Steven Adler

Infobox musical artist
Name = Steven Adler
Img_capt =
Img_size =
Landscape =
Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name =
Born = birth date and age|1965|1|22
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Instrument = drums, Guitar
Genre = Hard rock
Occupation = Musician, Drummer
Years_active = 1983 - Present
Label = Geffen Records
Associated_acts = Guns N' Roses
Adler's Appetite
URL = [http://www.adlersappetite.com 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.

Biography

Early life

Steven Adler was born on January 22, 1965 in Cleveland, Ohio. He was born into the Jewish faith [ [http://www.celebrityaccess.com/news/profile.html?id=355 Interview with Jamie Adler] , Celebrity Access] and has some Icelandic heritage. [ [http://members.aol.com/stevenadlersite/EARLYQNA.html Q&A with Steven Adler] Steven Adler's official website]

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. Steven's younger brother Jamie is a booking agent for such hip-hop acts as Bone Thugs N' Harmony and Tyrese. Steven's nephew, Max, is also involved in the entertainment business producing stage-shows in Las Vegas and several reality television shows.cite news | url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=145 | title=Steven Adler interview | publisher=Classic Rock | date= April 2005 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-11-18]

Adler met future Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash at the age of 13. The two attended the same junior high school in Californiacite news | url=http://www.metalsludge.tv/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1127&Itemid=37 | title=20 Questions w/ X-Guns n' Roses drummer Steven Adler. | publisher=Metal Sludge | date= January 2006 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-11-18] and when Adler had a skateboarding accident, Slash stopped to help him. 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.

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.

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. [ [http://www.duffmckagan.net/rocksaug88.htm "Live from Minnesota, It's late night madness with Guns N' Roses"] Beth Nussbaum, "Rock Scene" magazine, August 1988] 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 Fact|date=February 2007 ; 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.cite news | url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=9 | title=Guns N' Roses from the Inside: A special report by Lonn M. Friend | publisher=RIP magazine | date= March 1992 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-12-29] By Adler's own admission, he tried to play the song "20, maybe 30 times." During the recording of "Civil War" Adler was still trying to stop using drugs.

Adler was briefly fired from the band, but was reinstated after signing a contract promising to stop using drugs.cite news | url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=4 | title=Stick To Your Guns | publisher=Kerrang | date= April 1990 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-01-01] 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, [ [http://www.myuseless-info.com/ugunsnrosesfacts.html Guns N' Roses Facts ] ] cite news | url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,315084,00.html | title=Cover story: Guns N' Roses | publisher=Entertainment Weekly | year= 1991 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2008-06-16] 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."cite news | url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=71 | title=Just a Little Patience | publisher=Spin (magazine) | date= July 1999 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-01-07]

According to Adler, his departure from the band was based on other reasons. In October 1991, he filed a lawsuit against his former Guns N' Roses bandmates, claiming that they were responsible for his drug addiction and that the contracts he had signed actually took away his financial interest in the band.cite news | url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=71 | title=Interview in Vox | publisher=Vox | year= 1991 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2008-06-16] 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 colored 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.".

Post-Guns N´ Roses era

In 1991, Adler formed a new version of his old band, Road Crew with Vain singer and composer Davy Vain. However, the project was unsuccessful.

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 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.

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 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.cite news | url=http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=67085 | title="Steven Adler on meeting Axl Rose" | publisher=Blabbermouth | date= February 2007 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-02-17] cite news | url=http://www.metalsludge.tv/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1139&Itemid=37 | title=The Finale of Steven Adler X-Gn'R drummer's 20?s | publisher=Metal Sludge | date= January 2006 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-11-18]

