Steven Adler
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| Steven Adler | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 22, 1965 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Genre(s) | Hard rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Drums Guitar |
| Years active | 1983 - Present |
| Label(s) | Geffen Records |
| Associated acts | Guns N' Roses Adler's Appetite |
| Website | www.adlersappetite.com |
Steven Adler (born January 22, 1965 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American rock drummer. He is most famous for his tenure as a member of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he performed and recorded from 1985 to 1990.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Steven Adler was born on January 22, 1965 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was born into the Jewish faith [1] and has some Icelandic heritage. [2]
Adler moved to Los Angeles with his mother, Deanna, and older brother Kenny, as a young child. His mother re-married to Melvin Adler and had another child, Jamie. Adler is also the uncle to his brother Kenny's son, Max Adler. Steven's younger brother Jamie Adler is a Booking Agent for such Hip-Hop acts including Bone Thugs N' Harmony and Tyrese. Steven's nephew, Max Adler is also involved in the entertainment business Producing Stage-Shows in Las Vegas and several Reality Television Shows. [3]
Adler met future Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash at the age of 13. The two attended the same school in California[4] and when Adler had a skateboarding accident, Slash stopped to help him.[3] The two became fast friends, and as Slash took up guitar, Adler gave up the guitar himself and took up drums, in order to form a band (albeit missing some components), Road Crew.
[edit] Guns N' Roses era
Slash and Adler met their future Guns N' Roses bandmates when they placed an ad in a newspaper searching for a bassist for their band. Duff McKagan responded to the ad, and later worked with Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin in Hollywood Rose, who Slash had originally auditioned for, before merging with LA Guns (Rob Gardner, Tracii Guns and Ole Beich) to create Guns N' Roses
The three joined Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin to create the most famous and "original" line-up of Guns N' Roses. Adler drummed on the first three GN'R albums: their 1986 EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide, the multi-platinum Appetite for Destruction and G N' R Lies. Adler's work also appeared on one song on Use Your Illusion II, the opening track "Civil War", although his drum track is said to be heavily edited.[5]
In late 1987, while Guns N' Roses was on tour, an intoxicated Adler broke his hand when he punched a streetlight after a barroom brawl. Fred Coury from the band Cinderella substituted on drums for several shows until Adler recovered.[6] At the 1989 American Music Awards, where Guns N' Roses performed their latest single, "Patience," Don Henley filled in for Adler on drums. Officially, the absence was attributed to a case of the flu; it was later revealed that Adler had actually been in a drug rehabilitation program at the time.
Problems continued in 1990, as the band recorded "Civil War" for Nobody's Child, an album benefiting the Romanian Angel Appeal. Axl Rose has said in interviews that "Civil War was recorded a good 60 times" due to problems with Adler[citation needed] ; Slash, in another article, stated that the band had to edit the drum track to "Civil War" simply to be able to play along with it.[5] By Adler's own admission, he tried to play the song "20, maybe 30 times."[3] During the recording of "Civil War" Adler was still trying to stop using drugs.[4]
Adler was briefly fired from the band, but was reinstated after signing a contract promising to stop using drugs.[7] In April 1990, he performed with Guns N' Roses at Farm Aid IV in Indiana. It would be his last appearance with the band. When problems in the studio continued, he was formally fired on July 11th, 1990,[8] during the recording of the Use Your Illusion I & Use Your Illusion II albums, and replaced with Matt Sorum. The official reason for his departure, according to various members of the band, was his heavy substance abuse which impeded his ability to work. Geffen A&R rep Tom Zutaut, who worked with Guns N' Roses, corroborated this claim, stating in a 1999 interview, "Steven Adler would show up at the recording studio completely high. Recording sessions would abort for several days when he couldn't put it together."[9]
According to Adler, his departure from the band was based on other reasons. In a 2005 interview he stated, "Doug Goldstein called me into the office about two weeks later. He wanted me to sign some contracts. I was told that every time I did heroin, the band would fine me $2,000. There was a whole stack of papers, with coloured paper clips everywhere for my signatures. What these contracts actually said was that the band were paying me $2,000 to leave. They were taking my royalties, all my writing credits. They didn't like me anymore and just wanted me gone. That's why I filed the lawsuit - to get all those things back.".[3]
[edit] Post-Guns N´ Roses era
In 1991, Adler formed a new version of his old band, Road Crew with "Vain"'s singer and composer Davy Vain. However, the project was unsuccessful. When ex-Guns N' Roses members Slash and Duff McKagan began creating Velvet Revolver in 2002, Adler expressed hope that history would repeat itself and that once again he would be in a band with them. Velvet Revolver was created with Adler's replacement, Matt Sorum, instead, due largely to the fact that it was Sorum who had initiated the new band.
Adler auditioned as drummer for Australian rock band AC/DC following the departure of their then-current drummer, Simon Wright. He was rejected after the band learned his dismissal from Guns N' Roses was related to his drug abuse. The position was given to Chris Slade.
