Steven Adler
889720
225752030
2008-07-15T06:25:30Z
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{{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}}<br> [[Cleveland, Ohio|Cleveland]], [[Ohio]], [[United States|U.S.]]
| Instrument = [[Drums]] <br /> [[Guitar]]
| Genre = [[Hard rock]]
| Occupation = [[Musician]]
| Years_active = 1983 - Present
| Label = [[Geffen Records]]
| Associated_acts = [[Guns N' Roses]]<br>[[Adler's Appetite]]
| URL = [http://www.adlersappetite.com www.adlersappetite.com]
}}
'''Steven Adler''' (born [[January 22]], [[1965]] in [[Cleveland, Ohio]]) is an [[United States|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 <ref>[http://www.celebrityaccess.com/news/profile.html?id=355 Interview with Jamie Adler], Celebrity Access</ref> and has some [[Iceland]]ic heritage. <ref>[http://members.aol.com/stevenadlersite/EARLYQNA.html Q&A with Steven Adler]Steven Adler's official website</ref>
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.<ref name="CR">{{cite news | url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=145 | title=Steven Adler interview | publisher=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] | date= April 2005 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-11-18}}</ref>
Adler met future Guns N' Roses [[guitarist]] [[Slash (musician)|Slash]] at the age of 13. The two attended the same junior high school in [[California]]<ref name="MS">{{cite 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= Jan 2006 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-11-18}}</ref> and when Adler had a [[skateboarding]] accident, Slash stopped to help him.<ref name="CR" /> 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 (song)|Civil War]]", although his drum track is said to be heavily edited.<ref name="LF" />
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 (band)|Cinderella]] substituted on drums for several shows until Adler recovered.<ref>[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</ref> 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.<ref name="LF">{{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}}</ref> By Adler's own admission, he tried to play the song "20, maybe 30 times."<ref name="CR" /> During the recording of "Civil War" Adler was still trying to stop using drugs.<ref name="MS" />
Adler was briefly fired from the band, but was reinstated after signing a contract promising to stop using drugs.<ref name="KR">{{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}}</ref> 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,<ref>[http://www.myuseless-info.com/ugunsnrosesfacts.html Guns N' Roses Facts<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref name="WE">{{cite news | url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,315084,00.html | title=Cover story: Guns N' Roses | publisher=Entertainment Weekly | date= 1991 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2008-06-16}}</ref> 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."<ref name="SP">{{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}}</ref>
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.<ref name="Vox">{{cite news | url=http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/articles/showarticle.php?articleid=71 | title=Interview in Vox | publisher=Vox | date= 1991 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2008-06-16}}</ref> 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.".<ref name="CR" /><ref name="WE" />
=== 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. Adler auditioned as drummer for Australian rock band [[AC/DC]] following the departure of their then-current drummer, [[Simon Wright]]. He was rejected due to news that his firing from Guns N' Roses was related to his overt drug abuse. The position was given to [[Chris Slade]]. When ex-Guns N' Roses members Slash and Duff McKagan began creating [[Velvet Revolver]] in 2002, Adler expressed hope that history would repeat itself and that once again he would be in a band with them. Velvet Revolver was created with Adler's replacement, Matt Sorum, instead.
In 2003, he started the band Suki Jones, which would later be renamed [[Adler's Appetite]], and released an EP, [[Adler's Appetite (album)|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 [[The Surreal Life: Fame Games]] 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 (with whom recorded a yet unreleased cover of "[[Do You Love Me?]]" with [[JT Longoria]] on bass guitar) and Slash at the [[Key Club]] in Los Angeles. In September 2006 Adler attended a Guns N' Roses show in [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]] and spoke to Axl Rose for the first time in over a decade.<ref name="217b">{{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= Feb 2007 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-02-17}}</ref><ref name="MS3">{{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= Jan 2006 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-11-18}}</ref>
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.<ref>[http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=77865 "Steven Adler holding out hope for a reunion"] ''Blabbermouth,'' July 31 2007</ref> While Adler touted the event to the press as a "reunion," <ref>{{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}}</ref> the show was not advertised as such,<ref>[http://www.sleazeroxx.com/news07/0718adl.shtml "STEVEN ADLER AND TRACII GUNS CELEBRATE ANNIVERSARY OF APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION"] ''SleazeRoxx,'' July 18 2007</ref> and was not considered as such by the other original members. <ref>[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</ref>
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."<ref name="slash">{{cite news | url=http://www.gnrdaily.com/news_detail.asp?id=561 | title="Slash says reunion is unlikely" | publisher=[[Guitar Edge]] | date= Feb 2007 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-03-02}}</ref>
== Personal life ==
Adler's substance abuse issues continued after he was fired from Guns N' Roses.<ref name="MS3" /> In interviews as recent as 2006, he has stated that he has, at times, used $300 worth of drugs in one night.<ref name="MS2" /> In 1996, Adler suffered a stroke and was briefly comatose after taking a particularly potent [[speedball (drug)|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.<ref name="lacb">{{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}}</ref><ref>"Hard Copy" episode in October 1996</ref>
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.<ref name="MS2">{{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= Jan 2006 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2006-11-18}}</ref><ref name="Melt">{{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}}</ref>
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 [[Nolo contendere|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]].<ref name="MTV">{{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}}</ref>
Adler currently resides in the Hollywood Hills. In 2008, he entered the Pasadena Recovery Center to participate in the second season of [[Celebrity Rehab| ''Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew'']].<ref>[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</ref>
== 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 ===
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== 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 (magazine)|Classic Rock]]''
*[http://www.hollywoodrose.com.ar/ Steven Adler Information, News and Photos.]
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{{succession box| title=[[Guns N' Roses]] Drummer| before=[[Rob Gardner]]| after=[[Matt Sorum]]| years=1985-1990}}
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[[Category:1965 births]]
[[Category:Fairfax High School (Los Angeles) alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Guns N' Roses members]]
[[Category:Heavy metal drummers]]
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[[Category:Jewish American musicians]]
[[Category:People from Cleveland, Ohio]]
[[Category:Ohio musicians]]
[[Category:Adler's Appetite members]]
[[Category:Icelandic Jews]]
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