Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Here's a message my friend Laurent posted on his gnr fan page www.myspace.com/gnrfansaroundtheworld from Ron himself....

This letter comes after a site wanna go on strike if Chinese Democracy isn't released before 2007! Here's the letter _________________________________________________________
Ron here - this is not a statement on behalf of GnR, just speaking for myself, me to you. For whatever it's worth, I love you guys and appreciate all the support you guys have given the band. I haven't been in the band very long, but long enough to experience how great it is to have fans that care as much as you. Maybe it's too-little-too-late to let you know that, but that's how I feel, and it hasn't changed. From what I've seen, if ya give out info before it's 100% confirmed, and things don't happen as planned, it leads to people feeling betrayed, so info should only come at the final moment when all the piece are in place. That's not a GnR thing, it's everything, every business or band or anything else. If you're looking for daily or weekly updates on things that are in the works, it'll become a big mess for everyone. Meanwhile, we're touring :) It's been fucking great :) Since my first show with Guns in May, we've played nearly 70 shows, in 20 countries (if I counted right, at 3am after being up 30 hours... lol) The way I see it, for two-and-a-half hours each of those nights, it's our time to connect with each other - we get to say *fuck it* to everything else in life and enjoy ourselves - that's what it's about. It's not about business or setlists or critics or anything else - it's about saying FUCK IT and gettin' high off it from beginning to end and a long time after. Hope y'all have been enjoying it to the fullest. :) Life's too damn short to be upset about what you don't have - enjoy what you do have. Not trying to change anything by writing ya, not answering the questions you want answered, just letting ya know that your support hasn't gone unnoticed, and I just wanna say *thank you* to the moderators and members of your forum. For the years you've devoted to the band, and hopefully years to come... Thank you :) Ron

nice

Cool. Maybe his feelings will change after he waits for the album for 10 years, also :confused:

hhhmmm

Is he trying to say that every band waits till the last minute to announce their CD release dates?   Seriously?  Or an I just not reading it right?

He's saying that the band themselves can't say when CD will be released yet and that is why we don't know.  '06 is done.  I've accepted this.  Hope we hear something in the next few months.

Thanks EFISH for finding this.

He is saying in gnr its bad to give out what  they might do because its ever changing.

yet another hoax perhaps ?
is it authenic ?how do we know for sure ?
were did this come from.
the source ?
i ask myself why ?
but have to ask anyway.the source is from ?

Laurent, aka Montrealrocks.
Trust me, it isnt bullshit.
If you don't trust me, fine... but if you.....good.
Ron truly is a great guy.

ok that's more like it now.it just make's you wonder why now he is saying this.

ok ok i believe you.just thinking that's all.

yeah, right, this guy laurent come up in gnronline.it saying this:

"Here's the email I received from my friend Ron, he wants me to send it to you.
I'm sorry, I hope it works, cause I don't speak Italian.

I would like if somebody would manage to post that as a topic please.  I don't know how!

HERE'S THE LETTER I GOT FOR YOU:"

followed by the statement...

How does that make it fake?
Beleive what you want............

no, I believe him. I'm just sayin' that he just refer to that community. this to do things clearer...

this is the link where this come from: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=103339802

Looks like Ron might be playing a little good cop/ bad cop right now. Seems he is trying to build some good will inlue of the impending press release from Merck we will get giving the newest excuse as to why we aren't going to see an album this year. At least they are finally getting wise to the fact there will most likely be a decent backlash once 2006 passes, and are doing a sort of pre-emptive strike with Ron trying to build some good will before the bad news comes.

You can't fault that statement; it expresses some of the same frustration yet preaches tolerance for what is to come. I think Ron is a good diplomat, much more effective than Mr. Mercuriadis

Good find, thanks for passing this along to us.


So damn true!!! Why cant others see it that way! I think Ron is one of the best additions to the family, because he is down to earth , cares about the fans, and likes to communicate.

and that we need is comunication.

hey is there a way you can ask W. Axl Rose himself when CHINESE DEMOCRACY is coming out? I know that i'm not the only one whos thought of this but has any one tried it latly? has any one been successful? ? ???

no idea how to do that.

Yeah, Ill give him a call after the show tonight.

