Here Today... Gone To Hell!

During his recent trip to Japan, Richard was interviewed by some Japanese guitar magazines.

Guitar magazine, June issue.
There's some nice pictures here http://guitar.digimart.net/2008/05/post_142.html (http://guitar.digimart.net/2008/05/post_142.html) (scroll down a bit)

There's also some Richard stuff in Total Guitar's June issue.


Hopefully suntorytime will be able to give us a quick translation of what was said.  :)




/jarmo

This is mad. he talks about cd gnr and his guitars. a lot!


the interview @ the guitar magazine on line

---Firstly asked if cd is finished 

Richard answers in affirmative adding that it's been ready for a while.

and he had good news on the previous day (the interview was done on the 29th march) regarding the management
at last the new management is decided on. things seem to be moving pretty good way.
till then they couldn't come to terms with the label so that they couldn't see the release in sight. Now with the management being set, the release in this year is finally likely.
he's so excited.

---asked what role each guitarist plays in the guitar triplet,

He says he and Robin make the bases of guitar parts and ron fills in on them. Ron's role (in the triplet) is like BHs in the past.
He and Robin have played together for long pulling out each others quality splendidly he believes. the three of them have respective styles of playing they are good at and axl knows it well and gives them suggestions like 'you try your solo for this bit'
that way no ego clash is involved but the trio are unified in a fashion that brings out the best in each others.

---To the question "overall what kind of album would you say it is? and what period of gnr do you think this is close to?"

He replies that
It's totally different from any previous album of GNR or of other bands. Very heterogeneous one for sure. he honestly still can't hear it objectively enough to describe it properly but he thinks it's an album you either love or hate. hardly a 'so so' comment will come out in his opinion. It's that extreme or excessive album. he loves it and is proud of it.

Furthermore, the release of this album is to be quickly followed by the next one. the songs are more than ready enough that he can promise  that it won?t be like after ten years since the first one.

---About the equipment he used for the album,

too many to name all. he mainly used vintage Marshall. besides that, being a huge fan of divided by 13 amplifiers he used it pretty heavily in the studio. Or old Gibson tweed amp and for solos, another old fender super champ. Hiwatt or vox?quite a lot were brought in.
The same is true with guitars. he tried all kinds of guitar. Not just les paul.  telecaster, jazzmaster, silvertone and so forth.
and when it comes to pedals, they were just, beyond number.


---Asked about the accessories around the control of the les paul custom he took for the x japan shows.

His custom has to have an on/off switch on its tone knob. By pushing it he can play switching. there're also Master volume and master tone.

The one with him is a reissue of 68 model les paul custom. he digs it and has three of them. he thinks it shame that they don't make it anymore. he had the pickup changed for Tom Holmes. Tom Holmes pickups are excellent.
Most of his guitars have the pickups replaced with either tom Holmes or Jason rollers.

---To fans looking forward to seeing GNR in japan

He had great times last year and this time it's really beautiful particuraly in the cherry blossoms season. he can't wait for playing in japan again.


paraphrases. sorry about any odd bit.  :-*


yay gnr jarmo and everybody come to japan!!! lets do sakamori (drinkin party)  :beer:

Woow! Thanks for the translation suntorytime!  : ok:
This sounds really really good! Love or Hate album?? Im a bit sceard about that!
What if i end up hate it? haha.. yea, like thats gonne happen!  :beer:

I'm already loving it!  :love:

thanks for sharing.

I'll get the other article later.  Stay tuned. :peace:

For relaxing time, make it Suntory time.  :beer:

Great interview from Mr. Fortus. With all the silence going on up in here, one is inclined to think things could blow up at any minute. Fortus has always been underrated in my opinion and I love how he describes the way the triad plays together. Awesome stuff.

Nice interview.

Good on Richard! Interesting about the roles the guitarists play. Hard to pass judgement on when we don't know what it'll sound like on record, but judging from the live shows, Robin and Richard have amazing chemistry. And Ron fit in nicely as the tour progressed.

 :peace:

thanks for the info  : ok:

thanks for the heads up jarmo...and the translation suntorytime   : ok:

Awesome! Thanks guys!  :peace:

OMG

 :o

GUNS N' ROSES Unity Forever !!!!

excelent Interview... Thankz...

 :beer:

HBK *

So gnr members are actually allowed to talk about gnr? Wow! that's a surprise!
and as far as the album being released this year well I'll only believe it when it's in my cd player...

But still it's good to see that a gnr member is talking about the band he's in rather than talking about their silly side projects...

I put it into google translator..just click on the link and scroll down...its abit more revealing

http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fguitar.digimart.net%2F2008%2F05%2Fpost_142.html&sl=ja&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

he also says the other songs for the other albums are finished..

Which is what Baz has also said.

That there's more than one album worth of material.




/jarmo

Thanks alot Jarmo and suntorytime for providing the interview/translation.

