In the charming seaside home of Axl Rose in Malibu, there resided an unwelcome guest in the form of a persistent moth. However, traditional flyswatters were not enough to rid the Guns N’ Roses singer of this intruder. Instead, Axl opted for a more extravagant approach, grabbing his trusty shotgun to solve the issue. Witnessing this extraordinary moment, Craig Duswalt, the author of “Welcome to My Jungle” (BenBella), still finds it hard to believe. To Axl, it was just another casual day in the life of a rockstar.
In October 1991, Duswalt’s peaceful day with his girlfriend, the Playboy Playmate Kim Evenson (September 1984), took an unexpected turn when his pager beeped. Doug Goldstein, a former colleague who was managing Guns N’ Roses, urgently requested Duswalt to join their “Use Your Illusion” tour. Faced with a difficult decision, Duswalt had to choose between staying with Kim or embarking on a journey with the hottest band in the world. As he reflects on that moment, he writes, “I knew what I had to do… break up with Kim via a phone call from far, far away.”
Plunged into a world of excess and extravagance, Duswalt’s primary responsibility was ensuring the band’s safety. One incident that stood out was guitarist Slash’s “death” outside Duswalt’s hotel room in San Francisco in 1992. Although Slash had succumbed to an overdose, he was revived, and the band went on to perform a concert that same night, acting as if nothing had happened.
Another peculiar event involved Axl Rose and his baby wallaby companion, Freddie, whom he brought along on tour. Axl went to great lengths to make Freddie comfortable, even fashioning a sling to mimic a wallaby mother’s pouch and carrying his pet around. Duswalt recounts, “He also fed Freddie with a little baby’s bottle.”
During Guns N’ Roses’ performance at the 1992 Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in London, Duswalt had a noteworthy encounter with actress Liz Taylor. After she entered Slash’s dressing room and laid eyes on him, Duswalt managed to capture a photograph of her reaction. Rumor has it that she was far from embarrassed and didn’t leave immediately, avoiding eye contact with Slash.
Nudity seemed to be a recurring theme throughout the tour. Duswalt recalls an incident where a woman was found engaging in intimate activities with a car outside Axl Rose’s dressing room. Additionally, U2 bassist Adam Clayton made a memorable entrance into a packed bar in Vienna, completely naked, while carrying a birthday cake.
When the tour finally came to an end in July 1993, after an astounding 196 shows across 31 countries, Duswalt expressed a deep sense of relief for having made it through the adventure unscathed. He reminisces, “I witnessed it all: the highs, the lows, the good, the bad, and the bizarre. And of course, the moth was ultimately vanquished.”
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