Just Like Pandora's Box

Izzy Stradlin

"I did prefer to travel at my own pace. They had a jumbo jet and most of the gigs were 200 miles apart. When a gig was over, my girlfriend, my dog and I would get on the tour bus. I didn't need to go out and get laid. I had to pass on the booze. There just wasn't much for me to do backstage. Toward the end of the tour we even dumped the bus and took a van or a motorcycle. My dog Treader loved being on tour. I got him when I got sober and he helped me keep my perspective, see life through a dog's eyes. You're doing all right if you've got food, a place to sleep and someone to pet you."

"He would smoke cigarettes in this very interesting way. Like it was the '40s or something. He was James Dean to me."

"I just don't know if the issues that Izzy and I have with each other will ever be resolved. In order to make up with someone you have to first be able to speak to them, and to do that you need to first know where the hell they are. Guys like that can be hard to deal with. They just don't need you. He can go on and do whatever it is he's doing just fine without me, and he doesn't seem to realize that sometimes a certain group of individuals, when working together, can create something that's irreplaceable...that can't be done on your own. He's got the money, and obviously doesn't see what so many people who love him do, and there's nobody in his life who will risk their friendship with him by telling him the truth. He's always been surrounded by "yes" people, and whenever someone pops up with a dissenting opinion, he can just disappear and replace that person with someone who's more agreeable."