Here Today... Gone To Hell!

It struck me when considering GN'R concerts are currently selling out in Europe - are Europeans more open to the idea of a Guns without Slash etc..?

I know that hip hop is nowhere near as big as it is in the US (or even down under), so this could have a lot to do with it, as it seems a lot of bands that are kind of washed up in other parts of the world still seem to make reasonable careers in other markets.

But does anyone think that perhaps Europeans are a little more sympatheic to Axl? or perhaps some of the negative press from 02 (riots, botox, VMAs etc..) didnt quite filter through?

Any thoughts??

Most of people think Slash is Still in the band.

That's correct. Slash isn't so known here also.

oh dear  :hihi: you're all in for a 'surprise' then  :rofl:

what? Your sentence is not logical.

I'm from Finland and everyone I've talked to knows that Axl is the only original member of the band. And I don't mean just the fans, but everyone else too.

:rofl: :rofl: Imagine all the 'Where's Slash" chants. Honestly, I think if he would just put out the fucking album people would be open to this new band. Axl just wont let people adjust to this new version of GNR. All he does is AFD rehash. He should expect people to want Slash because 95% of the songs they play is stuff from 87-93.

he was agreeing with you

Nah, I dont think so. while I was waiting in the line to get tickets I heard people make "jokes" of "Axl shows" and Slash not being in the band.
Also most people know Velvet Revolver here now. ofcourse theres always these "not informed" people, but they certainly aren't the majority.

Yep.. I'll make it clear :D : I agree that most people here think that Slash is still in the band. Also Slash isn't really as known here as in the States.

but dont they show old footage of the band for the upcoming concerts?

most of the people buying tickits for a GNR show, knows Slash is not in the band.
And i dont think that matters, people have been waiting for Axl.

And, Slash isnt known here? hell, he is.. everyone with a little knowlege about GNR knows Axl, Slash, and Duff..

are you kidding? Slash is as known as Axl, he has his own fanbase...

That is correct. The people who aren't into GN'R might not be aware of the current GN'R lineup, but the people who are buying tickets for GN'R do. I've yet to encounter a GN'R fan who didn't know that Slash was in VR now.

VR is a pretty unknown band outside the USA. It's a small band

People in Europe can accept the reality that Slash isn't with GNR anymore whereas in the USA, we are still debating!!

Like AXL said "Live and Let die!!"

Well, at least in Holland everyone knows who Slash is, and knows he ain't in GnR anymore. Most people also know he's in Velvet Revolver.

I think that people are really tired of Hip-Hop right now cause rock seems to be getting bigger. But also festivals have been very popular for the last 2 decades and most festivals are rock orientated. So people are just curious to what Axl has been doing.....

People, Slash is one of the most known guitarists in the world for the general population, if you ask 10 people who are not fans of GnR in particular if they can name some guitarists, I can almost promise that 4-6 of them will name Slash...  And people in Europe are well awere of Slash, and many are awere that he is not in GnR anymore. Velvet Revolver toured here and have sold their album well here. In Norway there have been articles about GnR,and VR, and TV interviews with Slash and Duff in the major media (newspapers and TV)

well a lot of people i know were surprised that GnR were still alive and kicking...even Slash is out of the band, the name has established itself in the past.
There will be some people who will be surprised that Slash is not in the band, but hey if they get a good show people will forgive and forget

Don't think so ;)

Everybody knows here (meaning Europe) that Axl is the only original member that's still in GN'R. Some even know that Dizzy's still there too.

What they don't know is that GN'R still EXISTS ;D

yeah same here, most people knows that Slash is in VR these days, and that Axl is the only original member left in GNR.
they've even talked about it on the radio and on the tv because of the tour coming up and all.

so, based on the people I know, I'd say no, Europeans are not more open to a Slash-less GNR.

The article about the Stockholm show in Sweden's biggest newspaper mentioned the fact that Axl is the only original member left and that Slash is now in Velvet Revolver. If people are expecting to see Slash at the show, then they haven't paid any attention to what's been going on....



/jarmo

I think 99% of the people know about slash is not anymore on GNR.............
and gnr sold out...cause they wanna see axl...and their new songs

i don't know anyone that still thinks slash is in the band

cause nothing's going on.
there are huge billboard for thr iron maiden november show in paris
nothing on the june gnr show ...

in general people dont know anything about slash and axl, they thougth everybody was dead anyway.
im talking mainstream audience - but people who could have been gnr fans in the 90s -

rock and music fans, usually know about axl / slash / vr thing. but it's not adverstised.
you think they dont talk about axl a lot in the US.
worst in europe.

