So it's yeah, the only reason kindergarten knows to be
that much of a little dick is because dad's a dick, clearly,
you know what I mean. So you know there's no
way that that I know that Thor would ever treat
anybody like that. He would never, you know, be its
skin color or hairlinth He was just you know, unless
unless you're hearing that from your parents or you're a
down that kind of mentality and you're not going to
(08:02):
repeat that ship. But what happens is also there could
be just one kid and then the other kids hear
that and they think, gad, now he's long hairs for girls.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
You know, you should be using the girls room.
Speaker 1 (08:11):
But I just like, God, it's six years old, you know,
so anyway, Yeah, it's ah.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
So it was.
Speaker 1 (08:17):
That was tough, and he and and still you know,
like I said, he won't he won't let me put
it back. I'm like, I show him even Thor the
character Thor, I'm like, only tall man bun. Look every
time I see somebody with that, I was like, look
at that guy. He's a man's man, you know what
I mean, Like he's he'll get over it though, He'll
he'll laugh about it, uh when he gets older, or
he'll cut his hair and just move on.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
You know, yeah, either either or.
Speaker 2 (08:42):
Right now.
Speaker 4 (08:43):
That's why I I had to.
Speaker 3 (08:44):
I wanted to bring it up just because you know,
I can relate to a bit, and you know, I
feel like I'm getting some advice here for the future,
So I appreciate that, and then they get to know
you a little bit because this all sounds like a
cool guy. I would have loved to have seen front
Velvet Revolver.
Speaker 4 (08:58):
So so it came out a few weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (09:01):
I guess it was posted by Metal Sucks and it
was unearthed that you had some demos with VR. And
I've had people on the podcast who like Josh Todd,
who's with Buck Cherry, who kind of started that with Slash.
It was never a Velvet Revolver, but just different stories
of people, recently Jimmy Nico who thought he was going
(09:22):
to get close to being hired, a lot of different
people with different Velvet Revolver stories.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
I had never heard yours. So if you can kind of.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
Take us back to you how you found out about
the audition and what again I found really interesting is
because they were looking at certain names people they knew,
did they know who you are and associated with atheist
because it seems like that wasn't the case.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
No. I was in a band called Nerotica and we
were on oz Fest in two thousand and two, and
the band had been together about eight years that Our
first album was produced by Brian from ACDC, and then
we ended up being the first band sign to the
WWE SmackDown Records.
Speaker 2 (10:02):
So, you know, we we were having a.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
Good run with Neurotica, and then after that tour was over,
basically Linda McMahon and Vince McMahon were like, you know,
we don't have the infrastructure to be a proper record label,
so rather than be like most labels, they gave us
all of our masters back, which is amazing.
Speaker 2 (10:19):
And then so I came back.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
I owned a tattoo shop at that time in my
life as well, and so when I came back off
that tour, I just happened to be looking at blabbermouth
dot net and there was a story whereas Slash is,
you know, saying there was a he's putting together the
project and there are no real rock frontmen around anymore.
They've been listening to hundreds of demos, and so I
(10:42):
was like, you know, I come from even though I play,
you know, I have a pretty uh strange career. You know.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
I started in the late eighties with Atheist, which is a.
Speaker 1 (10:51):
Groundbreaking jazz fusion death metal band when there wasn't anything
like that. And so we were known for sort of
creating technical metal and and you know, sort of Rush
meets Slayer, you know, I mean, it's really really interesting.
And that band broke up in ninety three and I
put Neurotica together and moved out. But I've always had
this I come from that or that, you know that
(11:13):
we're Bavidly Roth is a god, you know, uh singers,
you know what I mean, they're you know, the the
idea of a rock singer gets sort of stifled in
a middle in a metal setting.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
But I still had that at heart.
Speaker 1 (11:25):
I'm still that guy I like to to to uh
not take myself too seriously and got I got it.
So when I saw that, I was like, fuck that.
So I called my manager at the time, was a
guy named Doug k and I was like, hey, man,
let's send him the Neurotica record. He was like, uh,
you know, you know, in his defense, he's probably right,
you know, he's like, he's in LA, he's got he's
got it. He can hand pick anybody, you know what,
(11:46):
why is he gonna choose you? And I was like, well,
first of all, thanks and uh and then I just
you know, and he he pretty much said no, you
know and and you know, I didn't get too mad
about it at that time. I just remembered that our
publicist for Neurotica, who worked at Cotch Records, a girl
named Lulu, had been Slash's publicist prior to that. And
I remember telling me that story just randomly, and I
(12:08):
was like, shit, I'm gonna call her. And I called
her and because it, you know, it was a pretty
big announcement when when Slash said, you know, after they
played the Randy Castillo gig with Josh Todd, I think
they that kind of opened their eyes to hey, you know,
maybe we should get together and write some music. And
then I, uh so, so when that came, when that
(12:28):
came about, I reached out to her, and she, immediately
before I even finished the sentence, was like, oh, I'm.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Going to send it to him right away. I'll send
it the Neurotica Records.