The online translation is interesting also.. Thanks guns_n_motley

Overall this is probably one of the best GNR interviews that has come out.. No gossip and speculation - rather, its some interesting information about the album ITSELF

And based on what Richard has said, we can be sure the album is with the label now, and there's no reason why it won't come out this year.

Even cooler to hear it from a bandmember!
I wonder if GnR manegment are in talks with the lable about the other albums also..
or if its only the release of the first one...

Exactly, its great to hear someone in the band actually say it.

Regarding the management, I think at this point they would only be discussing the release of the first album.

But I think once the first album were to come out, then the rest of the albums should follow without great delay - as Richard said, it hopefully won't take 10 years for the next album, since the management would have negotiated a deal by then

That's an assumption made by you.

The album is finished, they're working on its release.


So technically, the release is up to the record company but it doesn't necessarily mean that they're in possession of the masters.




/jarmo

It's so true about the 'love-it-or-hate-it' statement. Either you're in love with the album or you're skeptical. There's not really an in-between.
Hopefully when it hits we'll turn those frowns upside down.  :P

If this interview, the new management, and the Dr. Pepper Campaign are any indication, this is going to be a very interesting year for Guns N' Roses. Just like Richard, "we're so excited".


Correct. But it's safe to say and a well founded assumption that the record executives like the material, as the band is in negotiations and have been done recording for some time now, right? To me that's encouraging. I mean, I like the material, but if everyone else does, then this chapter is closed.

Thanks guys for the  info. I wonder how many albums Gn'R still owes the label?

Im sure GNR and theyr managment are doing everything to not make the master come in hands of people who can "loose it"
So i hope they are still holding on to it.. But i guess there is alot of work going on when it comes to a major release like this..


Yeah.. thats the really "good news" about this interview.. and with GnR guitarists start appering in magazines and stuff.. really cool to let people who
dont know about them get to know them =)

Oh sorry, that wasn't my assumption, thats what I understood from the interview, but then again I might have misunderstood the translation, i thought it said "For quite some time now completed and already delivered" - that was from the google translation

ya, he does say it was completed and delivered in the google translated interview..

You could be right here ben

this is was the google translation says "Well, I can tell you that. もうだいぶ前に完成していて、レーベルにもすでに渡している状態だ。 For quite some time now completed and the labels are already being delivered"

but.. lol.. not easy to make "real" sence out of it, but it mentions "labels" and "delivered"
Guess we have to wait for suntorytime`s translation

Oh yeah, you understood it that way as well Nytunz?
But as you said also, it just could be the way the translation came out since the sentences are jumbled and possibly some words were mistranslated..

Anyway, whether the label actually has the album yet or not, this news is encouraging

Yeah...
or..  For quite some time now completed and the labels are already being delivered"  That they have started with delivering of lables..  :hihi:
I wonder if that is good buisness..  brand new label!!! 1.... 2.... 3... sold to the man in black sunglasses!

Good news what so ever! If its deliverd or not?? who cares.. thats not up to us.. im not like.. .worry about they loosing it or something..

It's something said in English translated into Japanese translated into English.

A few steps where things can get lost...




/jarmo

"Mellan Ting och Text" you find the truth...
thats for sure.. But whatever, a very interesting interview with Fortus. also nice to see that he is out there doing things!
Lets hope he and the Furs plays other countrys than Spain =)

Am I the only one sort of taken back by this comment?      "but he thinks it's an album you either love or hate. hardly a 'so so' comment will come out in his opinion."  This, to me, is pretty much an indicator that people looking forward to a 'GNR' record are gonig to be dissapointed.  I mean, I like the fact that Axl is taking a new creative approach, but the idea that it is going to be loved or hated doesn't sit well with me.  Any one care to comment?  Am I misinterpreting the translation? 

Like Axl himself said in 2006: "I'm trying to do something different. Some of the arrangements are kind of like Queen. Some people are going to say, 'It doesn't sound like Axl Rose, it doesn't sound like Guns n' Roses.'" He then smiles and adds, "But you'll like at least a few songs on there."



/jarmo

This is the exciting thing! I dont want a new appetite, i dont want new illusion records.. I want to see that GnR`s next move is.. Why do the same things
over and over again.. Its like a new Tool record. You know its gonne be alot different then the last record, but its still Tool...

The music from Guns n Roses from the last century was magnificent and i love it,but the music that is to come for this Centuryfrom them is going to be not only awesome , but a masterpiece because of all the time and effort put into it, plus the commitment by Axl to his art.
And for those that didnt love AFD usualy hate it, like my aunt lol  :rofl:

I wrote a small essay I never felt was good enough to publish, but one thing that I observed about GNR and music and the world as a whole is that lightning rarely strikes in the same place twice.