A little side note: They released more tickets to the GN'R show in Stockholm (I'm guessing this morning, as I got myself a better ticket than the one I got the day they went on sale), but they are now also gone. Pretty impressive. So I would say that people aren't too bothered by the fact that Slash isn't gonna be there.

there's still zero promotion in France... Nothing in the streets, nothing on radio, TV, absolutely nothing...it's been like that for 10 years in France...the show is on june 25th...Hope the arena? won't be half-empty because of the huge lack of promotion... The Rock media sucks here, they hate Axl and morer generally they hate GNR and the american bands; They are just a bunch of retarded lefties who still talk about the clash or the stooges while we are in 2006, they live in the past and still think we are in 1968...

It's not that they think Slash is still in the band. It's that most people think GnR split up and aren't around anymore. I'm talking about any non-GnR fans or people who liked them in their peak but don't really listen to them much anymore. If they know of this upcoming tour they probably think its a reunion or something. VR received very little mainstream media attention. Neither did GnR's tour of 2002 or their upcoming gigs. It was all ignored by the mainstream media. But only GnR fans would be buying tickets and they would know their was no Slash. Thing is, at the festivals, where people might be going to see other bands they might not know much about the current state of GnR, so who knows? Slash is as popular among GnR fans over here and most people would prefer he was there, and they would sell way more tickets with him in the band. Although the fact GnR have toured in so long, probably makes up for that, as far as ticket sales go.

This is Britain and Ireland i'm talking about though, I don't know about the rest of europe.

Are you serious?? :o :o That is not a good sign. At least some of the other shows are selling quite a few tickets.

I'm very serious. There is still nothing here. You'll see it, bercy arena may be half empty, you know, the so unfamous "french exeption"? ::)
Hope Merck will make somme promotion here, we really need promotion for the band!

well, it depends on the countries. In France, this is pure silence for the momment

Here in Finland people know that Slash isn?t any more in the band. Couple of my friends are coming to see GNR in Helsinki and I told them them that Slash and duff  are no longer in the band. My friends said they know it, but they still want to hear the music from GNR.

What I do think is that Slash is more populair with the mainstream audience than Axl. Most people think of Axl as a dick. I already heard some people say they won't listen to the new GnR cause Slash ain't there. I find that a bit hypocrite since they also didn't listen to VR and they do have Slash in the band.

What I do know for sure is that Axl and Slash are as popular as each other.....both are huge R n R icons....

People attending shows/festivals knows Axl Rose is the only original left now :peace:
They come to see Axl and the new band.

It can seem they are more succesful and popular here, but also these festivals gets more attention than single us-shows (02 US-tour)
gonna be a fun summer :beer:

They talked about it on Oui Fm and the tickets only go on sale next week ! Nothing weird about it so far !
All my friends that are not gnr fans are calling me  as it's been 10 years I've been waiting for a show in Paris - I haven't told them so they had to have heard that somewhere ;) !

Here in Hungary a lot of fans don't even know if GN'R still exists, they think the band broke up long ago and Axl gave up music. Some isn't aware that Slash left the band... only a few know that Axl has this Nu-GN'R thing.

You could have Mysteron organize a street team. :rofl: :rofl:

Seriously though, Merck needs to do something. That is a pretty big market there, and having a half empty arena is not in the best interest of the band. Axl needs all them European shows to sell out so he will be more marketable over here in the U.S. If Merck cant get it done, Axl needs to hire someone else that can get the job done.

That's true. Even non-GN'R fans know who he is. As far as I know Slash is more popular here than Axl, although the GN'R name would make a huge crowd since people want to hear the old songs. After the VR concert a lot of guys were disappointed because they played only ISE and Brownstone. Guns N' Roses is some kind of a nostalgia act in Hungary.

I think its about 50-50 of people that think hes still in the band...well people that think the band doesn't exist anymore.

However, I do know some people who think hes still in the band.

I remember when I got into GNR in Summer 04 finding out about the 'new' band was a bit of a shock.

I don't get the constant Mysteron jokes and bashing.

I mean is it HIS fault that the 02 tour was cancelled and the CD not released? This is a fan of the band trying to get the fans involved and help out. He thought he could do his bit to help his favourite (I'm assuming) band. If Merck asked him to help out.. hey it's not even Merck's fault.. if Merck was told it was all set to go and then it was cancelled there isn't much he can do about that either. There is only one man who can decide that.

Same with the Boston article.. I mean is it that bad to write in and stick up for your favourite band you have loved your entire life? I guess he and management just thought that there would be a bunch of fans here who thought the demos rocked and would like to write in to say something about it.

Oh I remember.. they haven't given us shit over the years.. why should we help out..