Speaker 1 (12:36):
So fast forward a few days later, and uh, I
missed the call initially from Slash.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
I went to voicemail.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
I was at a bar having a drink and I
go out to have a cigarette and I checked my
voicemail and there it is, you know, and Slash. And
so I remember going back in and talking to the
guys that I was sitting with. I was like, Eric,
gonna fucking believe is on my voicemail right there, and
they were like, ohh And I was like, Slash just
called me and they were like and so I passed.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
The phone around, you know, let them all listen. And
it was cool. Man.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
I'm keep in mind, I'm an underground metal guy, you know.
I mean, I you know, you know, my band was
there in the very early stages of extreme metal, and
so that's been my m O, you know, and so
you know, Slash is kind of.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Like the the Joe Perry of.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
My generation, you know what I mean, He's the he's
the or the Keith Richards of my generation, but way
better guitar player, Keith Richard. Uh So I it was
just like I thought it was cool. So so yeah,
so I called him back and he said, uh he said, yeah,
you know, me and Duff we've been listening to, like,
you know, just hundreds of demos and we actually sat
and listened to this whole record what happened to this band?
(13:43):
And I said, out, you know, explain what happened and
we we just we called it the day after you know,
going through about eight years of shit. And he was like, Okay, well,
you know we've written like thirty six songs, and so
I want to send you three.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
Just write your lyrics and record him and send him back.
So I was like okay.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
So, uh, I waited and I got a package from
Saul Hudson and the and the return address, and I.
Speaker 2 (14:04):
Wish I kept it. I didn't.
Speaker 1 (14:05):
Really, I'm terrible about keeping things. And I still regret
that because it was I remember getting it.
Speaker 4 (14:11):
What stamps did he use? Do you remember that?
Speaker 1 (14:13):
I do not, But I mean just seeing saw Hudson
and I thought, that's fucking great, man.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
I mean, what's he gonna write slash? You know, I
mean of course he had to write it. He might
go No, he's too.
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Cool man flashes h slashes like he's got left attitude
in some of the you know, some local musicians I've
met over the years, you know, and very cool guy.
And so they sent many songs man, and I you know,
I'll never forget it.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
Man.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
I got in my car and I rode around I
listened to it. So I went to the studio and uh.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
And did my things.
Speaker 1 (14:46):
Tend it back and like three days later, I got
a uh confidence call with him and Duff and they
were like, uh, can you come out to l A.
And I was like yeah, and I said on my diamond.
They were like yeah, and I was like ship. So
then I was faced with the scenario of having to
figure out, you know, I had to come up with
some bucks to to I hadn't been paid for the
tour that I had been on just at that.
Speaker 3 (15:07):
Point, you know, I mean, I'm not here to go
in anyone else's pocket, but they couldn't fly you out
at least come on.
Speaker 2 (15:14):
It was it was a hating man.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
I believe it was a I think it was purposeful
and you know, I guess kind of expected and uh
you know, I usually leave that part out of the story,
you know, I mean just because it sounds. You know,
I don't want to be derogatory to those guys because
they couldn't have been more mind but I think that's
you know, why should they They're fucking kings, you know,
I mean, why should they fly me out there?
Speaker 2 (15:33):
You know, it's an opportunity for me.
Speaker 1 (15:35):
If I can't find my way out to LA then
it's almost like a job.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Interview, you know. I mean, if you want to work here,
you got to be here. So I fucking.
Speaker 1 (15:42):
Went out and uh, you know who I got to
pay for it was the manager who said, oh, come
on man, you know slashes, and you know, I was like, yeah,
you can pay for it.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
You can help me pay for it.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
He had a buddy nice doing well financially, so he
was like he was really blown away as well. He
was like, good you man, you know, and because I'm like,
you know, listen, everybody ships and wipes, they're asked the same,
you know. I know how musicians are the most humble
kind Brian Johnson Macy DC one of the kindest, most sincere,
humble people you'll ever meet in your life. Like, I know,
the deep down inside that it's there's that persona that
(16:17):
everybody has put on them. But most of them, you know,
people that are successful are very kind and and and
not you know, aloft like people might think.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
So so I get you know.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
When I was really excited when they both called, they
were like, yeah, we love it and it's great and
you know, come out here.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
And so I went out there and I was really prepared.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
You know, I mean I and I'm not sure that
they were prepared for my preparedness, you know what I mean,
because keep them. You know, I've been in Guns and
Roses fans since the beginning, and you know, I used
to work construction and listen to it on the job side.
And you know, even though I was into really happy
music as well, I always had appreciation for Guns and Roses.
