Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Being Axl Rose

 

Searching the web in 2005 Daryl Waller came across a forum called ?How to Find Axl Rose?. Amazed to see the amount of people posting messages searching and obsessing about Axl. He posted a message saying that he was the ?real Axl Rose? and could be emailed at axlrose01@hotmail.com: -

Dear fans and un-fans. I am getting tired of reading these things on-line all the time, so here is my email address for you all to write your questions to me. If it goes crazy then I'll just let it go over its limit and set up a new account. I can't say I will read everything; I'm very busy these days.
I hope to hear from you all soon.

Best Wishes,

Axl

Hundreds of emails poured into the mailbox in a matter of weeks sent from people from all over the world, and while some assumed (rightly) that the email address was phoney, they wrote anyway, just in case.

The messages ranged from the canny  ?If you really are Axl, what was the name of your new song?? to the downright psychotic ?Dear Axl, If you don?t reply to this I?m going to kill myself!? One girl wrote that she had been hiding in the bushes outside Axl?s house, stalking him, waiting for a glimpse of him at the petrol station, this girl later sends a harrowing letter as a Word document describing in depth a theory that hundreds of years ago Axl and herself were once one complete soul, a soul that she felt needed to be rejoined. After getting no response from Daryl throughout her final email is a vicious read where, ironically, she wishes it were Axl that had killed himself, and not Kurt Cobain.

You can see, that for some, Axl has made a really positive impact on their life, but there are also some really tormented souls out there who just cannot stop thinking about this man. Some emails had obviously taken hours to compose ? they were long, egocentric monologues giving their complete autobiography, sometimes writing to Axl as a psychoanalyst.

Daryl had a fascinating four months reading all the emails. He replied to the few who needed further encouragement or wanted me him ?prove? he was Axl. For this proof he used information about Axl that is widely available on the web, details of where he lives, what he eats, what he likes to do and where he grew up, etc.

After being was satisfied with the amount of emails he?d received he posted another message on the forum telling everyone that he wasn?t the real Axl Rose after all, and that he had posted the message as a social experiment and apologised for causing any distress or upset. He reassured everyone that wasn?t trying to ridicule anyone and that it was just an idea that needed to run its course. A few people wrote asking how the project went. They were interested in the results, or how he felt about messing with people feelings. Predictably, he also got some angry ranting. The most interesting though were the ones who went into complete denial. One girl wrote to him (Daryl) saying how annoyed and angry she was, then a few days later she wrote to him at the same address saying she believed that Daryl was still the real Axl pretending to be a guy named Daryl to stop the rest of the fans emailing him. She took Daryl?s confession as a message that Axl loved her and nobody else. After it all had died down, he edited the thousands of emails and compiled the best of them into a book.

Daryl finds the extremes sycophants are prepared to go to find their idols captivating. It reinforces a belief that when you are famous and a fan approaches you, they often want something from you. There are many other threads to this piece of work such as notions of the celebrity era we live in and where the boundaries of public vs. private life lie. But maybe the most interesting factor was the amount of pure faith and 'hope against hope' that people had, it is absolutely extraordinary. You could liken it to the search for, or the attempt to communicate with, God. Except in this case they knew for a fact that ?their? God, Axl, was real, alive, a recluse hiding out in his mansion in LA.

 

Mr Winter 2006

People are damn crazy. Axl did not kill himself like many other big stars, like Cobain or Morrison. He kind of fell between alive and dead for many years, laying low so to speak. This created a weird situation where some people acted like he was semi-dead and started a weird worship kind of thing but also the other issue were people didnt care anymore. If Axl had died at some point, it would have taken on its life on its own, like its been doing to Cobain for example.

It's all very interesting.

Daryl sounds like a fucking scumbag, exploiting people's feelings, using their words and PRIVATE correspondence to make money, and obtaining that correspondence under false pretenses, while impersonating someone else. What an asshole.

Now this is an interesting shit. 1st. I would never believe that this was real Axl. 2nd I suppose as a GN'R I would also write to Axl. And 3rd when if I had understood that this was not Axl as it happend, I would find Daryl and kill him!

I hope axl sues the mothefvcker.....

Well thats one side that he may have stepped over a line but hes rising some very very interesting issues about Axl Rose and his fans and non-fans.

Unless you are AXL ROSE (in this situation), you CAN'T play like this with human feelings and emotions!