 ;D j/k but seriously.... asking the man himself won't acomplish anything but any fan that does it does have balls!

Axl himself was the one who gave the info.? The man in charge knows best when to give any info.? We will have the album before the end of 2006.? If the album does not arrive, people will not feel betrayed.? They will be betrayed.? There have been many opportunities to rescind the release statement.

why what do you think Axl would do?

I would ask if I ran into him.  :D

Just depends on the situation brotha. I mean, if you see him after a show or something and randomly asked about Chinese Democracy, he's probably say "itll be out soon"..... he wouldnt say anything more than that, I dont think.

Not really. They can't make that announcement during a tour when they are trying to maximize ticket sales. Can you imagine if they had told everyone in September/October there was a 100% guarantee CD was not coming out this year. People would not have been nearly as enthusiastic about the tour, and the press would have most likely jumped all over it making the negativity worse. By not rescinding the statement and allowing fans to think this could really be the year, they have saved the tour from becoming a potential problem, as well as maximizing their bottom line. At the end of the day those were the main objectives of the tour, as it is pretty clear this as not in support of any new material.

You are absolutely correct.  It makes perfect sense from a financial perspective.  100% agreed.  Would that make Axl any less of a fraud if such were the case?  If this is the case, then Axl is in it only for the money.

Now keep in mind that "if" in fact the statement really is from Ron, then he neither confimed nor denied the 2006 release with this statement.  He more or less said that he sympathises with the fans.  This does not constitute an "official cancellation of Chinese Democracy's release for 2006" statement from the band.

Until such an official statement comes from Axl or Merck, or the official website, the release is still officially set for 2006.  Dare I say its much too late in the day for such a statement?  If such a statement is forthcoming, it had better be a damn good reason that does not have anything to do with any firemarshalls.  GNR is still on the hook for a 2006 release.  All indicators point to a Dec. 19th release. :beer:

Thanks for posting this.. Ron is a good guy and hopefully most people know by now that GNR plans change all the time, and for some reason they can't confirm things in advance for too long.

yeah i wont say 06 is done, even though i think it is, but i dont want to be that guy who gives up and then the album comes out and i feel like a dumbass....the bottom line is this has been the best year for GNR since 1993...that is a fact...that means this is the best year for all of us in 13 YEARS!!!!  I am very appreciative of that,and if i have to wait till 07 for the new album so be it

Efish i wouldn't doubt it one bit that probibly what he would say.



couldn't have said it better my self brotha, nice job : ok:

heres to a CHINESE DEMOCRACY eventually :beer:

Assuming it's authentic, I appreciate the sentiment. 

I'm not too sure about that. At least in 2002 we were told the truth about the album not being out soon.

The man sure does like his emoticons doesn't he? haha

are you kidding? so far this year GNR has played like what 70 shows?? leaked several demo's, and came out with all new merch, and an officical website and myspace that actually gets UPDATED....you are going to compare that to 1 shitty VMa performance and a half canceled tour?

You're missing the point.

2006 is the better year since 1993 as far as touring is concerned, but it's also the most disappointing one regarding the album's release date.

The web site and other stuff that you mentioned was nice, but in the end they served to get people's hopes higher for something that didn't happen.

So do we know if this is real yet?

That sounds great.

thats my favorite line in the whole thing..   and once people have experienced the show themselves, its hard to feel otherwise.

Yeah, the energy they have onstage is amazing. If you've seen them live, you have to admit they really are enjoying what they are doing right now.. and that's the most important thing IMO.

nobody beyond a portion of us internet nerds even care that they are touring w/o the album yet.   people just want to see a kickass rock show, and this band delivers 110%.      I'll go see them any chance I get.  :peace:

I just hope I get that chance again next summer. But Prostitute and Sorry on the setlist wouldn't kill me either I think :hihi:

I hope and think that the letter is for real but wtf is this:

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=103339802&blogID=200843368&MyToken=4b91e729-8cd1-4b62-a89b-bb7933f8fb93

I never heard of that interview, is that for real?

Axls comment is real, but the interview is not. Pieced together from the Trunk thing in may.

It's bullshit.

Ron Thal is the best thing that could have happened to this band. He actually gives a shit about the fans. Beats the hell out of freakish (albeit mega talented) robots who only communicate through fucking hand puppets any day.