I think even even the hardcore of the hardcore metal
(16:57):
people back then at least had an appreciation for the
grind am of GNR, especially compared to like Poison and
all that garbage.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Gun and Roses had balls, you know, they had had moxie.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
So so I, you know, I go out there and
Matt Sorem picks me up from the airport and I'm like,
holy fuck.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
You know this is cool because I'm a big Colt
fan too, you know.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Sure, And so it was, you know, for for again,
for a death metal guy, I was.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
I was outside of my element.
Speaker 1 (17:24):
And so we drive to uh, We drive to my hotel,
dropped my ship off, jump back on the truck, and
had to mate, which was a rehearsal studio in LA
that kind of everybody goes to to prepare for tours
and so like. At that time, like Finn Lizzie was
there and oddly Sebastian Bach was also there rehearsing for
a tour and and they had cameras set up in
(17:45):
there and they had everything was being recorded.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
So I was like, God, here we go.
Speaker 1 (17:50):
But before we went in, smoking a cigarette outside and
a Jaguar pulls up and you know, outcomes slash, you know,
and like like a cartoon character, you know, just literally
looks like you know, I mean, we're talking about a
guy that that can be recognized by his silhouette. There's
not a lot of rock stars that you could recognize
from one hundred yards from a silhouette.
Speaker 3 (18:10):
So I've said that on the podcast.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
Yeah, like the.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Michael Jackson or the Michael Jordan thing like that slashes that,
you know. So, uh So he comes up man, and
he's like, hey, how's it going to I'm just super cool,
very laid back, and we went inside and I pulled
out all my papers and and then he says, uh
again not knowing where I come from saying, and.
Speaker 2 (18:31):
He says, uh, so you know we do you have
any earplugs?
Speaker 1 (18:34):
And I said, uh no, no, no, and he's like, uh,
you know, it's pretty loud, So you know, I just
want to let you know where he runs.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
I'm thinking ship Man.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
I've been standing in front of death metal guitars for
you know, loud at ship in a small rehearsal room.
So uh, I just kind of laughed it off and said, no,
I'm good, I'm good. And uh so we proceeded to
jam Man and it was fucking great. It was really
really good. And we got to the end of the
third song and you know, and it was it was
it was kind of like, you know, my my vocal
(19:03):
style is not unlike Axel in a way, it's a
little higher than normal. It's a little raunchy and and
raftby and and uh. You know, I've been around bands
long enough to recognize when, you know, when the band
is like, oh I get this guy out of here.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
You know, they were looking at it trailer like hey,
you know.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
And so I was like, hey, I'm gonna go to
smoke a cigarette because could tell they wanted to talk.
And so I go out and I smoke a cigarettes
and I'll never forget, you know. Duff comes out and
he looks at me from across the parking lot and
he goes and I.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
Was thinking.
Speaker 1 (19:34):
I got the job or you know. So they walk
over to him and he's like, hey, can you stay
over the weekend. So now I'm faced with another hotel dilemma.
So I have to call the manager back and say, hey,
they want me to stay for the weekend until Monday.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
So he's like, I'll pay for it. Pay for it.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
So so yeah, we we rehearsed another day, and so
I had two really really good days. We went out
to eat together, had great conversation, and you know, Duff
picked me up the second day and we went through
a car wash with his car, which was completely insane
for me, you know, like it just just like anybody else,
like is just never Mind's just Duff from Guns n'
(20:11):
Roses getting his car by saying with that wooden stick
in his hand. You know, we're sitting on the bench
waiting for them to call his names in his car.
But just you know, really cool guy. He reminded me
a lot. I'm friends with Scottie Hill from skid Row.
They actually talk a lot, very similar.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
And they came up in the same era.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
So I don't know, I just felt really comfortable with Duff,
probably the most comfortable with dove. He just seemed, you know,
very candid and transparent about all the shit he'd been
through with drugs, and because he was in great shape,
I was like, man, really, you know, must be working
out or somebody. He's like, yeah, you know, I took
well well buttrin and all these different things to quit
smoking and blah blah blah, and yeah he was super
(20:50):
lucid and clear and uh and great. So so not
to tell you the big long story. So anyway, we
so Sunday comes around. I'm supposed to meet up with
him on Monday for one last rehearsal and I'm out
at like this really packed bar in La with a
bass player from a band called o tep And who
I was on the os festour with me. And I
(21:13):
get a call from Slash and he's like, Hey, we're
in the studio right now.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
Can you come? And I was like, where is it.
Speaker 1 (21:18):
I've already had a couple of drinks, you know, I'm
not supposed to see them today or anything and that
He's like, it's in the valley, and so I asked him.