Some people are fucking crazy and what is worse is that some of them are so obssessed that could be even dangerous or a threat to him. It must be hard to be Axl Rose and deal with all this.

Some of these people need the help of a psychiatrist :nervous:

Some fans will always cross the line. Just because their affection/adoration/obsession is misplaced doesn't mean they deserve to be cheated and exploited by some two-bit 'writer'.

This is just stupid. A "social experiment". Sure... I've never understood how people have/take the time to lie to people like this. Is it just because they CAN do it anonymously online? Do something useful instead.

I agree to some extent. ?But some people who wrote in this thread confirms what this guys is saying. ?sixstrings wrote he would kill him. ? :o ?Whil I would be angry if I was fooled like this, I would still not want to kill him. ?And can you imagine that girl who wrote him, who said she was stalking Axl Rose and that in a previous life she was one with Axl. ?Can you say psycho? ?I can't believe he didn't warn Axl about that girl. ?That is one of Darryl's wrong doing in my opinion. ?So he proves one point and we all shouldn't ignore that point. ?A day in the life of Axl Rose must be one the most crazy experiences ever. ?

Why, have we ever seen any evidence that Axl reads/receives his fan mail?

People who are mentally ill need help, not exploitation. 'Social experiment' my ass - sounds like the web equivalent of a prank call to me.

Well first of all.  Like I said.  I agree with you to some extent.  BUT!  Seriously.  Can you really tell me that had you seen this at the beginning.  A guy saying he's Axl Rose and has an email adress axlrose01@hotmail.com, can you really tell me you would've believed that load of crap?  Seriously.  While I agree that making a book about this is wrong.  And I do agree that people who are mentally ill need help, not exploitation.  That girl is STALKING Axl Rose.  STALKING!  So which is more wrong?  Daryl making people believe he's Axl Rose for a supposed social study(and I emphasize the word supposed) or this girl stalking a celebrity in this case Axl Rose?  First it's stalking then what?  And she writes that she and Axl were one soul in a previous life.  If I were Axl I'd want to know of that demented person stalking me so I could prevent any harm to myself or that woman. 

Hahaha, I said it metaphorically. Do you think that I can kill someone? Hahaha...Maybe beat his ass but killing him... :o

I think that is a brilliant idea for a book - I really enjoy "experiments" (things that start out as pranks and then turn into something much bigger that reveals something about humanity) along the lines of this one. I may buy it.

It's also fraud in anyway you look at it.  If this douchebag actually tries to sell this book, he'll get sued and probably spend a few cold winters cuddled up to Bubba in the big house.

I wouldn't have written this dude an email, because it's way too easy to see the bs in "Hi, it's Axl, here's my email!"  But for those who did, I feel a bit pissed. 

anyone who wrote to him actually thinking he was axl is a complete idiot and deserves to have their emails posted in a book. I for one would buy it.... come on people. If i made an email elvisisalive@hotmail.com and told people I was actually alive and people wrote me... i'd do it to... well i wouldn't but it would be funny. Did no one think of checking the addy's IP number before they wrote their life stories to 'axl'.... gimme a break

Elvis!  You're alive!  Thank god!  I knew it!  I'm writing you an email right now!   :o

i think it`s interesting how obsessed some people are with axl......  it`s a phenomenon. 

i mean fans are often obsessed (...idiots :hihi:), but axl is in some ways special i think. i`m definitely interested in those mails.

and well....  people who believe everything they read have to blame themselves :peace:

I still say that the woman who is stalking him should be reported.  And yes if people were dumb enough to believe this was really Axl then.....  they deserve what they get.  Now I'm going back to writing an email to Elvis.  Not only is he still alive but he comes HERE and is a fan of Guns N' Roses.  Who knew!   :hihi:

Or Maybe they didn't believe the wanker at all and played a joke on him with such bs mails?
No one can tell if all the letters are real. the writer might have made them up.

I didn't read the opening post after the second paragraph tho.

I think this is such a boring, unoriginal idea for a book. ?Put aside the fact that this guy committed fraud and will now profit from it in the guise of a "social experiment." ?I'm just not sure what the point is. ?Why did he choose Axl Rose? ?He could have chosen Madonna, or George Clooney, or any other celebrity with hard-core fans out there. ?Every celebrity is going to have die-hard fans, crazies, and haters.
The whole idea really pisses me off. ?I hope he doesn't find a publisher, and if he does, I hope Axl sues him.
And as for this being a "social experiment", that's just a term this guy is using to make himself sound like some a pseudo-intellectual. ?He's just another fan looking for a way to get Axl's attention. ?He probably fantasizes that Axl's going to contact him about this, and they'll develop a relationship of some kind. ?He's probably more obsessed with Axl than anyone.

