Ex-GUNS N' ROSES Drummer: 'Nothing Is Cooler And More Attractive Than A Big Comeback'

Joe Bosso of MusicRadar.com recently conducted an interview with former GUNS N' ROSES and current ADLER drummer Steven Adler. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

MusicRadar.com: You say you're feeling great, and it's true that you certainly sound that way.

Adler: "I am! [laughs] I've been reading Joel Osteen, and he really makes a lot of sense. The way he says I should live, think and believe is the way I felt when I was a kid. Drugs messed that up for me. Once I got into drugs and alcohol, I was lost. I forgot what life was all about — and that's enjoying every day and being productive. I'm not the only one who's been through that. But you know what? Nothing is cooler and more attractive than a big comeback, and that'll be me. That's what I'm working on now. I'm ready for it, I've got the album and the band, so I'm in line for the big comeback."

MusicRadar.com: The sound of the new band is more metallic than GN'R, which had a more bluesy rock 'n' roll side to it. Are you a bit metal fan?

Adler: "I'm not a big metal fan. I love and respect the musicianship, which is spectacular. GN'R was five guys who were all into different things. I liked pop and disco, Izzy was into New York rock, Slash loved AEROSMITH and LED ZEPPELIN, Axl was into GENESIS and Elton John, and Duff was a punk rocker. We all blended that stuff together. The guys in my new band do that, too. We're all different. It was very easy working with them, because I've been through that kind of process of different types of people coming together."

MusicRadar.com: Your drug use in GN'R — was that brewing for a while, before the band even formed?

Adler: "Totally. It started for me when I was 11, the first time I smoked pot, which I just so happen to enjoy. [laughs] When I did it, it was something I really liked. I thought I found God when I smoked pot. But when you're a kid, you think you know everything. The drugs got really bad when we didn't even have to ask for them. Drugs would just be there. It got to be too much. I wasn't a big drinker at first – I was into cocaine. But when you do coke, you like to drink. It got worse and worse. I had so much coke in the '80s, I would just throw it away, just give it away. It was everywhere. And then heroin came in, and it all went downhill. The other guys weren't straight arrows, either. After it all happened… they didn't even realize what was happening to me. Everybody handles situations differently. When they came to me and said, 'You have to straighten up,' I had two choices: either get it together or keep doing what I was doing. I chose the wrong path."

Read the entire interview from MusicRadar.com.