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Former Guns N’ Roses<\/a> manager Doug Goldstein, who worked with the band through their years of dizzying superstardom and harrowing excess, has died at 65, the\u00a0Appetite for Distortion Podcast With Brando<\/a><\/em> confirmed.<\/p>\n “Doug was much more than a former Guns N’ Roses manager,” Appetite for Distortion<\/em> host Brandon Weissler tells UCR. “He was a friendly ear, a supportive voice and a sensitive man. You don’t survive 17 years with Axl Rose<\/a> by accident. In many ways, he saved Axl’s life. Doug cared deeply about his friends, family, and all GN’R fans. He struggled in life, but never gave up. ‘Dougie’ will be sorely missed. Love to his two boys, Jake and Eli.”<\/p>\n Former Guns N’ Roses co-manager Alan Niven, who worked closely with Goldstein before their falling-out, told Weissler:\u00a0“It’s very sad. 65 is not old. I will be lighting a candle for him tonight.”<\/p>\n Goldstein’s job was, by all accounts, a thankless one. He\u00a0entered the GN’R orbit\u00a0while the band was hard at work promoting\u00a0Appetite for Destruction<\/a><\/em>\u00a0\u2014\u00a0first as\u00a0a tour manager, and later as co-manager alongside Niven. Prior to Guns N’ Roses, he’d worked security for the likes of\u00a0Van Halen<\/a>, Heart<\/a>, Black Sabbath<\/a>\u00a0and other acts, according to Mick Wall’s 2016 Guns N’ Roses biography\u00a0Last of the Giants<\/em>.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Guns N’ Roses Albums Ranked Worst to Best<\/a><\/p>\n Immediately,\u00a0Goldstein was tasked not only with keeping Guns N’ Roses functioning on the road, but keeping the band members alive<\/em>. Associates of the band credited him with being\u00a0social and amenable \u2014 a so-called “good cop” to Niven’s hard-nosed, business-oriented “bad cop.” But Goldstein could drop the hammer when needed. In\u00a0Last of the Giants<\/em>, he recalled an early anecdote\u00a0involving Slash<\/a> that helped him curb the band’s own appetite for destruction, at least partially.<\/p>\n “Finally Slash breaks a [hotel] TV. So he calls me,” recalled Goldstein, who went down to the reception desk to clear up the matter. “The guys say okay, and that the set cost $350. I go, ‘No way.’ And Slash is waiting for me to bring it down, right? I go, ‘Not a chance. That is\u00a0not<\/em> a $350 TV. That’s a $700 TV.’ Slash is like, ‘What?<\/em>‘ I go, ‘Slash, shut up. I do this for a living and I\u00a0know<\/em> a $700 TV when I see one.’ The guy is like, ‘No, really. Just give me $350.’ I go, ‘Shut up! I do this for a living.’ I go, ‘Slash, I’m gonna have to take $700 out of your money.’ So now it’s not even a band deal, I’m taking it out of his personal income. He was fucking livid! But I’ll tell you what. Nobody broke\u00a0shit<\/em> after that.”<\/p>\n As Guns N’ Roses’ star rose, Goldstein took on more responsibility within their camp and became particularly close with frontman Axl Rose \u2014 ultimately to the detriment of his other relationships within the band, particularly Slash.\u00a0Goldstein had a front-row seat to the catastrophic 1991 St. Louis riot<\/a> and similar near-disasters throughout the Use Your Illusion tour. In Wall’s book, he also recalled\u00a0trying to steer Slash and Duff McKagan<\/a> away from the brink of substance-fueled oblivion.<\/p>\n “Whenever I talk about it I allude to the bunker mentality in wartime,” Goldstein said. “You know, three guys in a bunker and shots are being fired over their heads and they’re bunkered down for a week at a time. By the end of that week there’s so much PTSD that takes place and you’ve gotten so much closer because of it.”<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> The 30 Wildest Moments From Guns N’ Roses’ Use Your Illusion Tour<\/a><\/p>\n As the classic-era Guns N’ Roses lineup splintered, Goldstein remained by Rose’s side as he labored over\u00a0Chinese Democracy<\/a><\/em>, which was finally released in 2008. By then Goldstein was out of the picture, having “retired” in 2003.<\/p>\nHow Doug Goldstein Curbed Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction (Somewhat)<\/h3>\n
Doug Goldstein’s ‘Bunker Mentality in Wartime’ With Guns N’ Roses<\/h3>\n