I was like, where's the valley and he was like, oh, man,
it's like one in the morning. So I'm like shit,
and he's like, man, it's it's forty five fifty minutes
outside in the city.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
So I was like, he's like, i'll take you.
Speaker 1 (21:35):
I'll take you. So he takes me in. The studio
that that we went to was the place where they
did Appetite, and it was it was covered in barbed
wire and it looked like an abandoned building.
Speaker 2 (21:46):
From the outside, this looked super sketchy.
Speaker 1 (21:48):
And you know, again, by now, it's I don't know,
you know, probably quarter to two in the morning. So
I and then there's a gate and I bring myself
in and I go in, and so as I'm walking
down the hall, I can hear Slash soloing in one
of the rooms, and so I was like, oh.
Speaker 2 (22:02):
Man, cool, you know.
Speaker 1 (22:03):
So anyway, fast forward, it turns out on that day
is the day that is he split.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
And so they told me what happened, and they're like, yeah,
you know, we were working on this song.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
I'm gonna do it, Slash like, I'm gonna do a
solo and then we're gonna split. And I was like, okay,
and I mind you. I never even heard this fucking
song or anything. So I had to on the spot,
sit there and write lyrics for it and do the
vocal and we did. And I sat with the engineers
until probably four in the morning, and then I had
(22:37):
no way to get back to my hotel, and so
I literally had to again call my manager and get
him to call the cab company give them the credit
card so I could get out of there and go
back to the next day, I go into rehearsal with them,
and you know, sound on the cast was Slash and
he was like, man, you know, he was talking to
me about Josh Todd and guys like that, you know,
(22:58):
some of the guys that they had to auditioned, and
why it didn't you know, it didn't work out. And
even Sebastian Buck He's like yeah. He literally said, you know,
I just don't think skid Roses would be would be
something that you know that we should probably do. Sebastian's
an old friend and and blah blah blah. He's just
really candid about it, which was cool.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
And he said, you know, I don't know where we're
going to go, I don't know which ways, but right now, here,
my guy. He's like, here, my guy.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
So I was like awesome, he goes, no matter what happens, like,
you're a fucking great singer. And I told this story
and a number of other occasions to Metal Metal Magazine
and stuff.
Speaker 2 (23:33):
That was the first time, even though Brian Johnson.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Gave me, you know, I worked with me on my vocals,
and so that was the first time I really felt
like a rock singer. I was like, oh man, you know,
I mean, I'll take that and put it in my bucket,
and so, you know, it was really cool, and I
flew back to Florida, and then what happened was I mean,
Wiland and and Wiland's wife and Duff's wife are really
good friends, and obviously they got the inside scoop.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
And then you know, I mean, but Rolling Stone ran
and article.
Speaker 1 (24:00):
I'm sure you've probably seen it if you're an enthusiast
where they had it was all about Bell Revolver and
what was happening, and the four pictures they used were Sebastian,
Travis Meeks, myself and.
Speaker 2 (24:14):
Scott Wild and so so yeah, I mean, for the
audition for an audition that I never got, it was.
Speaker 1 (24:20):
An incredible experience and you know, I treasure and I
lost those the reason those resurfaced a couple of weeks
ago is because I lost my copy of my demo
and so like a late night one night, just like
I'm sitting out here in this very spot, and I
found them online somebody I remember, somebody, maybe I gave
(24:40):
them a copy of it or something, and sure enough
I found it, and so I just randomly posted like
one thirty in the morning, and then woke up the
next day and it was it was all over the place,
and my phone was all blowing up, and I was like, ah,
that's that's cool, you know, I mean, it was just
a lot of people in my world of atheist I
had no idea that that happened either, and so it's
just kind of like this, uh I call it sort
(25:02):
of the cat fishing moment, just because I just feel like,
you know, that's happened a lot in my career. People say, oh,
you're a professional musician, they go yeah, they go, oh,
what's the name of your band?
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Atheist? Immediately it's like dismissed as trivial or or.
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Childlike or you know, depending on what age group I
was when I had the conversation, that's how people are
about religion. You know what I mean, And if you're
not in their tribe, then you atheist don't want to
So where you a devil worshiper? And I'm like, do
you have a dictionary? You know, you know, to know
what the word atheist means? You know, I mean, I've
just had that. I've been attacked so many times over
the years, so it was a natural defense mechanism to
(25:38):
not tell them about atheist. Who knows, you know, maybe
some guy in the band's like, no fucking way, we're
gonna have anybody.
Speaker 2 (25:43):
I don't care how good he is.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
You know, we're not gonna have a guy any and
you know, and that's been in a band called atheist.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
So I was like, shit, you're not You're not wrong.
Speaker 6 (25:52):
Well you're not right, you know, you know.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
I I unfortunately, I could see that because people are judgmental.
And look, I've been judged by the name of my podcast.
