DUFF MCKAGAN: 'The First Few Dates' Of The 2025 GUNS N' ROSES Tour 'Have Been Awesome'

GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan has shared the first video update from the band's 2025 world tour, which kicked off on May 1 at Incheon, South Korea's Songdo Moonlight Festival Park. The concert marked the band's first live appearance with new drummer Isaac Carpenter, who replaced Frank Ferrer, the longest-serving drummer in GUNS N' ROSES' storied run, in March.

Duff said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): " These first few dates of the GUNS tour have been fucking awesome, starting in Korea, which I'd never played before, in Seoul, which was super cool. I really, really like that country. I like how they roll. It's fucking awesome. The crowd was amazing. Back to Tokyo…

"I'm writing now for [1980s U.S. rock magazine] Hit Parader," he continued. "Hit Parader's relaunching, so the first issue is [coming out] June 1st. And I'm a columnist for the new Hit Parader, so we'll see how that goes. But I wrote an article — hopefully it's okay — about sort of the rock and roll history of Tokyo and Japan. And then with my own experiences dating back to 1988, to now. Tokyo right now is so fresh in my mind 'cause I just finished the column.

"Yeah, while I was in Tokyo this time, my wife [Susan] and daughter Mae were there and a couple of her friends. So we did some fun stuff. But I had a Fender event at the only Fender store in the world. It's a three-story, very impressive store, right in Harajuku, where my favorite kind of punk rock clothing shop is. It's called Jim Sinn. It's in Harajuku. It's right by the Fender store. They've become friends of mine over the years. They love Susan. We've made that our pilgrimage to that punk rock clothing store. Then at the Fender event, I had Isaac come and play. Instead of me just playing bass and having like a clinic, I had Isaac come, and he played drums and we played little bits and pieces of a bunch of GUNS songs. And it was super fun. Playing Taiwan again was great. Taipei's a great city. We are now in Bangkok, and more to come on that."

GUNS N' ROSES's "Because What You Want & What You Get Are Two Completely Different Things" tour will next hit Europe in late spring and early summer, concluding on July 31 in Germany.

Frank first joined GUNS N' ROSES during a show in June 2006, helping anchor the rhythm section during subsequent tours, including their recent outings featuring the reunited trio of singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan. Ferrer's last show with the band took place November 5, 2023 in Mexico.

Ferrer laid down drums tracks on five songs on GUNS N' ROSES' most recent studio album, 2008's "Chinese Democracy". He also appeared on the live portion of 2022's "Hard Skool" EP, with former drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia appearing on the studio tracks and GUNS' ROSES' 2023 singles "Perhaps" and "The General".

For more than 40 years, Duff has been an unstoppable creative force, spanning a multitude of bands, tours, collaborations, and writings. Starting at just 15, McKagan has been a part of such diverse and influential bands as THE VAINS (1979),THE FASTBACKS (1980),THE LIVING (1982),THE FARTZ (1990),10 MINUTE WARNING (1993) and LOADED (1998),along, of course, with his historic role as founding member of both GUNS N' ROSES and VELVET REVOLVER. In addition to his prolific musical efforts, McKagan is The New York Times best-selling author of 2011's "It's So Easy: And Other Lies" and 2015's "How To Be A Man: (And Other Illusions)", and the co-host (with Susan Holmes McKagan) of the popular "Three Chords & The Truth" radio show, airing in North America on SiriusXM's Ozzy's Boneyard (Ch. 38). In addition, "Three Chords & The Truth" airs weekly on stations around the globe, including Denmark's myROCK, the U.K.'s Planet Rock, Finland's Radio Rock, Ireland's Nova, Norway's Radio Rock, Sweden's Rock Klassiker, Germany/Switzerland/Austria's Rock Antenne, Iceland's x977 and Poland's Antyradio.