Duff McKagan Survived a ‘Bad Mushroom Trip’ Thanks to Iggy Pop

Duff McKagan has detailed an instance when Iggy Pop helped him through a trippy situation.

The Guns N’ Roses bassist was a guest on the Rockonteurs podcast, where he recounted the story.

“Iggy Pop got me through a bad mushroom trip,” McKagan recalled. “I went to an Iggy show way too high on mushrooms, thinking I was going to have to go to the hospital, freaking out.”

McKagan estimated he was 14 years-old at the time, long before he attained his own stardom in GNR. The teen was tripping hard, but something changed when Pop took the stage.

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“I just watched Iggy the whole (time), just tripping way too much on psychedelics. But he brought me down,” McKagan explained. “And I was already a big Iggy fan, but then I was like, he means more to me. He’s a waypoint for me in my life.”

Duff McKagan Later Collaborated With Iggy Pop

Pop became one of the most influential people in McKagan’s musical career. In 1990, the GNR bassist contributed to Pop’s Brick by Brick album. Though he described the experience as ”super epic,” McKagan noted he was still drinking at the time and didn’t get to enjoy collaborating with his idol as much as he would have liked. Flash forward to 2023 and McKagan once again got the chance to work with Pop, this time on the album Every Loser.

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“This time was kind of a redo,” the bassist explained. “And to be able to put together a band for him, and he let us pick the set list… This is the soundtrack to my life, where do you start?”

McKagan not only played on the album but joined Pop for a brief tour in support on the LP. Pop later returned the favor by appearing on McKagan’s solo album Lighthouse, released last October.