I’m not quite sure that I have ever understood ‘side-project.’ Everything I’ve ever done was full-on, full-time, full-tilt.” First off, is Walking Papers a full time gig, or a side project?” Secondly, if he were writing a review of the album, how would he describe the Walking Papers vibe? The rock star, musician, economist and reviewer thought about it and answered the first part of the question by saying, “ full time. “I fully understood the deal with L&P, but we let an entertainment lawyer take care of this one.”īefore leaving, we asked Duff a two-part question. In fact, one wonders if he negotiated the band’s record deal with Loud & Proud President Tom Lipsky himself…“I’m not quite an economy Prof,” exclaims Duff. He is one smart dude, so much so that when not rocking his ass off onstage, he is an economist… Really, he is an educated guy, could even become an Econ Professor one day. Perhaps the most interesting and creative tune on the album is “Leave Me in the Dark.” Duff agrees, “I love this song, and it is journey, emotionally, every time we play it live.”Īt the end of the day, Duff is more than just a rock star. Walking Papers music works together as an entire album of music, yet the styles range from upbeat, to morose, to really freaky, as in the tune “The Butcher,” “ true story of the often-time macabre, morose, and sometimes scary childhood of one Jeff Angell,” Duff says with a smile. “I always just hope to add a little piece of my ‘thing’ and hopefully make something better or more interesting.” One of the best examples of the music striking a chord is the Angell penned “Already Dead.” “Jeff had written that song years before we even started this band,” admits Duff. “It's a real and honest record and I think the honesty of these songs, as a body of work, just somehow strikes a chord with the ups and downs of us human beings.” “It wasn’t an intentional thing,” says Duff. Walking Papers have their own sound, yet there was no formula that they attempted to follow while the songs were being created and arranged. When asked how Jeff has remained in the Grunge Capitol’s shadows all of these years, Duff simply states, “I think everyone in Seattle has been asking that same question since 2000.” His songs can be described as bluesy, rocking, and often dark and foreboding, give Walking Papers their unique musical personality and persona. Jeff was a relatively unknown songwriter outside of his home area of Seattle. It is not just the huge names on the album that make this one special however, it is Jeff Angell’s songs. One of those ‘other guys’ Duff is speaking of is none other than Grunge hero and Pearl Jam guitarist Michael McCready, who makes a guest appearance on Walking Papers lead single “The Whole World’s Watching” and on the song “I’ll Stick Around.” It felt so good playing in a rhythm section with Barrett that I stayed.” They started to call a bunch of us different guys to play on the record. I first got to jam with Barrett in the mid-90s, as I had met him through Mark Lanegan when I had played on his record Field Songs, at the time. One may wonder how such a diverse group of musicians could ever end up together, yet, as McKagan explains, the music business can be rather incestuous, “Seattle is a rather small, insular, and tight music community. When Duff heard the music that was being made by these two creative juggernauts, he joined the group, as did keyboardist Benjamin Anderson, bringing the one-time two man crew to a foursome. Walking Papers had life before Duff, as originally, they were a duo consisting of Barrett Martin of ‘Screaming Trees’ fame and Seattle songwriter Jeff Angell. In fact, he has now joined a Seattle band called Walking Papers that has recently released their debut, self-titled album on the Loud & Proud record label. Still, music is his first love, but he is not content to be in just one band. While he is best known for being a member of the bands Guns N’ Roses and Velvet Revolver, he is also a real life economist, a songwriter and a journalist. There is much more to Duff McKagan than meets the eye. Duff McKagan of Walking Papers: Surviving the Executioner
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