Steven & Deanna Adler Reddit AMA - January 26th

[Silent Jay]

What's a crazy story about raising Steven and the Guns N Roses

 

 

[–]steven_deanna_adler[S] 1 point 

Deanna: One of the most exciting times for us is the first time we saw him play.. We went in and we saw Steven and he says "stand over here so you won't get hurt." So he leaves us and all of a sudden the light goes down, pitch black, and then all of a sudden we hear Steven bang on the drums, the guitar, and it was so loud, I actually thought a 747 landed on my head. That's how loud it was, I immediately got deaf, I lost my hearing. My head was going boom boom boom! There was so much weed in that place!

Steven: And that was just from me! That was just me smoking!

Deanna: I was high, I had a headache, I mean my brain was going crazy, I couldn't hear nothing. So I lasted about 3 songs and then we left. On the way home, don't even ask me what was going on in the car, I couldn't hear anything, Jamie fell asleep, he was probably stoned already and he passed out. On the way home I got scared. I said What's going on? What's this all about? What's happening? I never in my wildest dreams thought that they were gonna make it big, that they were going to be the number 1 band in the country at that time.

[ZoSoRose]

If he views those appearances as good closure, and he is happy, then that is all we can hope for at this point. Too bad how this turned out. I dont blame Frank or Richard, I blame the big 3. They could have incorporated Izzy and Steven for all the AfD songs where they belong. 

[scooby845]

but it was everything that I thought it was going to be. It was the complete opposite.

WHAT??? First he says it was everything he expected it was going to be (did he know it was only going to be guest appearance?)..then he says its opposite.. I dont understand this contradiction..

  it's not the magic and it's not fair to the fans. Me and Dizzy actually really do wanna be a part of it.

What's not fair to the fans? I think MOST people want to see Steven even if its 2 songs rather than nothing..

Well if he is already part of it like last year than it only needs Izzy.. It's not ' we actually wanna be a part of it'... Even if its guest appearance for Izzy we get to savor the AFD5 for 2 songs..

 

Someone please explain this to me... i'm confused!!!!

[Silent Jay]

I Steve, big fan here, missed you in the Chile show a couple of months ago. Do you think that your stroke, affected in someway your actual drums play? Also, I think your the most resilient rock star ever, you're an example to a lot of peopl

 

 

[–]steven_deanna_adler[S] 

Steven: Hi u/f3lip3, thank you very much. And no, I had a mild stroke when I was shooting cocaine. The only thing that it affected was my speech. I basically had to go back to Kindergarten and learn how to speak again. Dr. Drew, when I did that celebrity rehab, he had a special speech therapist come in and actually teach me how to speak again. I mean I can barely speak fucking English, as it is, but it's much better than it was in 1994.

Deanna: When I found out he was in the hospital because nobody would tell me when he would have an overdose. Nobody would tell me because they didn't want me to know because he has numerous times he's had an overdose, but I never knew. Well, this time, I found out because the nurse from the Century City Hospital calls me up on the phone and says, "Your son needs dialysis". I said, "What do you mean?". And she says, "Well, he came in yesterday from a drug overdose". I said, "So, give him dialysis. What's the big thing?". Well, I had to sign a paper for him to have it. So, she faxed me over a paper. I signed the paper. He had dialysis. So, then I went to the hospital to see him. I walk into this room and he is attached to so many tubes. And I said, "Oh my god, I've never seen anything like this before". So, I sat down next to him. I says, "Steven", cause I heard that people in a coma they can hear you, so I sat down next to him and said, "Steven, Steven, please wake up. Everything's going to be alright". And then what happened was, he opened one eye and a single tear came out of that one eye. A single tear. And then he closed his eye again. And then, of course, I burst out crying. I mean, it was so horrible. I told the doctors. When I was at the hospital, that day, his lawyer came over. Former lawyer, came over to see him.

Steven: His name was Satan.

Deanna: His name was Satan.

Steven: Louis Cypher, I recall. Louis Cypher. Lu-ci-fer. Louis Cypher. Yea.

Deanna: I said thank you for coming over, but he's in a coma. He said, "I just wanted to check up on him". I said, "Fine". A few weeks later, I got a bill. He charged us for going to the hospital to look at Steven when he was in a coma.

Steven: For 30 seconds.

Deanna: 30 seconds!

Steven: He just looked in at the door and went, "Okay".