With a new album released GNR has a better chance of establishing the new band. Until then most people only know the name and associate it with the classic lineup. The fact VR made it may help people realize who isnt in GNR. At least thats my take on this side of the pond anyway.

still. there is no real advertisment. billboards, posters ... nothing. iron maiden got them ads in the metro ... and the show is in november ... :(

whay about this wierd logo download.uk and the french poster have ? all that is so wierd to me. fishy. fishy.

That is certainly odd that there has been little promotion.. surely it's coming soon (yes I realise what I just said  :hihi: )

Thats true.
Many 'fans' are still asking "is Slash still in" or saying "I'm going to that show to see Slash/Duff/Izzy" :no: And then they act like 'real fans' saying that Don't Cry is the best song ever and Slash is so sexy.. When you tell them that Axl is the only original member in the band, they are like "Ok, that sucks and Axl sucks too". Then they complain about it like they'd know everything.. it's kinda hilarious seeing that kind of people bashing Axl :hihi:

Constant?? Really? I dont see it. Sometimes me and a few others make a little joke, but it sure isnt constant. Who ever said it was his fault? Its called an opinion. Not every person on the planet is gonna love these new songs, and I dont see the point of attacking some journalist that isnt obsessed with Chinese Democracy. Gimme a break. ::)

Okay, very consistently then  :P


I agree that he/she shouldn't be attacked, but I was under the impression that peoples letters and emails (those with some intelligence and not just 'u are a wanker' etc) with their views and reactions to the article got published.. as they do here. And it would be cool for the public to see some positive reaction. But as I said.. maybe they are not published there.

Then they haven't read the newspapers in recent weeks.





/jarmo

Jarmo, once again, there has been almost nothing about GNR in the newspapers in France for the last 10 years. GNR is not all over the media here. Believe us, we live in France, we know what happens in our country and in our media, and they don't talk about GNR. WHATEVER is right, and I think Will, Pandora, Rain and myself can confirm there have been a very few GNR talks in the press here for the last 10 years. It's not like in the UK, or netherlands, or sweden or Ireland.

I think people that follow the gnr saga know axl is the only member, but the you have those fans that use to follow and just see gnr is playing so they bought tickets and might not know much more.... When I heard oh my god in the usa in 99 I had nop  clue who was in the band , I honestly thought the band might had made up.. I'm sure it is divided, some know axl is alone, some know about cd, some know gnr has been working on something for a really long time.. Either way after this current tour if axl plays all those shows everyone will know... I think the vr tour helped all around gnr fans know the facts better,.,.. VR did some good keeping the name out there for axl...

When I see big bands of my youth who I loved that I lost track of and they come into town I would got see them but pressuem the guys I remember were there.. I am sure there are many people that said cool gnfnr are playing I am there..

i think people is more open for new gnr... which, i think, is VERY good!

Actually, Ireland and Britain are pretty much the same - very little mention. There have been no billboard advertisements up around Dublin for GnR, although it was advertised on the radio quite a bit.

In Germany people do know that Slash left and Axl is the only original member remaining. There were many articles when VR released their first album, even in "serious" magazines. I haven't noticed a lot about the latest events though. MTV mentioned just the Axl-Scott-thing in their teletext, nothing about leaks and concerts.
From what I've read so far on german fan sites/ message boards I noticed that many German fans are very happy with the current situation in GNR or even prefer one of the new guitar players to Slash. Personally, I like the new band, too, but still think that GNR will always be related to Slash, Duff, etc, no matter how successfull CD will be.

Most of the haters on this forum are americans.

Ok, I didn't know we were talking about the general French music listeners.





/jarmo

i`m planning on going to belgium with a friend of mine who never used to be that much into gnr....

i asked him to come with me and told him the bands that are playing (graspop, saturday) and he was like: " gnr?? i thought they broke up?!" i told him then about the recent gnr situation and he was still more then happy to see gnr and said that axl rose is enough......

i don`t know if europeans are more open to a slash-less gnr in general....(i`m speaking about germany by the way...), but all the people i showed the leaked tracks to (various people from 16 to 30 years old) were pleased with what he heard....  of course there are people who said that the new gnr record would be better with slash, but after those listened to the demos as wel,l all doubts vanished...

Man, everyone just hates us yanks! haha kidding.  That doesn't surprise me much though, we are a very jaded society.  Moreso then any other country I've ever been too.  Oh well, thats what makes us the US ;)   : ok:

it's a mear observation. A lot of people hate the french too. I guess that's what makes the US and the French so alike.

I doubt it, Slash is loved round the UK. Its probz cause he is from stoke on trent lol.

I don't think America would care too much about a Slash-less GNR if Axl just made an announcement about when Slash left, why he left specifically, who his replacement is, blah blah blah.  Couldn't hurt to do that.
For me personally Axl is the one really entertaining you though in terms of a visual performance.  Slash is amazingly talented, but replaceable in terms of playing - there are other sick guitarists out there, as evidenced by the current guys and BH and all the other axe men who tried out for GNR.