That's why I can't get Slasher Duff on it, because
of the name of the podcast. So it's just like, yeah, yeah,
you never you just never know. But it's the name
worked for you in other areas. The name is working
(26:15):
for me in other areas. I guess I appreciate that
entire story, even though it didn't end a certain way.
I mean, I I love hearing it because you are.
It's a combination of being a fan. You know, Wow,
here I am with Slash. You know, I'm sitting on
a bench with Duff. You know this gun's a Roses
young kid. But also the professional of you being like
(26:37):
you guys don't even know what I'm capable of, like
kind of a kind of thing.
Speaker 4 (26:41):
It's just so so cool.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
Now you mentioned that's today, that Izzy split. Did you
ever get a chance to meet him or was that okay?
Speaker 1 (26:50):
In fact, I was told that. I can't remember which
one of them told me. I think it was Matt. Oh,
it was Matt, because Matt took me out to a
party at at the Sunset Marquee. I think the bar
there is called Whiskey or something like that, or though
Whiskey it's not the it's not the Whiskey on Sunset,
but it's called the Whiskey Bar or something like that.
(27:12):
And I go in there and you can't smoke in there,
so obviously I go out to smoke. And it's like
Twiggy Ramirez, all the guys from the Strokes I mean,
and I come from a pretty small town in Florida,
so you know, it's not a regular occurrence. And I
go out to smoke cigarette and there's literally like it's
all who's who of la outside, and Matt had been
talking to them, apparently pretty good because they ought and
(27:35):
like Twiggy Ramirez came over and said, hey, you know,
I heard things went well today and this weekend. I
was like, yeah, I think you know, I think it felt.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
Good, you know.
Speaker 1 (27:42):
I mean, I just think that, you know, the version
that would have happened if I had been the singer
would have been probably closer to the Guns N' Roses,
but just a little nastier, you know, just a little
darker probably than the route they went with the Wiland.
Speaker 2 (27:55):
But I mean, I love the record they made, you know.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I mean, I'm the first records actually, and I don't
feel like I got the I don't feel like I
got the cream of the crop of the thirty six songs.
Speaker 2 (28:05):
That they had written.
Speaker 5 (28:06):
After getting some of the other songs on the record,
I'm like, damn, I would have loved to have written,
you know, to to the music of all the pieces,
you know, I mean, that would have been a great
opportunity for me to really kind of show my thing,
you know, and because I have a lot of different voices.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
I but you know, again, it was just an honor
and especially after finding out all the people.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
I mean, I think the guy from.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Litt you know, a lot of people try it out,
you know, and so it was fun, you know, just
one of those fun things that I'll you know, I'll
be able to tell me.
Speaker 2 (28:34):
I'll be able to tell Thor when he gets old
enough to.
Speaker 1 (28:36):
Give a shit and exactly you know what I mean,
because at that point that'll be like this legend, you know,
guns n' Roses.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
Oh you know, I mean, it's like the Stones, you
know what I mean.
Speaker 3 (28:46):
So you're part of that whole tree, which is what
I love doing this podcast. You are part of now
that guns with six degrees of gn R Bacon as
I affectionately call it.
Speaker 6 (28:57):
That's cool, you know, without saw the other there's a
there's another video a couple of what's on my Facebook actually,
and it's a radio DJ and out.
Speaker 1 (29:09):
They were out of a w EBN in Cincinnati. It
was Bob Garrett and Jeff Zido and they had a
morning show and they asked Duff about it, and and
Duff was like, and then there's a recorded interview of
it and it's again it's on my Facebook, but it's you.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
Know, where it was after Wiland was gone.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
And they said, you know, or they said, how close
was Kelly Shaffer because we know him, and Duff goes,
he was very very close, and he goes, as a
matter of fact, maybe I should revisit that. And they
were like, well, you know, we were thinking the same thing,
and we give you his phone number and he goes, yeah, yeah,
you know, And so that was a really cool thing too.
That was years at you know, that was after whild
So you know, that's pretty cool because I mean, I
know they auditioned a lot of people. I mean, I'm
(29:47):
told six over six hundred tapes. They were telling me
how painful it was that just to come in and
and just sit and listen to horrible singers all day,
you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (29:57):
People just aren't realistic about their abilities. And he's like,
you know, and that Neurotica record, which was a really
good record.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
I'm proud of it, and it was you know, it
was uh, you know, it's done to hit factor in
New York and it was it was full of rock
solid songs. So they were like, you know, that really
really good fucking record. So we was refreshing to hear that,
and uh and so it was cool. But you know,
I've often told my close friends and you know, I'll
tell you now that I think I was probably I
think that there was an element my feeling from those guys.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
And I've I've hung out with a lot of people
that have had, you know, bouts.
Speaker 1 (30:28):
With drugs and heroin especially, and when they kicked the heroin,
it's almost like they don't they know they have to,
but they don't want to.