Deanna: That's how people take advantage of people that are drug addicts and alcohol abusers. They take advantage of you and it's not right. So, I called up the lawyer. I says, "What it this? I see you're charging him for him for you coming to visit him in the hospital. Are you nuts?". I said, "You better take that off the bill". And he took it off the bill. But, can you imagine going to the hospital to check on a client, just to say hello and see how you're doing and he charges for that? That was sick.

[Rovim]

3 minutes ago, scooby845 said:

but it was everything that I thought it was going to be. It was the complete opposite.

WHAT??? First he says it was everything he expected it was going to be (did he know it was only going to be guest appearance?)..then he says its opposite.. I dont understand this contradiction..

  it's not the magic and it's not fair to the fans. Me and Dizzy actually really do wanna be a part of it.

What's not fair to the fans? I think MOST people want to see Steven even if its 2 songs rather than nothing..

Well if he is already part of it like last year than it only needs Izzy.. It's not ' we actually wanna be a part of it'... Even if its guest appearance for Izzy we get to savor the AFD5 for 2 songs..

 

Someone please explain this to me... i'm confused!!!!

I think he means going in, before doing the guest spots, he was thinking it wasn't gonna feel like the real deal, cause it's not the classic line up. Then when he performed those shows, it was as he initially thought: wasn't the same.

He then said it isn't fair to the fans that they're not getting the magical 5 performances, cause it's a different line up.

Edited January 26, 2017 by Rovim

[Silent Jay]

 

Hi Deanna

Could you tell us when and why you decided to write this book?

Thank you

 

 

[–]steven_deanna_adler[S] 

Deanna: I decided to write the book after the time I first saw him perform. I couldn't sleep, I was so wound up, so I just wrote down my thoughts. Eventually every time I would see him, whether it was a good time or a bad time, I would just write down my thoughts on a piece of paper, on an envelope, on a-

Steven: Like a diary!

Deanna: Like a diary! So I never thought about writing a book per say, it just happened.

Steven: Writing things down that go on in your life, it's so helpful to be able to get it out of your head, put it down on paper or talk to someone about it to someone who understands. In my book I talk about when I was 13, I used to hang out at clubs, with grown ups, and drugs. I got taken advantage of, I was drugged and sexually abused by an older teenager and an older guy. I couldn't talk about that for decades but once I talked to someone who understood and I got it out of my head, I can move forward, I have closure. Writing shit down is just closure. My mom doing these diaries was closure so that she could sleep at night. If you don't write, you're just thinking about it, it will drive you crazy and you can never move forward in your life. It's the best thing in the word, just write your crap down. If you have an addict in your life, video tape it. everyone has videos on their phone. Videos don't lie. When an addict sees themselves in denial and actually see the truth, it's an eye opener and a heart breaker.

Edited January 26, 2017 by Silent Jay

[dontdamnmeuyi2015]

I hope Steven's mother gives him some money from the sale of her book, since she got all of his money.

[Silent Jay]

My father has been a huge fan of yours as long as I can remember. You two are around the same age, so I'd like to ask you a question for my father, if I may. Over the years, have you developed any changes to your technique, due to aging, that I can pass on that may assist him? Edit: feel free to use whatever lingo you want.. I'll be passing it on verbatim (I'm a bass guy and don't understand the shit you silly head beaters talk about

 

 

[–]steven_deanna_adler[S] 

Steven: u/Mafiya_chlenom_K I owe no money to you. No money.

Well, yes. I've gotten better. The more you practice, you know. Like I said in the past, the repetition makes the master. When I first started doing "Appetite for Destruction", the timing on that, you cannot use a metronome to that record. It will not work. It was all feel. Back when I was younger, I didn't have that much of a grasp on what timing really is. It was more about just having fun and kicking ass. And now, I'm more into learning a lot of style and perfecting myself. So, I'm practicing a lot more and watching more like Buddy Rich. I watch a lot of him playing and I'm just practicing that song. I'm definitely a lot better. I'm way more comfortable and repetition makes the master.

[Archtop]

13 minutes ago, scooby845 said:

but it was everything that I thought it was going to be. It was the complete opposite.

WHAT??? First he says it was everything he expected it was going to be (did he know it was only going to be guest appearance?)..then he says its opposite.. I dont understand this contradiction..

  it's not the magic and it's not fair to the fans. Me and Dizzy actually really do wanna be a part of it.

