Appetite for the Written Word

As the bassist for Guns N’ Roses, Duff McKagan had a hand in writing such 1980s hard rock classics as “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Sweet Child O’ Mine” and “Paradise City.” Now, it is evident that McKagan is as talented an author as he is a songwriter.

McKagan’s excellent autobiography, “It’s So Easy: and other lies,” will be published on Tuesday, Oct. 4. The next day, Wednesday, Oct. 5, he will sign copies at on East Ridgewood Avenue.

“I just love writing,” McKagan said by phone from his Los Angeles home. “I’m also a book nerd.”

Guns N’ Roses fans looking for insider dirt on the notorious hard rockers will find plenty of torrid tales to pour over in “It’s So Easy: and other lies.” But that’s just part of McKagan’s remarkable life story.

In addition to detailing Guns’ spectacular rise and dramatic fall, the gripping, 366-page tome vividly details McKagan’s childhood in Seattle, his dark days as an out-of-control drug and alcohol abuser, and his unique and inspiring recovery.

Ironically, McKagan left his native Seattle for Los Angeles in 1984 at age 20 after the local punk rock scene became infested with heroin. McKagan had seen too many friends die of overdoses, and headed south to pursue his musical dreams.

But soon after Guns N’ Roses formed, McKagan fell victim to the trappings of the Hollywood rocker lifestyle. He began using cocaine regularly and became an extremely heavy drinker.

The turning point came in 1994, when McKagan suffered a potentially fatal burst pancreas as a result of his alcohol abuse. He decided to get clean and sober, though not through the traditional method of checking into a rehab center.

Instead, McKagan charted his own course. He spent his days mountain biking and training in martial arts at the famous House of Champions dojo in Van Nuys, Calif.

“I didn’t really decide not to go to rehab as much as I was reacting to what [my doctor and family] wanted me to do,” McKagan said. I thought, ‘okay, I’ll show them I can do this on my own.’ That’s what I was used to doing in life, saying ‘I’ll show you.’

“I didn’t need another pressure situation, like, ‘you’ve got to go to rehab now,’” he said. “So I did a ridiculous amount of exercise. I didn’t know what else to do.”

At night McKagan stayed home and devoured the literary classics he missed out on as a high school dropout. “I had a sense of wanting to make up for lost intellectual time in my early life,” McKagan said. “I wanted to learn as much as I could.”

Eventually McKagan earned his GED and then a college degree in finance. He wrote a music industry financial column for Playboy before settling into his current roles as a general columnist for Seattle Weekly and a sports columnist at ESPN.com.

In addition, McKagan is still an active musician. His band, Loaded, released its third album, “The Taking,” in April on Eagle Rock Records. He has also played with Velvet Revolver, which features ex-Guns N’ Roses members Slash (guitar) and Matt Sorum (drums). Velvet Revolver has been on hiatus since it parted ways with singer Scott Weiland in 2008.

McKagan, who is married and has two daughters, ages 14 and 11, said he has no regrets about the rough road he has taken through life to get to a point of true contentment.

“I really don’t have regrets,” the author-musician said. “I’m glad everything in my life happened the way it did. I have my two girls and my wife and I’m okay. I feel blessed.”

Duff McKagan signs copies of his new biography, “It’s So Easy: and other lies” (Touchstone-Simon & Schuster) at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5 at Bookends, 211 E. Ridgewood Ave. Call (201) 445-0726 or visit book-ends.com for more information. McKagan will autograph only books purchased at Bookends.