Easy Does It

“The band’s so brand new and we’ve already been to Europe twice! The response has been so great!” enthuses Duff.

The former Guns N’ Roses bass-player is relaxing upstairs at Dublin’s Pint Bar with his Walking Papers cohorts Barrett Martin (Screaming Trees) and Seattle stalwarts Jeff Angel and Ben Anderson (The Missionary Position). The modest venue rarely plays host to international superstars, with this evening’s sell-out as predictable as Axl’s tardiness.
“Of course there’s lineage in this band,” he concedes. “People may not have our record, but come to see what this guy who used to be in Guns N’ Roses is at now. When you can win over that sort of fan they tell their friends. Word just spreads.”
The debut self-titled collection is a compelling cocktail of blues-rock which transfers in spectacular style to the stage. Later that night the seasoned performers enthral with their bar-room blitz.
The previous day on Facebook drummer Barrett Martin had posted about the band’s excitement at playing Ireland, as both he and Duff have family here.
“My grandfather came from Cork originally. I don’t want to make my family feel they’ve got to come and see me. It’s, what, six or seven Irish gigs since 2007, which tells you how much I love playing here. It’s in the blood!”
Having gigged here with Loaded late last year Duff has been busy in the interim tending to Walking Papers and various other duties including an induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame.
“I remember being really excited when The Stooges, a band I loved, were inducted,” he states. “It was like a stamp of approval or recognition, ‘Yeah, I was right, this band I love are great!’ So when we were inducted I felt the same. I thought I should turn up to say thank you to the fans.”
A pointed reference to those not present perhaps. Another exciting venture is the forthcoming documentary It’s So Easy, based on his best-selling biography of the same name.
“The film distributor announced it on social media!” he says. “It’s a thing you don’t do unless you know that everything is worked out. When I saw the announcement I asked, ‘Hey, do we have everything in place? Finances?’. They said, ‘No, we’re going to get that’. So I said, ‘Well maybe get that first!’ We have done a good bit of filming so far. I’m excited about it.”
For the moment the focus is Walking Papers who head out next month for a batch of shows with Alice In Chains and Jane’s Addiction.
“At that point we’ll have a big machine behind us,” he says. “Our record is coming out properly in the States, and there will be marketing and stuff to get us to American radio.”
The new adventure has only just started…

Walking Papers is out now on Sunyata Records/Boredom Killing Business.