In 2003, he started the band Suki Jones, which would later be renamed Adler's Appetite, and released an EP, Adler's Appetite. The band still performs live sporadically, performing sets heavy with Guns N' Roses covers. He was also recently featured on an episode of VHI's The Surreal Life: Fame Games as a judge for a hotel crashing challenge. In 2006 he also played drums and toured with UK Guns N' Roses tribute band Guns 2 Roses, and still plays the odd gig with them.[10]
Adler appears to have repaired his relationships with most of his former Guns N' Roses bandmates. In 2005, he played a one-off show with Izzy Stradlin (with whom recorded a yet unreleased cover of "Do You Love Me?" with JT Longoria on bass guitar) and Slash at the Key Club in Los Angeles. In September 2006 Adler attended a Guns N' Roses show in Las Vegas and spoke to Axl Rose for the first time in over a decade.[11][12]
On July 28, 2007, the latest incarnation of Adler's Appetite (Michael Thomas from "Faster Pussycat" on lead guitar, former "Pretty Boy Floyd's Kristy "Krash" Majors on rhythm guitar, Enuff_Z'nuff's founder Chip Z'Nuff on bass and Colby Veil from the Guns N' Roses tribute band Hollywood Roses on vocals) played the Key Club again to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of Appetite for Destruction. The evening featured Tracii Guns' band LA Guns opening for Adler's Appetite. Former members Izzy Stradlin and Duff McKagan joined Adler's band on stage for several songs. Slash was also in attendance, but did not get up to play. When asked why he remained offstage in a radio interview afterwards, he explained he did not want to encourage the notion of a reunion, so stepped back.[13] While Adler touted the event to the press as a "reunion," [14] the show was not advertised as such,[15] and was not considered as such by the other original members. [16]
While Adler has claimed that there has been talk and encouragement for a reunion among the other original members, this appears to be unfounded: in a 2007 interview with Guitar Edge magazine, for instance, Slash stated "I’ve obviously moved on and have a lot to do with Velvet Revolver, so that’s where my head is. Obviously it’s not an idea that I’m entertaining in any way, shape, or form at this point. I think the more time that passes, the less likely it will happen—and it was pretty unlikely five years ago."[17]
In 2008, it was announced that Adler would be participating as a rehab patient in the second season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew.[18]
[edit] Personal life
Adler's substance abuse issues continued after he was fired from Guns N' Roses.[12] In interviews as recent as 2006, he has stated that he has, at times, used $300 worth of drugs in one night.[19] In 1996, Adler suffered a stroke after taking a particularly potent speedball, a cocktail of heroin and cocaine used intravenously.[20] He survived, but now lives with a speech impediment as a result.
Adler's lawsuit against his former Guns N' Roses bandmates was settled in 1997. He earned a back-payment check of $ 2,250,000 USD and was granted 15% of the royalties for everything he recorded prior to his departure.[19]
In 1997, Adler was convicted on a domestic violence charge for attacking a woman with whom he had been living, and was sentenced to four days in jail, three years of probation and mandatory drug counseling. A year later, he pleaded no contest to attacks on two other women and was sentenced to a 150-day term in prison and a year of domestic violence counseling.[21]
Adler currently resides in the Hollywood Hills.
[edit] References
[edit] Books
- Wall, Mick (1992). Guns N' Roses; the Most Dangerous Band in the World. Hyperion. ISBN 1-56282-951-3.
- Sugerman, Danny (1991). Appetite for Destruction: The Days of Guns N' Roses. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-07634-7.
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Interview with Jamie Adler, Celebrity Access
- ^ Q&A with Steven AdlerSteven Adler's official website
- ^ a b c d "Steven Adler interview", Classic Rock, April 2005. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.
- ^ a b "20 Questions w/ X-Guns n' Roses drummer Steven Adler.", Metal Sludge, Jan 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.
- ^ a b "Guns N' Roses from the Inside: A special report by Lonn M. Friend", RIP magazine, March 1992. Retrieved on 2006-12-29.
- ^ "Live from Minnesota, It's late night madness with Guns N' Roses" Beth Nussbaum, Rock Scene magazine, August 1988
- ^ "Stick To Your Guns", Kerrang, April 1990. Retrieved on 2007-01-01.
- ^ Guns N' Roses Facts
- ^ "Just a Little Patience", [[Spin (magazine)|]], July 1999. Retrieved on 2007-01-07.
- ^ "Guns 2 Roses"
- ^ ""Steven Adler on meeting Axl Rose"", Blabbermouth, Feb 2007. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
- ^ a b "The Finale of Steven Adler X-Gn'R drummer's 20?s", Metal Sludge, Jan 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.
- ^ "Steven Adler holding out hope for a reunion" Blabbermouth, July 31 2007
- ^ Original Guns N'Roses' to reunite - without Axl Rose. Thomas Crosbie Media (2007-07-24).
- ^ "STEVEN ADLER AND TRACII GUNS CELEBRATE ANNIVERSARY OF APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION" SleazeRoxx, July 18 2007
- ^ "Guns N’ Roses Anniversary Show Update: Izzy Stradlin Is a Maybe" Rolling Stone Rock N' Roll Daily, July 26, 2007
- ^ ""Slash says reunion is unlikely"", Guitar Edge, Feb 2007. Retrieved on 2007-03-02.
- ^ "VH1 Heads Back to Rehab With Dr. Drew Pinsky for a Second Season of 'Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew'" PR Newswire, June 10 2008
- ^ a b "Part II Steven Adler X-Guns N' Roses Drummer", Metal Sludge, Jan 2006. Retrieved on 2006-11-18.
- ^ "Hard Copy" episode in October 1996
- ^ "Former Guns N' Roses Drummer Jailed On Battery Charges", MTV, September 26, 1998. Retrieved on 2006-12-29.
[edit] Links
- [1] Official Fansite
- Steven Adler Jan. 2006 Interview III with Metal Sludge
- Steven Adler Jan. 2006 Interview I with Metal Sludge
- Steven Adler Jan. 2006 Interview I with Metal Sludge
- Steven Adler, April 2005 with Classic Rock
- Steven Adler Information, News and Photos.
| Preceded by Rob Gardner |
Guns N' Roses Drummer 1985-1990 |
Succeeded by Matt Sorum |
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