I don't see the big deal. It may help people understand *why* others obsess over famous people.

  I have an Ex who is highly delusional when it comes to the band. She wouldn't even listen to a song by Velvet Revolver because she felt that it would be disloyal to Axl. She did a lot of things to make me think she was unstable, but her obsession with Guns n Roses was way over the top. She's a perfect example of someone who will buy into any load of crap that she reads. If Axl lived near her she would be the first one outside stalking him.

The majority of GNR fans are obsessive idiots like the people that e-mailed this guy.

Sad, but true.

 I don't get it. Why are people obsessive? Perhaps I'm just not one to get star struck, therefore I can't comprehend. I've met and talked to plenty of celebrities who I've liked. I even e-mail back and forth with some now. But I never felt anything all that different than when I talk to anybody else. I still tell them to shut the fuck up when they annoy me. Maybe if I was a giddy little school girl I would understand better.? :hihi:

I don't think it's about the celebrity themselves.  I think people feel so badly about their own lives that they get caught up in the whole celebrity obsession.  And I'm not talking about the truly delusional crazies... but the people who worship celebrities.  I think people get so excited about them because they think fame validates you, and it makes you chosen and special.  Also, I think when people meet other famous people, it makes them feel good about themselves, like "so-and-so took the time to talk to me.  I must be worthy."
I think who have healthy, fulfilling productive lives don't get caught up in all this mess.  If you're excited about what you're doing in your own life, I don't believe you'd get obsessive about someone else's.

The book is for sale now!

http://www.lulu.com/wintergallery
http://www.lulu.com/content/460624

 'Have you seen Axl Rose?' is a collection of emails sent to a fake Axl Rose address over a period of one year. This is a project of the London/Cornwall based artist Daryl Waller. 

Actually, what he did is no different to all the fake Axl MySpace pages...

:hihi: Don't buy the book, just go visit a random Axl MySpace page and read all the comments! Most likely it'll be no different...

I bought the book after reading about it on this forum and it turned up a few days ago. It a REALLY great read, very interesting... I read it in almost one sitting and strangely it reads like a normal book in a way, with a beginning, middle and end... the end it heartbreaking.
Someone has already written a small review of the book on the lulu website and summed it up for me:-

"This is a really original and unusual book. It explores notions of identity theft, our obsession with celebrity, and the way people use the internet to communicate with each other. Reading it is a completely funny/disturbing/interesting experience and I can totally recommend it".

This book is totally worth getting... and doesn't compare to the myspace fake pages... this has some drawings by the artist as well...

Wonderful stuff!

B.

You are the author aren't you?  :hihi:

You mean like this one here? - http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=96611678


 ???   :confused:

You can easily tell that they're real by the difference in writing style and the fact that nobody will bother writing 10 page long biographies and theories if they don't believe it's real.

And only reading 2 paragraphs in a thread makes it pretty stupid to answer, no?

i think that people are too hard on this guy.  i mean, he played w/ people's emotions?  come on...he didn't hurt anyone.  if you actually are that naive and/or obsessed that you would write an autobiography and send it to a celebrity, like he or she would actually give a shit, then something is off.  as for mental illness, it's sad that some fans will stalk axl or find other ways to obsess over him, but again how is that the author's fault?  i think it's an interesting idea for an experiment, that may hold up an uncomfortable mirror to all of us.  after all, in every fan there's a hint of "if i met ****, he/she would want to know more about me too".

While yes I think it is wrong to impersonate someone, I still think that letters such as th crazy girl give us more of an insight into the kind of life that Axl leaves and perhaps we could all have more of an understanding and restraint in our own personal actions toward him and members of the band.  Per haps now we can all respect his decision to be private for so many years and now give him the privacy he deserves.  We all wondered why he was so reclusive and for lack of a better adjective " a jerk" to people, now we know why.  He wasn't being a jerk he was being human.  His whole is lived out in the front page.  He deserves to have some part of it to himself and was just trying to regain that.  I remember awhile ago on this board there was a guy who toured all of the spots that GNR used to hang out at Rainbow room from "Novermber Rain", Roxy from "Etranged" and other spots and even included himself in front of Axl's house.  These people are real and a threat.  Perhaps now the world can see where he's coming from and give him the space he asks of us.  It's the least that we can do for someone who has worked so hard for so many years to give us "chinese democracy"

Nuckin futs.