Kudos, Ax. Keep Ron.

Ok so the statement is from may and is way miss quoted? Thats not the words he used at all.

Anyway, not suprised its bullshit, thanks for telling me.

Ron comment seems to mean that they wouldn't have said that it would be out this year if they didn't mean it. At least I hope so...  :-\

We know they meant it, but that doesn't mean, like Ron eludes to, that things always (never :P) go as planned.

He's basically telling us the record isn't coming out this year. But that most of us already knew weeks ago.

the message its true, the guy who received the mail first has sent that stuff to some guy of another forum, they confirmed it's true.

however, I'd like to know how management will explain the "13 tuesday" stuff if nothing will happen (and I'm not talkin about a dvd release or some australian tour..)... :confused:

They won't. It will just be one of those things. ..

If they offer an explanation we pretty much know what it will be: Due to unforseen events blah blah blah blah no details blah blah blah soon is the word

But if they for once should offer something decent, and I think they may, I'll be thrilled.

you guys think there will be an explanation for not realeasing CD in 2006? dream on

I guess you were not here in 2002...

I guess you were not here in 2006.

Some things have changed.

GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal has issued a response to the news that the Italian GUNS N' ROSES fan site Gnronline.it has gone "on strike" to protest the lack of official information regarding the band and its long-awaited album, "Chinese Democracy".

As previously reported, the Gnronline.it administrators are claming that GN'R management is playing favorites with the two big American fan sites, while other worldwide fan sites are being left in the dark despite their efforts over the course of the last ten years to support the group. The Gnronline.it web site is not being updated and the almost 3,000-user forum is not being moderated until January 1, 2007. After that day, the entire site will be closed.

In a message that was released yesterday (Dec. 11, 2006), Thal had the following to say:

"Ron here ? this is not a statement on behalf of GN'R, just speaking for myself, me to you.

"For whatever it's worth, I love you guys and appreciate all the support you guys have given the band. I haven't been in the band very long, but long enough to experience how great it is to have fans that care as much as you. Maybe it's too-little-too-late to let you know that, but that's how I feel, and it hasn't changed.

"From what I've seen, if ya give out info before it's 100% confirmed, and things don't happen as planned, it leads to people feeling betrayed, so info should only come at the final moment when all the piece are in place. That's not a GN'R thing, it's everything, every business or band or anything else.

"If you're looking for daily or weekly updates on things that are in the works, it'll become a big mess for everyone. Meanwhile, we're touring. It's been fucking great.

"Since my first show with GUNS in May, we've played nearly 70 shows, in 20 countries (if I counted right, at 3am after being up 30 hours... [***]) The way I see it, for two-and-a-half hours each of those nights, it's our time to connect with each other ? we get to say *fuck it* to everything else in life and enjoy ourselves ? that's what it's about. It's not about business or setlists or critics or anything else ? it's about saying FUCK IT and gettin' high off it from beginning to end and a long time after.

"Hope y'all have been enjoying it to the fullest. Life's too damn short to be upset about what you don't have ? enjoy what you do have.

"Not trying to change anything by writing ya, not answering the questions you want answered, just letting ya know that your support hasn't gone unnoticed, and I just wanna say *thank you* to the moderators and members of your forum. For the years you've devoted to the band, and hopefully years to come..."

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=63653

This is kinda odd, considering HTGTH (the fansite most supported by management) is a Swedish site.

was thinking that myself who is the other big 'american' site meant to be

Bullshit. The GNR thing was to create rumours from within the camp that Chinese Democracy would be released in 2006, to sell tickets for a cash-in tour. Information was given out, things didn't happen, and fans have already been betrayed.

It is nice, however, to see the protest didn't go unnoticed. We all need to follow their lead until we stop getting messed about.

Swedish? Why? :hihi:

Even though Jarmo is Finnish, the site is still in English. I think that's what they meant.

Also...



Let's be realistic here... I'll say the same thing I said on 2k: I'm not gonna speak for both websites, but one of them is obviously HTGTH, and if Jarmo "is clearly not able to run such advanced fansites", then I really don't know who is.

it's weird for a fan site to call time on a band.  I dont get why a website that is completely unofficial can give their main reason for ceasing to act as a website because a band "refuse to give any useful information".  why should they?  they certainly dont have to.

it's not GnR fault or problem that people have spent time and/or money over a period of years on a website - the sites are voluntary.  Do it for the love of the music, rather than anything else.