What's not fair to the fans? I think MOST people want to see Steven even if its 2 songs rather than nothing..

Well if he is already part of it like last year than it only needs Izzy.. It's not ' we actually wanna be a part of it'... Even if its guest appearance for Izzy we get to savor the AFD5 for 2 songs..

 

Someone please explain this to me... i'm confused!!!!

I think the first sentence should read " but was it everything that I thought it was going to be? ?..No it was the complete opposite" 

Then he talks about a reunion with Dizzy and the original 5?guys, and then Dizzy and not Izzy's name is typed later in the quote.

Unfortunatly the most important piece of information we might get from this has been cocked up by the typist, do you suppose Team Brazil has paid him off. ?

Edited January 26, 2017 by Archtop

[BlueJean Baby]

11 minutes ago, scooby845 said:

but it was everything that I thought it was going to be. It was the complete opposite.

WHAT??? First he says it was everything he expected it was going to be (did he know it was only going to be guest appearance?)..then he says its opposite.. I dont understand this contradiction..

  it's not the magic and it's not fair to the fans. Me and Dizzy actually really do wanna be a part of it.

What's not fair to the fans? I think MOST people want to see Steven even if its 2 songs rather than nothing..

Well if he is already part of it like last year than it only needs Izzy.. It's not ' we actually wanna be a part of it'... Even if its guest appearance for Izzy we get to savor the AFD5 for 2 songs..

 

Someone please explain this to me... i'm confused!!!!

I was asking the same thing, he definitely contradicts himself in that answer...

[sanity_lost]

You'd think the transcriber would read it back to them to make sure it was correct before posting it.

[Rovim]

4 minutes ago, BlueJean Baby said:

I was asking the same thing, he definitely contradicts himself in that answer...

I really think he meant "Izzy" and not "Dizzy" like others have previously said in this thread. Dizzy is already a part of the line up, Izzy is not.

Edited January 26, 2017 by Rovim

[DieselDaisy]

It is easy to get your Izzies and Dizzies mixed up from time to time.

[scooby845]

3 minutes ago, Archtop said:

I think the first sentence should read " but was it everything that I thought it was going to be? ?..No it was the complete opposite" 

Then he talks about a reunion with Dizzy and the original 5?guys, and then unfortunaly Dizzy and not Izzy's name is typed later in the quote.

Unfortunatly the most important piece of information we might get from this has been cocked up by the typist, do you suppose Team Brazil has paid him off. ?

yeah thanks for the reply and insights .. that's what i figured out too...

 

3 minutes ago, BlueJean Baby said:

I was asking the same thing, he definitely contradicts himself in that answer...

yeah i know... it makes more sense now...

[Silent Jay]

I started playing drums at the age of 10 in 1987. Needless to say you are a huge influence on me musically. I read your book and watched you on celebrity rehab and the thing that kept coming up was you wanting to get back with your band. So when I saw you walk out on the stage in Nashville last year I don't think I've yelled louder for anybody ever. Definitely a highlight of my life. My question is what is your set up now? What kind a drum set and cymbals are you playing now? What sizes? I hope to see you again in St. Louis this year. Thanks and keep smiling

 

 

[–]steven_deanna_adler[S] 

Steven: Thank you brother! I appreciate that! I had so much fun in Nashville. My setup is a 22 inch bass drum, 10 14 inch floor toms, 16 18 floor toms, a John Bonham snare, Soultone Cymbals - the finest cymbals made, and I use Vater drum sticks 7A. I practice every day!

[Italian girl]

"The Dizzy incident". Damned T9

 

[Silent Jay]

I wanna start a band with friends. What advice would you give me

 

 

[–]steven_deanna_adler[S] 

Steven: Play with everybody. Play every day consistently. The whole game of getting good is practice. If you're gonna play with a band, just practice, practice, practice and everything will just flow together. And if you're playing with somebody that's not cutting it or pulling it off, you either gotta be their friend and say they're going to have to practice a little harder or just keep playing. I recommend play with everybody you can, while you're young. Cause the more people you play with, the sooner you're gonna find the right people you should be playing with.

Hey Steven and Deanna! Thanks for doing this AMA. Question: is rock & roll dead once your generation is gone? If not, who is going to keep it going

 

 

[–]steven_deanna_adler[S] 

Steven: All I know is that the gods of rock are pissed! I think I am afraid Rock and Roll might be dead. There are just no great bands out there. The last great band that I know of was the Foo Fighters, and that was 25 years ago.