I want to readddd it. =)

Incidentally we talked about the laws controlling this sort of thing in my psychology class.? It is actually perfectly legal to conduct an experiment involving people who don't know what you're doing as long as they do know what will be required of them and they're doing it voluntarily.? So as long as he didn't force them to write the emails its fine.? Its also fine to profit from that experiment, a lot of psychologists make a living doing this sort of thing.

The part where it gets complicated is that legally he has to have not only told them what was going on (which he did, wether they chose to believe it or not) and gotten their permission to use their letters.? I assume he did, if he had any kind of experience with sociology or psychology or anything he will have known to do it but I can't find anything explicitly saying so.

But either way I don't see anything that wrong with what he did.? Most these people don't tend to keep these things esspecially quiet and private, most the fans I've met who are obsessive to that degree will tell anyone and everyone about their obsession at every possible point, including seemingly embaressing and private details like how they believe they're destined to be with their chosen celebrity and they're convinced that the second he/she sees them they'll fall in love instantly.

If you want an example of a really fucked up psychological experiment check out the Stanford Prison Experiment or Milgrams Obidience Experiment.

Edit: Another way to look at it: Remember the address on the cover of Lies?  The one suggesting you can write to Axl with your problems?  That wasn't genuine, the letters would never reach Axl and it was there because people already did write to him with their problems.  Was Axl taking advantage of them as well?

Wasn't that the GN'R fan club?

The whole GN'R Lies cover art is making fun of tabloids..... So I guess they put their fan club info under the Can Axl Help You? headline to make fun of similar help sections in the papers.....




/jarmo

if somebody posts on the internet that they are axl rose and give a email address, and you seriously believe it is him, whatever happens to you, you deserve.

its the friggin internet! what do you expect.

Oh, maybe it was.  I was told it was a fake address and I didn't know they had a fan club.  Wouldn't be the first time I've gotten wrong info.

No, I'm not the author, I wish i'd thought of it though... i have plenty of time to think of things like that however, with the type of work I do.

I think Just_me has something there, Axl wants his personal freedom and most fans would cross the line if able... but when the fans get their personal freedom taken away because their emails are published then people don't like it.

Who sticks up for who?

i searched for this on Amazon UK, and nothing came up?
how did you guys get hold of it?

You can get it here...

http://www.lulu.com/wintergallery

interesting

just got this....and read the whole thing in less than a few hours.....freaked me out, to say the least!!!

it sucks being famous...and i wouldn't want to be in his shoes.....some weirdos out there....

what was the craziest thing that you saw in that book?

1...the fact that i recognized some names....people off the boards i post on.

2...that crazy bitch at the end...and her novel (a few of them) to Axl.....that was weird, scary, psychopatic, and downright sick!....i think she was that person who eventually got arrested or something? Not sure of the whole story, but didn't he have a stalker who was found in his garden by Fernando i think?

Anyway, that was odd, but just in general, people's messages were weird....about 70% were just straight, encouraging fan kind of letters....but a few went over the cukoos nest...if you know what i mean.

That's disturbing.  Um...no one named "freedom78" I hope. 

Oh, cmon, don't make us buy the damn book.

Give us the usernames...  ;D

no, there were mainly names and surnames, people were sending mails from their personal accounts, so unless freedom78 is the way you call yourself when you send an e-mail, you wouldn't be there....

i think it was a great concept for a book, people always talk about fans and their devotions and obsessions, but you never give it much attention until you see what they're really thinking about, in their private time....

i liked it....if it wasn't illegal, i'd scan a few and post it here....maybe mods can advise on a possibility to do that.

I don't really know.

I'll buy the book for the hell of it...

I guess it will be funny but some will also be scary...

Kinda like watching SCREAM...  ;D

its not a narrative book, other than the intro, which has been posted here on the first page, there's nothing else written in it by the author...its pretty much one e-mail per page, and its all screenshots from hotmail as well, not typed up either....

i guess they wanted the reader to join all the dots....

I've read all the gnr related books, and seen most of the documentaries on the band, and its all beginning to look and sound the same now, so i appreciate the author's effort to make this one slightly different....

its not Scream scary....more like American Psycho scary....