Guitarist Gilby Clarke recently spoke with Ultimate Guitar about his time with Guns N' Roses between 1991 and 1994. Following is an excerpt from the interview.

UG: When you got the call from Guns N’ Roses, did you think that was a band that had that type of rock and roll thing you talked about earlier? Did you see Guns as a truly authentic rock and roll band in that same tradition as Bad Company or early Queen?

Clarke: "Absolutely. When I was asked, I joined that band for a lot of different reasons. There wasn’t any negative checks in the box but one of ‘em was because I thought it was a great band. For me, what I was trying to achieve at that time is I really just wanted a loud version of The Rolling Stones and to me that’s what Guns was. They were a loud version of The Rolling Stones."

UG: You weren’t a complete unknown joining a huge band.

Clarke: "Yeah. I had never played a stadium gig before but I had already done arena and theater tours and been on the road quite a few times. I definitely had all that kind of experience."

UG: Was there an actual audition for the band? Were you nervous?

Clarke: "Was I nervous? No. I think the reason for not being nervous is once again I was 30 when I got the call. I had already been out there and knew it was an opportunity besides the amazing chance to join a great rock and roll band. I thought, 'You know what? I’m not gonna try to be Izzy. I’m just gonna be myself and play the way I play and talk the way I talk and be who I am. If they like me for who I am then hopefully things will work out.'"

UG: You said that all the guys were welcoming of you to the band but in the end, Axl kicked you out of the band and didn’t even tell you.

Clarke: "If there was a negativity about the ending of it, it was just that thing of no real communication. I never heard directly from him. If there was something wrong or something him and I didn’t see eye to eye on, I never got that directly from him. The people in-between had their own agendas so I don’t think they were really representing him correctly and they may not have been representing me correctly."

Read the complete interview here.