Duff McKagan's Loaded formed in Seattle, Washington in 1999, born out of former Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan's need for a touring band to support his shelved solo album Beautiful Disease. McKagan formed Loaded, initially as The Gentlemen, to be his band for the tour supporting the album, with McKagan performing lead vocals and bass duties, and a lineup that consisted of guitarists Dez Cadena and Michael Barragan as well as drummer Taz Bentley. That earliest incarnation was short lived, as the band disbanded before the end of 1999 . Musically, the project reflected McKagan's punk roots, drawing on his pre-fame history in the Seattle underground scene rather than the arena rock sound of his previous band.
The group found its footing after reforming with a more stable lineup. After working on new material with drummer Geoff Reading, Loaded was reformed in 2001, adding guitarist Mike Squires and Jeff Rouse to the line-up , and that year the band released its debut studio album, Dark Days. The real breakthrough, however, came later with the band's second album. Writing for the album began in 2008 when vocalist Scott Weiland departed Duff McKagan's other band, Velvet Revolver, and recording for the follow-up to their 2001 debut album Dark Days began and was completed in June 2008. The resulting record, Sick, released in 2009, became the band's most celebrated work, earning praise for its blues-driven hard rock sound and drawing frequent comparisons to McKagan's earlier work with Guns N' Roses. The album's touring lineup featured McKagan on vocals and guitar alongside Squires on guitar, Rouse on bass, and Reading on drums.
Over its run, Loaded weathered numerous lineup shifts tied to McKagan's other commitments. When McKagan began working on a new project with his former Guns N' Roses bandmates Slash and Matt Sorum in 2002, he effectively put Loaded on hiatus, adding former Loaded guitarist Dave Kushner and Stone Temple Pilots singer Scott Weiland to the lineup to form the hard rock supergroup Velvet Revolver in 2003. Loaded were put on hiatus, though they still played shows on occasion, before returning from hiatus in 2008 to record and release their second album, after which Reading left the group and was replaced by Isaac Carpenter. The band toured extensively behind Sick, promoting it for over half a year, releasing the single "Flatline," and touring the United States, South America, and several European countries as well as playing music festivals. Loaded pressed on with a third studio album, The Taking, in 2011, closing out a catalog that ultimately included three studio albums, Dark Days (2001), Sick (2009) and The Taking (2011), one extended play called Wasted Heart (2008), and one live album called Episode 1999: Live (1999). The band's active period wound down not long after, though it never made an official statement of dissolution. While never having officially disbanded, the group has not been active since 2012. McKagan himself moved on to other high profile projects, eventually reuniting with his most famous former band. McKagan rejoined Guns N' Roses in 2016, following their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Loaded's legacy rests less on chart dominance than on its role as a genuine passion project, a raw, punk inflected outlet that let one of hard rock's most recognizable bassists step into the frontman spotlight, and its catalog remains a touchstone for fans tracing the post Guns N' Roses paths of that band's alumni.
For this archive, Loaded holds a modest but meaningful place. Wayne Dennon photographed the band just once, at a 2009 show, capturing the group during the height of the Sick era touring cycle. That single night of shooting left behind 18 photographs, images that archive visitors have returned to again and again, racking up 14,160 views over the years, a testament to the enduring interest in McKagan's post Guns N' Roses work and to the quiet, dedicated eye Wayne brought to every stage he stood in front of.