There are a ton of people that I know going up to Download that don't not give a shit about the other guys being there...But they don't really care either.

I'd say that they're just more interested in what GN'R is like these days.

It's more of an acceptance than an embrace, and I feel that anybody who does spout all the Slash bollocks usually tend to not be fans.

I played the leaks for 2 people I know that are huge metal fans, and they really digged it.

They'll both be up at Download, and they feel that Axl is definatly a big enough draw on his own to make it worth seeing.

when i tell my school m8s gn'r will be playing they are under the impression its Slash Duff etc. I have to tell them it isnt. Anyway, I dont care if Slash aint GN'R, the leaks and majority of new live songs are excellent with exception of silkworms, but i think GN'R are the best band out there atm judging by the leaks and the live new songs.

Yeh thats exactly it. Everyone here across the pond in England and UK thought Slash was still in the band when the 02 tour came round (that is if anyone actually knew about the 02 tour) and then in 2003/4 when VR made it big and people saw Slash and Duff with VR (At download, Live 8 etc) they knew that Slash & Duff were no longer in GNR and they just thought GNR were defunct.

Yeah, in Finland there is a TV-commercial (Hartwall Arena show) including parts of Live And Let Die video, and there's no mention about the current line-up or anything. Bad bad bad.

People know bought tickets know.

Btw, the first show is just a few months away...they should mention who is currently in the band! WHO IS THE THIRD GUITAR PLAYER!!!!!!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR  :rant:

To whoever thought Slash was unknown in europe: Slash was recently voted the best international guitarplayer on finnish radio channel Radio City and thus became one of the first inductees into the Radio City Hall Of Fame. The other was Alexi Wildhild  Laiho from Children Of Bodom, who was voted best domestic (finnish) guitarplayer. And most of us finns know perfectly well that Axl is the only original member of Guns N' Roses and that Slash is in Velvet Revolver. In Fact, VR has already played two concerts here, one was an arena show and the other at Ruisrock summer festival in Turku. Both sold very well.

do you really think anyone thought that?

surely that would be false advertising?

i think the fans in europe know that slash isnt in gnr anymore, at least the people buying the tickets. But europe is a great gnr crowd andim very happy with the way arenas are being sold out around here  :peace:

this is a very interesting topic. I think that, instead of being a question of ''continents'', it's mostly a question of age.

I think older people is more open to a Slash-less GNR than younger people

WOW! :o :o This is starting to smell more like 2002 the closer we get to these shows. Axl has got to get some pics taken of the new band if he wants them to be taken seriously. How hard is it to take a few pictures?

   Seriously James, you are so dead-on with this post.  Familiarity is huge.  The band as a whole has to get its word out there.  Axl has a bad habit of carrying very heavy crosses around on his back.  In the States he gets blasted left and right, hell, even on this GNR fan board.  If the rest of the band wasn't muzzled (I can't prove they are, but damn we don't hear much from them) the public could get to know them, and the band could help fight the nay-sayers.  I think Axl may be protecting the new guys.  Just my take on it.  :)  Let's get this fuckin thing started well before Lisbon!!!!!!!!!!!!!     :beer:  :beer:  :beer:  :beer:  :beer:     

This band has been together, in some form, since 1998?  No later than 2001 or 2002...and not a single promo picture?

Yeah, that is pretty lame.  At the very least they could have compiled some video promo thing from shows they did in 2002 at least.  If they try to pull that in the states (which I know they wouldn't but still....) you'd have law suits for false advertising!!    :hihi:   I don't get this marketing strategy at all.

I think this is the main reason behind the "Where's Slash?" chants, and why some people all over the globe still think original GNR is together. Axl uses pics from the 80's and early 90's to promote new GNR. That is insane. How can your band ever have an identity? How can Robin ever feel comfortable on stage? Everyone looking at him is wondering who the fuck he is. Same with Tommy. He had to fill some big shoes himself(and does it quite well) but people are expecting Duff. It must be awkward for these guys. Richard kinda looks like Izzy, so they probably think thats who he is. :hihi: This band will never conquer the "hired guns" stigma until Axl decides to take them seriously.

I hate to say it again, but this really reeks of 2002.

what the fuck is a velvet revolver anyway? :hihi:

Its a penis wrapped in a special texturized  condom. 
Plus it sounds similar enough to Guns n' Roses to make people notice its two of the same origional members and one of the additional musicians.   

As far as the promo pics,

the band hasn't been in the same place since MSG '02 according to dizzy.   Axl capitalizes on multitrack recording to save money I guess.