On July 28, 2007, the latest incarnation of Adler's Appetite (Michael Thomas from Faster Pussycat on lead guitar, former Pretty Boy Floyd member 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 that he did not want to encourage the notion of a reunion, so stepped back. [ [http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=77865 "Steven Adler holding out hope for a reunion"] "Blabbermouth," July 31 2007] While Adler touted the event to the press as a "reunion," [cite web|url= http://breakingnews.iol.ie/entertainment/story.asp?j=226114856&p=zz6yy556z|title= Original Guns N'Roses' to reunite - without Axl Rose|publisher= Thomas Crosbie Media|date=2007-07-24] the show was not advertised as such, [ [http://www.sleazeroxx.com/news07/0718adl.shtml "STEVEN ADLER AND TRACII GUNS CELEBRATE ANNIVERSARY OF APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION"] "SleazeRoxx," July 18 2007] and was not considered as such by the other original members. [ [http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/07/26/guns-n-roses-anniversary-show-update-izzy-stradlin-is-a-maybe/ "Guns N’ Roses Anniversary Show Update: Izzy Stradlin Is a Maybe"] "Rolling Stone" Rock N' Roll Daily, July 26, 2007]

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."cite news | url=http://www.gnrdaily.com/news_detail.asp?id=561 | title="Slash says reunion is unlikely" | publisher=Guitar Edge | date= February 2007 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-03-02]

Personal life

Adler's substance abuse issues continued after he was fired from Guns N' Roses. In interviews as recent as 2006, he has stated that he has, at times, used $300 worth of drugs in one night. In 1996, Adler suffered a stroke and was briefly comatose after taking a particularly potent speedball, a cocktail of heroin and cocaine used intravenously; he later suffered a second stroke. He survived, but now lives with a speech impediment as a result.cite news | url=http://www.lacitybeat.com/cms/story/detail/?id=1043&IssueNum=57 | title=Part II Steven Adler X-Guns N' Roses Drummer | publisher="L.A. City Beat | author=Himmelbach, Eric|date= July 8, 2004 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2008-06-16] ["Hard Copy" episode in October 1996]

Adler's lawsuit against his former Guns N' Roses bandmates was settled out of court in 1993. He received a back-payment check of $2,250,000 USD and was granted 15% of the royalties for everything he recorded prior to his departure.cite news | url=http://www.metalsludge.tv/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1138&Itemid=37 | title=Part II Steven Adler X-Guns N' Roses Drummer | publisher=Metal Sludge | date= January 2006 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-11-18] cite web|url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/story/0,12102,867713,00.html|title=Meltdown|publisher="The Guardian"|date=January 3, 2003|author=Kent, Nick|accessdate=2008-06-16] 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.cite news | url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/news/shownews.php?newsid=65 | title=Former Guns N' Roses Drummer Jailed On Battery Charges| publisher=MTV | date= September 26, 1998 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-12-29]

Adler currently resides in the Hollywood Hills. In 2008, he entered the Pasadena Recovery Center to participate in the second season of "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew". [ [http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=prnw.20080610.NYTU098&show_article=1 "VH1 Heads Back to Rehab With Dr. Drew Pinsky for a Second Season of 'Celebrity Rehab With Dr. Drew'"] PR Newswire, June 10 2008] However, on July 18, 2008, he was arrested in Los Angeles after police were called to respond to an early-morning disturbance in Canyon Drive, under suspicion of narcotics possession, being under the influence and an undisclosed outstanding warrant. [ [http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-gunsnroses19-2008jul19,0,2715827.story "Ex-Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler arrested on drug charges"] Molly Hennessy-Fiske, "Los Angeles Times", July 18 2008 ]

References

Books

#cite book | author=Wall, Mick | title=Guns N' Roses; the Most Dangerous Band in the World| publisher=Hyperion | year=1992 | id=ISBN 1-56282-951-3
#cite book | author=Sugerman, Danny | title=Appetite for Destruction: The Days of Guns N' Roses| publisher=St. Martin's Press | year=1991 | id=ISBN 0-312-07634-7

Footnotes

Links

* [http://www.myspace.com/stevenadlersite] Official Fansite
* [http://www.metalsludge.tv/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1127&Itemid=37 Steven Adler Jan. 2006 Interview pt I] with Metal Sludge
* [http://www.metalsludge.tv/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1138&Itemid=37 Steven Adler Jan. 2006 Interview pt II] with Metal Sludge
* [http://www.metalsludge.tv/home/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1139&Itemid=37 Steven Adler Jan. 2006 Interview pt III] with Metal Sludge
* [http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=145 Steven Adler, April 2005] with "Classic Rock"
* [http://www.hollywoodrose.com.ar/ Steven Adler Information, News and Photos.]