So our/my favorite guy on the planet, one of the few metal dudes to have evolved admirably into life after his most renowned association (unlike his more famous counterpart), just got a book deal from Simon & Schuster. He's been angling for this a long while now, as he told us when he wrote for us last May, and we're thrilled to see him finally get his due. McKagan announced this today on Reverb, the music blog of our sister paper Seattle Weekly, and in his post, he explains firmly that his book will not be the GN'R version of The Dirt.

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Michael McKagan, better known as former Guns 'N Roses bassist/current Loaded frontman/guest-SOTC contributor Duff, has a 600-word piece in today's Times about his lifetime of experiences flying. Unlike, say, Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, who piloted his band's private 757 across the world last year, McKagan's spent his tour-horse time in a passenger seat for the last 25 years, but still has, per usual, spectacular rock-star anecdotes. "I've had my share of foreign-soil adventures, like escaping a coup attempt by Hugo Chavez in 1992, when Guns N' Roses was playing in Venezuela," he writes. "Fortunately for me, Mr. Chavez liked our band and waited for our chartered plane to leave before he strafed the airport." Another Duff metaphorical chestnut, put forth as evidence of how his travels have changed since his Guns' days: "Airplane cabins are my arenas where I experience many triumphs and failures against the legendary puzzle master Will Shortz and his wicked crossword makers." Certainly beats talking about the Mile High Club.

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1. "[Nikki Sixx and I] talked about the upcoming Cruefest, and he told me that they would be performing the Dr. Feelgood record from beginning to end. He also reminded me of a time that I drove his Maserati and put a scratch in it. (I don't even remember driving any Maserati. EVER!) I was a wee bit embarrassed to say the least."

2. "On Monday night, my phone rang at home (nobody calls me at home anymore). My wife picked up and said it was for me. Apparently I had given the OK at some point to appear live on a hour-long financial AM radio show in Los Angeles (not a small market!). So there I was, live on the radio, with the host immediately peppering me with pretty pointed questions on my thoughts for economic recovery."

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