Speaker 2 (30:39):
It's kind of like that.
Speaker 1 (30:40):
Super hot, crazy ass girlfriend that you have when you're young,
you know, but you know she's trouble. You know she's
gonna get you arrested, you know she's going to get
you in fights in bars, but you know she's super hot,
you know. And so that's kind of how they talked
about everything. And I remember that was at the same time,
this was two thousand and three of them was taken
(31:00):
where Axel had done an MTV performance at the MTV
Music Awards, and it was it was terrible and he
was super out of breath and it was just painful
to watch, and myself, Matt and Duff and Dave.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
Kushner were talking about it. You know, he didn't see it.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
Slash was like, no, I didn't see he goes, But
all I'm saying is that's the greatest rock front man.
Like he was all about Axel and they you know
they they were. That was well before they ever got
back together. And so he had great admiration for Axel.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
And I don't blame him, you know.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
What I mean, he's not lying, you know, I mean,
he's he's truly the real deal. You know, he was
a pain in the ass, but you know, so it
was Ozzie, you know, and so it was daily robs o.
We're all the greats, you know. I mean, there's a
there's a you know, there's a reason why they're they're
rock gods, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
So, but I mean just.
Speaker 1 (31:45):
Listening to that, and then I remember also sitting on
one of the rehearsals and a young kid came by
their Whereolse It was friends with Matt, and he had
a beer in his back pocket and he looked like
a like a typical La singer and he was talking
to Mat about, you know, wanting to get an audition,
and I saw him talking to Slash.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
He's like, yas, it's like a real la deal, you.
Speaker 1 (32:07):
Know, And they were talking back and forth, and I thought,
maybe I came in here too prepared.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
Maybe I came into you know.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Because I was like, I got my papers and I
got my lyrics and older and I'm ready to go.
And you know, there was no no rock starism with me.
But I mean, what am I going to do come
in and pull that shit on some of the greatest
rock stars ever, you know, to ever do it?
Speaker 3 (32:27):
No, you did it the right way. That was the
way you had to do it, and you did it yourself.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
Was there?
Speaker 2 (32:31):
You know.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
I'm glad you would because I was going to ask
if they ever read because they were talked about after
Wiland they fired him and before he passed, because I
think that would have been weird if they didn't get
somebody after him passing. But it's I guess it was
just in an interview. They didn't obviously never officially reached
out again after.
Speaker 4 (32:51):
But what was the was there a.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Conversation when I guess when they end up meeting up
with Scott Wiland because stuff gave you the thumbs up,
slash says you're my guy. Was there a conversation after, Hey,
we's going to go in this direction?
Speaker 2 (33:05):
Not with me? No?
Speaker 1 (33:07):
No, uh, you know, come to think of it, I'm
trying to think, but I'm trying to think of who
was it told me?
Speaker 2 (33:14):
No, I'm not sure that anybody did. Pretty much.
Speaker 1 (33:17):
I'm pretty sure they just announced that that that Wyland
was going to be in and I just never you know,
I was like, well, of course I can't. Guy sold
four million records. I mean, I'm gonna go with an
unknown guy or they're gonna go you know, I mean.
Speaker 2 (33:29):
It's a management decision.
Speaker 1 (33:31):
I mean, I seem to remember it probably was tough
because he was the most sort of you know, friendly overall,
you know, just then, the most normal and conversing and
so uh.
Speaker 2 (33:45):
I mean he might have been the one who told me.
Speaker 1 (33:46):
But yeah, I mean they just and then it's just
from that point, you know, it blew up and I
just and I went on to reissue all the atheist
albums and we started a whole thing.
Speaker 2 (33:56):
That's been going alive and well ever since then.
Speaker 1 (33:59):
So you know, a lot of people are like, man,
I'm so glad it didn't happen, because Atheists probably wouldn't have.
Speaker 2 (34:03):
We had been broken up.
Speaker 1 (34:04):
Atheists had been broken up at that point for a
lot of its ten years at that point, since ninety three,
and so it wasn't it wasn't even a band that
I was in anymore. Erotica was my main focus. That
was kind of, you know, a rock guy for a
long time, and it wasn't until six that we got
Atheists back together. And we've been you know, toying around
the world since. But that's crazy to think that it's
(34:25):
been twenty three years, almost next year, twenty three years
since that happened, and it really feels like just yesterday.
But you know, I got a little line and slash
his book, you know what I mean. So, I mean,
out of all the guys that you know that did audition,
I mean, I got a fucking line, you know. I mean,
so I must have made some sort of a mark,
you know. So you know, it makes me proud as
a like I said, as an extreme metal guy that
(34:46):
I I you know, not faked my way in there,
but I silently got past the the you know, the
the deep dark secret of my path.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
It's like a really it's cool because it's like a
success story. But then of course, yes, got wiolent. You
proved everybody either like your manager wrong or just certain
people right like you just here I am, and this
is just like you were the guy and you impressed everyone,
and it just didn't the universe was universe and whatever.
