Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan recently spoke with Steve Baltin at Forbes, and he opened up about what he believes his his greatest weakness:

"Probably my greatest weakness, I don't like to call it that anymore, that's part of the way I've gotten over it. At 16 I started having panic disorder. My first one happened out of nowhere. I was in the shower at my mom's house, the floor just sunk down three feet and I thought there was an esrthquake or something. It was actually a panic attack. I self medicated those things in my 20s with a ton of alcohol. And they kind of ruled my life. Of course the more alcohol you drink the more sugars in your system the more panic attacks you're gonna have. Through Ukidokan and really measuring these things out and kind of tackling them and taking them face on and figuring out a way through them, it was a weakness I've turned into something that's a teachable moment. I can understand a lot more about mental illness and panic disorder that has sides of depression to it that I never experienced until a couple of years ago. I had a depression attack, which was the worst thing you can ever have. But I've dealt with this thing through Ukidokan and I'm very fortunate to have a very positive force in my life that I can work on these things. So my weakness has kind of turned into a a strength. I can help others."

McKagan recently sat down with Milana (Rabkin) Lewis (co-founder of Stem Disintermedia) to discuss the early days of Guns N' Roses, making money (or not) in the music business, becoming successful, getting sober, taking control of finances, and living a punk rock life.

McKagan on the early days of G'N'R:

"Music was going to be my thing. Was I going to make a living at it? That was kind of a joke. It was just my passion, and if I was broke doing my passion, so be it. I had to do it. I was working at a restaurant in Seattle, saving my money to move to LA. I moved to LA chasing my dream, and the first people I met was Slash and Steven (Adler) through an ad in the newspaper.

We met down at Canter's. We stared at each other but found that we had a lot of the same musical influences. There was always a missing piece in the tons of bands I was in Seattle. I toured, I knew how to book a tour, I knew how to make a flier, but if you're missing a piece in your band, there was always a weak link. When the five of us got in a room the first time in Silverlake in a rehearsal place, it was on. You could tell immediately. It was pretty ferocious."