Nice to hear Ron responding - he's wicked bloke and a GREAT part of GnR.

Ron, the very newest member of the band and therefore the one you would think would have the least commitment to fans, is the one that makes the most effort to communicate and show appreciation. ?Anyone at GnR management taking notes?

Actually I would say just the opposite. He wants/needs to be accepted by the fan community, so therefore he keeps contact with the fanbase, in favor he just wants to be accepted as the "new family member".

What comes to the Fan s(h)ite shutting down due lack of "acknowledgement", is just ridiculouse. Since when have a band owed anything to FANSITES or any Fan-based action? If they did, then it just wouldn't be a "Fan" thing anymore?

While this is a fantastic gesture by Ron, and I applaud his efforts, it really amounts to little more than an early round of damage control.  Statements like this come out, and for the following 3 months, GNR fans are placated. 

Anyone who raises an objection to the fact that there's no CD will undoubtedly be met by posts that begin as follows: "At least Ron communicates, be happy that GNR are on tour", or some such associated phrase.
"But would you prefer we hear nothing?"  Actually, at this point, yes.  If it's not directly related to the record, or press for said record, I'd prefer to hear nothing at all.  Work out whatever hundreds of factors are preventing this release, and re-emerge when it's time.

that's a fair point.

It's simply his nature...He's always had an open dialog with his fanbase

Technically, since this is the Internet, HTGTH is an english speaking site. There are no borders on the net, only language.

Obviously that statement puts the nail in the coffin for a 2006 release (for those of you that still believed a 2006 release was possible.)

With two more Tuesdays in Merck's 13 Tuesday blurb, as Ron said, if all the pieces aren't in place.....we haven't heard the CD is coming out because all the pieces aren't in place, so.....no CD.
The idea of dropping the CD in stores with no adavance warning whatsoever is very rock'n'roll, but if you believe that the label would allow that to happen after all they've invested in this disc over the last ten years......

Do you guys remember when they released the Greatest Hits CD? There was tons of promotion for that, and that was just a compilation disc, when this band get's ready to drop new material, there will be no shortage of publicity and fanfare.

It's also a fair guess as to why we've not heard an official announcement that the CD won't be out this year.

I don't think GNR or management can release a statement saying the album won't be coming out without saying when it WILL be coming.
As Ron put it, you can't make a committment like that until you have the pieces in place, or you will get the kind of reaction we will see when Jan. 1 arrives and people finally have to accept that there will be no CD in '06, despite Merck's assurances.

Having said all that, I am still fully behind this band, and whenever the CD drops I'll be lined up to buy it.
You know, there could be a real positive to this whole thing.

I really believe that Axl is very much a perfectionist, and I believe he had some concerns about how this album would be received.

I think the reaction to the leaks, and to the new tracks being played during the tours in '06, will help assure Axl that fans really like the new stuff, it'll be well received, and they can go ahead and get the album out there.

Im sure it'll be here soon enough  ;)

 Maybe he should tell that to Axl & Merck. Afterall, it's Merck's "13 Tuesdays" then "10 Tuesdays" comments and Axl's " Fall/Late Fall, Definately this year"? comments that got everyone all excited in the first place.

I've accepted the fact that the cd isn't coming out this year. I can't believe some people still think it will come out this year. :confused:? We might have a new VR cd before we get Chinese Democracy.

I just hope it comes out by summer. I'm still not buying any more new GnR merch until after the cd is out. I have plenty of GnR stuff, i can do just fine without more :)

Doesn't he usually sign off with 'bbf' and not 'Ron'?  :P

Trust me, that IS Ron.

The amout of ":)" used and the "*fuck it*" and "*thank you* in * * give it away. :hihi:

ron's comments are in a new rolling stone article online.  i started a thread about it, but of course here today gone hitler deleted it.  as im sure this post will too...

That article took something nice Ron was saying to his fans and made him look bad. Good that they deleted it. Come to think of it, I'll delete it at my board too. Screw that author.