It didn't happen, but.
Speaker 2 (35:15):
You and my mom.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
I was like, Mom, I didn't get the cover of
Rolling Stone, but I'm fucking in Rolling Stone in a
Guns n' Roses article that'll never go away, that'll be
here one hundred years.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
From now, you know.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
And and so my mom has always been my biggest supporter,
and so she was disappointed obviously that I didn't.
Speaker 2 (35:29):
Get the gig.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
But a lot of my friends are like, wow, you know,
and you know again here we are talking about it
twenty almost twenty three years later. So for an audition
that I didn't get, you know, it's pretty cool, you
know what I mean. It's a I almost feel like
in a lot of ways, maybe you know, from my situation,
maybe it was better obviously be in a different financial
situation had I had that opportunity.
Speaker 3 (35:49):
But you never know what the butterfly effect. I mean,
you could have been on this whole timeline where you
accidentally in a walk off like a cliff or something go,
but you were involverable. I'm just you know, obviously using
crazy eye perbole, but you don't know what's gonna happen.
Speaker 4 (36:04):
But what's I tell you?
Speaker 1 (36:05):
My favorite, my favorite moment of the entire experience was
rehearsing in a very small room, like, you know, maybe
a twenty by thirty, you know, not a large garage,
but you know they had it set up and you
could tell they'd been in there writing songs for for
a number of months. And we're playing these songs, man,
and uh, you know, I get to the end of
(36:26):
my verse and I look over and Slash turns to
me and solos.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
At me, and I was like, fuck in my head,
I was like, you.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
Know what I'm saying, Like, you know, anybody that's a fan,
like you know what I mean, Like that that moment
that a guy like Slash turns to you and solo's
at you as the singer, I was like, oh God,
put that in my pocket and fucking take it with me,
you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (36:45):
Likes.
Speaker 1 (36:46):
Only he's only done that to Michael Jackson Rose and
you know, then me to a couple of other people
that he guested with. But fuck yeah, man Slash looked
at me and fucking solo at me. So I thought that,
you know, it seems cheesy, but you know what I'm saying,
if you're you're a true rock fan, you can appreciate that.
Speaker 2 (37:01):
Star.
Speaker 4 (37:02):
No, that's that's cheesy.
Speaker 3 (37:03):
No, I appreciate that now right on, but again that
these are moments to hold on to their special No
one could take away from you and the path that
you're on now which is leading you to And I
appreciate the time that you're given me because you're going
out on tour soon thirty fifth anniversary Right of Atheists album.
Yeah yeah, so of Europe and the and the UK.
Speaker 4 (37:24):
So you excited for that. I mean, I have listeners
all over the world.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
So yeah, it's our first headlining tour and we're doing
it with some friends that we just toured, and we
just toured with a band called Origin and in the
States we did a festival this year called Shredfest, which
was you know, the music with the Atheists is very
complex and very musician ship oriented, you know, completely different
(37:49):
than any sort of the rock mold. And you know,
we we back in eighty eight, we put actually it
didn't come out until nineteen ninety in America, so this
is the thirty fifth anniversary celebration that record, Piece of Time,
and it was groundbreaking, but at the time it was
not well received. It took about seventeen years for people
in the Internet to kind of pick up on this record,
(38:11):
so it always had a sort of an underground cult following,
but it wasn't until the Internet really became prominent that
a lot of young kids duck up those old records,
much like they did with Black Sabbath and you know,
and brought it back and then and then ever since then,
it's been it's been great and you know, we I've
just been enjoying a lot of you know, like I said,
we went to we played two shows in Tokyo just
(38:33):
a few weeks ago, and did a full tour of
Australia and played in Hawaii and.
Speaker 2 (38:38):
Did a full North American tour.
Speaker 1 (38:40):
So it's been really really a lot of fun because
these are songs I wrote when I was sixteen or
seventeen years old and I was doing sixteen and twenty,
so I you know, so I you know, it's amazing
to be and I'm playing it with guys in my
band that are in their twenties and early thirties.
Speaker 2 (38:56):
So I'm playing with young guys.
Speaker 1 (38:57):
I'm playing four young people, but I'm playing this really
music that's still loved and I'm probably appreciated more now
than ever, and so it's a lot of fun. So
we're looking forward that we start in Poland on September fourth,
So if you're in Poland, come see us.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
And uh, I had of it.
Speaker 3 (39:11):
I'm a third Polish so I need to visit there
at one point in my life. That's that's great, but
I don't think I'm going to get there this time around.