Deanna: I don't believe it will ever die. When he was playing in the 80s, we would go on sunset blvd and see all these guys with the black leather jackets

Steven: But that was the 80s, this is 2017. Music is completely different now. It sucks!

Deanna: a few weeks ago we were going down sunset blvd. There are so many young people. I don't think it will ever die. What goes around comes around, it's always gonna be there. I still listen to oldies but goodies. Good music comes back.

Hi Deanna. How did you deal with noise from your son when he was growing up

 

 

[–]steven_deanna_adler[S] 

Steven: You tell ‘em the truth. You threw my drums right on the sidewalk.

Deanna: I didn't deal well with it.

Steven: I went to school, the drums were on the sidewalk.

Deanna: When he was a baby, he was 2 years old, he would sit on the kitchen floor, while I was cooking and he would take out the Tupperware and the wooden spoons and he would be pounding on the Tupperware. I would play oldies but goodies!

Steven: 50's. Frankie Valli, Frankie Avalon, Veronica.

Deanna: Yea, that's what I listened to.

Steven: Frankie Valli is god.

Deanna: So, when he would get the drums, yeah, it was very hard because the neighbors would complain. I would go to work and I'd come home and the neighbor would say, "He's been playing the drums all day. How much can I take?". No, it wasn't good. I don't suggest getting the drums.

Steven: It wasn't just that. It was just he's playing the drums all day. He's playing the drums and he stinks! If he played good, it wouldn't be so bad. Tell him to take lessons. That goddamn loud Rock 'n Roll he keeps playing.

Deanna: I don't advise any parents to buy their children a drumset.

Steven: Nowadays, you have electric drums, so you can wear headphones, so you don't bother anybody. Me personally, I love fucking with my neighbors.

[scooby845]

So no one asked him about his unreleased song 'Life Ain't Gonna' that was going to be a set up for second album...?

[BlueJean Baby]

Lol... someone asked what the N in Guns N' Roses stands for

[tajandreas]

The moderator kinda butchered that part. I knew what he was trying to say though. It "wasn't" everything he thought it'd be, it was the complete opposite. He had been wanting to play with these guys reunited all this time but it didn't turn out that way. Instead of just the original 5 he has a blue haired raver chick with wings bouncing up and down is his peripheral vision. Not his version of "rock and roll" he had in mind.

 

It's not fair to the fans(or him) to fly across the country just to play a song or two for a hybrid version of his old band. Him and Izzy must still talk and actually want to do things w/ the original 5 again. But.. sadly it won't be that way.

[Fansince88]

6 minutes ago, sanity_lost said:

You'd think the transcriber would read it back to them to make sure it was correct before posting it.

They just posted a picture on Instagram and there are two typists sitting with Steven and his  Mom. They look fairly  young so they may not even know who Izzy is.  

[Silent Jay]

Hi Steven your an amazing artist and your work with GNR is awesome! Really good to hear that you were able to get clean, and that your mother helped you. Mothers are the best, what do you think was the most important thing she did that helped you? Also what are you listening to now in terms of music

 

 

[–]steven_deanna_adler[S] 

Steven: The most important was love, support, and not giving up on me. No matter what an asshole I was, she didn't give up on me.

Deanna: I'm so happy that Steven is clean and happy now and that's a miracle. You can never give up on your child. I want people to read the book "Sweet Child of Mine," I think it will inspire people never to give up on their child.

[Top-Hatted One]

38 minutes ago, tajandreas said:

Absolutely love his answers so far. And I'm glad he answered about the reunion which mirrors most of ours feelings about it. It's nice and all but not what we all expected. Judging by his answer it sounds like he put his foot down and won't be performing w/ them anymore unless it's the original 5 which I totally support. This actually gives me some good closure.

Yup remember when someone said that Izzy was a little pissed with Steven for signing off on the deal allowing him to go onstage for 2 songs. 

Adler was desperate and excited at the time but now the realization of how shitty a deal it was for Steven, Izzy & the fans has dawned on him.

Edited January 26, 2017 by Top-Hatted One

[Italian girl]

He should have called him Jeff

[Silent Jay]

1 minute ago, BlueJean Baby said:

Lol... someone asked what the N in Guns N' Roses stands for

GNR= NRG