Duff McKagan: I Hope Guns N’ Roses Play At Hall Of Fame

Despite the assertions from others involved with Guns N’ Roses, Duff McKagan is still holding out some hope that the band might yet perform at their induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this Sunday (April 14).

Writing in his regular column at ESPN Music, Duff says of the situation:

“The one reason that I am going to Cleveland this weekend is not to savour in some polite accolade or because an award show is that important to me. I am going because I have realised how important this is all to those many, many fans that supported us and believed in us, and showed up for us in droves.

“Music is not like sports, and hence, a Hall Of Fame in music is almost a false pedestal to sit upon. There are no statistics in music and art. No band or artist is ‘better’ than another. Music comes from a primal place. Thin air. Dreams. And a lot of really hard damn work.

“No one worked harder than us [Guns N’ Roses] back then, and we were very fortunate to have met each other in those dirty back alleys of Hollywood sometime in 1984. We meshed and wrote, created thunder and beauty, and parlayed our real-life experience into an album that somehow related to a whole angsty world that felt just like us right then and there. It was a brilliant time.

“I, too, now hope that we can just play a couple of songs there, and just sort of throw the microphone down on the stage and walk off. The rock-and-roll world would be set ablaze once again … and we could make a bunch of fans happy and sated to some degree.

“This whole deal, I hope, goes off without a hitch. I do hope we can achieve some grace in our acceptance.”