Speaker 4 (39:18):
What's that I know it's not you go ahead, boase.
Speaker 1 (39:21):
No, the the Polish metal fans are kind of like
just really rabid, very enthusiastic, much like South America. You know,
particular fans are different as you travel around the world.
In Japan, very reserved, very quietly respectful. You know, you
really have to piss really raw them up to get
them to you know, in an extreme metal and you know,
the typical reaction to a show is a mush bit,
(39:42):
you know, and uh, they're they'll stand there quietly until
you tell them it's okay, fucking go crazy, you.
Speaker 2 (39:48):
Know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (39:48):
Then they're okay, okay, okay, because just that culture is
so not used to that. So and a lot of
people told me that before I hit the stage in Tokyo.
They were like, don't get mad, you know, don't get mad.
They don't get you know, they don't get I was like,
fuck that, that's my job, my job to to.
Speaker 2 (40:03):
Raw them up. And so we had a lot of fun.
Speaker 1 (40:06):
It was cool, but I am I mean, I'm really
looking forward to to getting over there again. And we've
got to London and Paris and and we've just been fortunate,
you know. I mean, the music game is a tough
one these days, you know, and so really kind of
the fruits of your labor are really kind of recognized
out on the road. That's when he kind of especially
I've been doing this for as long as I have,
(40:27):
Like I'm now seeing you know, the people that I
that were my age when we were coming up bringing
their you know, it sounds like a cliche, but they're
bringing their kids to the shows.
Speaker 2 (40:35):
And you know, so sometimes it's cool to be old,
you know.
Speaker 3 (40:40):
Yeah, sometimes I know you're picking on me that I
look younger than I am, but yeah, I'm like, I
feel all.
Speaker 2 (40:47):
Now, I can't believe you're what, forty two? Yeah, I'll be.
Speaker 3 (40:50):
Forty two, Yes, September eighth, you thought I was twenty eight.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
You can usually be twenty. I wouldn't.
Speaker 3 (40:54):
I wouldn't you know, Oh, I thought you said that,
So maybe I'm letting it go into my head.
Speaker 2 (40:59):
No, I'm thinking if I saw you, I would never
think you were forty two.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
Okay, First, you know, you look like every other twenty
eight to thirty two year old that I that I mean,
So that's good.
Speaker 2 (41:07):
Good for you.
Speaker 3 (41:07):
It's very hard for me to take a compliment. I
can give them. I've given them, you know, as you
can tell, it's hard for me to thank to take them.
Speaker 2 (41:15):
So it's very podcast you've given them.
Speaker 3 (41:17):
Yes, I appreciate that now because you're up until this,
what you're going on the tour, your career has been
something to really admire and and super cool and once uh,
the war is going to be like one day it's
going to happen.
Speaker 4 (41:30):
Dad, You're cool, I'm hoping.
Speaker 3 (41:33):
I man, I'm glad that Harrison he knows my name
now a little bit because he is said Brandon, right,
I don't know, he's still he's the sentence structure is
not there. He's like he's two and a half. He's
learning little things up.
Speaker 1 (41:48):
You're going to get you might get well, Brandon is
not as bad as Kelly.
Speaker 2 (41:52):
But you know, like my son was immediately like, you
have a girl's name.
Speaker 1 (41:57):
I said, I have a girl's name, buddy, And I said,
but it's also a guy's name, and so and then
I pointed out Kelly Slater and I found all the
cool Kelly. I found the Kelly from Bad News Bears
and I was like, come on now, there's a lot
of cool Kelly's out there.
Speaker 2 (42:12):
So funny.
Speaker 3 (42:13):
I'll tell you what next time, because I would love
to have you back on again. Let's see if we
can have co hosts store and Uh and little Baby Brownstone.
We'll have a little uh personal double interview.
Speaker 2 (42:23):
See.
Speaker 3 (42:23):
I look forward to see what happens there the catastrophe
that I'll probably turn into. Well, Kelly, just thank you
so much for your time. I appreciate your stories, your
outlook on life is super cool. Uh and yeah, so
I hope we do get to do this again. And
that does it for this episode of Appetite for Distortion.
When we see the next one in the words of Axl.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
Rose, September fourth and Poland, and it just starts, uh
yeah in Moretsaw, Poland.
Speaker 2 (42:51):
OK So that's the first show and wraps up at
the end of September, all through Europe. So come see it.
Speaker 3 (42:57):
All the stuff in the the summary, all the links
and everything.
Speaker 2 (43:03):
Beautiful.
Speaker 4 (43:04):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (43:04):
So that does a episode of Appetite for Distortion. When
do we see the next one? In the words Baxil
Rose concerning Chinese democracy, I don't know as soon as
the word, but you'll see it.
Speaker 2 (43:12):
Thanks to the lame ass security, I'm going home.
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