Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, April 16, 1993 TAG: 9304160337
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
BAD BOYS DROP IN FOR BLACKSBURG SHOW
What do members of Guns N' Roses do the night before they play a big show?They rock.
Duff McKagan, the (dyed) platinum-headed bass player for the Bad Boys of Rock, came to The Cellar Restaurant in Blacksburg on Wednesday night to watch The Fastbacks, one of his 31 musical alma maters.
When he was 15, McKagan was drummer for the group, now on Sub Pop records and a part of Seattle's music scene for a decade. He's still friends with members of the band.
McKagan called The Cellar from Detroit around dinner time Wednesday to see what time The Fastbacks were playing. He was scheduled to play in Roanoke on Thursday night, and his flight was expected to reach Roanoke just after 8 p.m. Wednesday. The band was to play 'round midnight.
"Cool," he said. "I should definitely be able to make it."
McKagan, rhythm guitarist Gilby Clark and keyboard player Dizzy Reed arrived soon after 12 a.m.
They were hardly incognito, wearing black leather jackets with their names airbrushed across the back. They rode in a white stretch limousine and parked right outside, near one of downtown's main intersections.
Their driver, dressed in a tuxedo, stood outside the car with his arms folded, sometimes taking a drag on a cigarette, during the hour and a half his clients were at the club.
McKagan didn't seem to want attention from a small crowd of autograph seekers. He denied a request to pose for a photo, but he did sign napkins and a few slips of paper.
But Clark, who replaced Izzy Stradlin in the band, and Reed were more approachable, smiling and chatting with fans.
Capt. Bill Brown of the Blacksburg Police Department said officers waited outside The Cellar in case they were needed for crowd control. On April 8, a number of fights occurred downtown when the bars let out around 2 a.m., said Brown. But on Wednesday night, only a small crowd stood watching the rock superstars.
"No problems occurred," Brown said.
McKagan and friends slid back into the limo just after 2 a.m.
Young women who had been talking to the band hung onto the open window as the limo turned onto Main Street and headed back to Roanoke.
No one was sure of the whereabouts of Axl Rose, Slash or Matt Sorum. But Slash told a local disc jockey early Wednesday night that he was glad people were excited about the show.
"`We'd rather play a small town than a place like New York where they get shows every 15 minutes," he said. "They're always more enthusiastic in small towns."
A review of Thursday's GNR concert will appear in Saturday's Extra.