Star Wars was released in 1977 and it was arguably the most revolutionary film of all time. The original trilogy is regarded by many fans and critics as the greatest piece of storytelling in cinema history. Then the "new" trilogy was released, Episodes I-III, to mixed and usually negative reviews. They're still entertaining films but the films lost their grounding and there was too much (poorly done) CGI and character relationships took a backseat to action and flash. Also the new films lacked the pseudo-B-movie look that made trilogy so fun to watch. The original series had an interesting setting with memorable characters and a compelling story while the later series was too familiar and ironic. Film Aficionados will remember how star Wars was seen by the studios as destined to fail which only pushed Lucas and the rest of the crew to make the best product that they could. The shortsighted movie studio couldn't see the good in the project but only the bottom line and the amount of money that the project was going over-budget.

Fast forward to 2003 and Lord of the Rings: Return of the King has just swept the 76th Academy Awards. The film is now regarded on the same level (and by some better) than the original Star Wars trilogy. Similar to Lucas' groundbreaking franchise, Rings mastered character relationships and heartfelt storytelling, an interesting atmosphere and setting, while pushing the limits of computer-generated imagery farther than ever seen before.

Just because the band members that are bringing you Chinese Democracy are different than the ones that brought you Appetite for Destruction, doesn't mean that it's going to be horrible. Could Episodes I-III of Star Wars been just as revolutionary as the original trilogy? It's possible, but highly unlikely, because people get stale and uninspired. The original Guns experienced this, they got to the top and got lazy and uninspired. Everyone who heard about Lucas making three more films in 1994 were overjoyed. They couldn't wait to see the films, but today are they as enthusiastic? Probably not.

Like others have said, this isn't the same band as before and the record this band is putting out isn't Appetite, Lies, or the Illusions, but the band is still Guns N' Roses. Both Star Wars and Lord of the Rings share many common themes: the concern for justice, the question of the supernatural, the love of nature, and the sentiment that no matter how tyrannical something becomes or how advanced their technology, it is no match for the power of the human spirit. Both bands are dirty, fun, fast paced, pure and hardcore rock n' roll. While the old Guns is like Star Wars that they were young, fast and spontaneous while the new Guns is like Rings, more dark, mature, and fully-realized. Fans will like one over the other, but a critic and objective observer look will realize the strengths of both bands.

The point of this summation is that there always will be those who don't believe, those who look at petty things like finances, and those who refuse to embrace things because they'd have to admit they were wrong. As long as the record is genuine and Axl and the band pours themselves into it like we think, there is no doubt that the record will be a success.

Maybe I'm right, maybe I'm wrong, but I'm willing to take a chance.  :peace:

ok this part im sorry, but there is tons of fans that constantly unload money and are axiously waiting for the next movie and tv series. You will see them again waiting outside theaters again. and they buy books, games, and aciton figures. They are as exited in star wars since the day the first watched epside 4.

But very nice read, and you got some important points of view across,  agree on most 

Futher proof we need Robin.  Nice interview Richard.  Now if you'd just walk down the street and collect him, we can be ready to go.

Likin the interview, but will anything actually come of it?  We've had countless interviews just like this one and NOTHING ever happens.  Here's to hoping! :beer:

Not really.  Listening to the leaks, the metalheads and blues rock "purists" who are expecting another AFD probably won't like it

People who liked the more progressive route the UYI's took will enjoy it.  The new songs are a lot moodier, modern sounding and more complex than the stuff on AFD so people hoping for that sound probably won't like it as much.

Some of my friends who don't really like the old GnR and are more into stuff like Tool and Muse have been impressed with the new songs, but there's no doubt that some people fiending for the balls to the wall blues rock of AFD won't like it

Jarmo,
I actually thought about that quote you referenced prior to having written my initial comment.  I wonder if any of the leaks fit into the 'atleast a few songs on there that you are going to like" category. 

Yes. At least according to Axl in 2006. He said Better, TWAT and The Blues were amongst his favorites on the record.

We can't really assume the musical extent of all the material at this point since we've only heard a few songs from what is possibly 30 or 40 songs if not more, based on the 'multiple album' possibility. What we've heard so far though does have a consistent Guns N Roses sound to it, although more updated and progressive also. Who knows what the rest of it sounds like though..

even if this album is going to be different (like the illusion records were different to afd)... in my opinion it has always been this way: people either loved or hated gnr and axl. it's not too unusual that great artists polarize and still (or because of that) become very successfull. only problem: more than ever, major radio stations (and music television channels) tend to only play artists that are liked by almost everybody. that's why you get all this more of the same, top-down constructed stuff that's been going on for years now.

If it's going to be another Appetite, Lies or Illusions, I ain't buying it because I have those already  :peace:

Arigatou for translation suntorytime  : ok:

so true. why do people want another gnr album that is artistically stuck in the 80's or early 90's? i never understood that. eventhough the new gnr is different, the tracks that leaked - for my ears - sound like gnr songs (just listen to "better"). it's classic axl (in terms of voice, songwriting etc.) going in some new and exciting directions. it's not like axl's doing operas or country music now (you still have these big epics and hard rocking songs that gnr were always about - just sounding more modern).

i'm sceptical about all those dudes, tellin that they played the new songs to old gnr fans that eventually didn't like them. have you ever thought about what you played to what kind of people (people that only wanted slash back?) in what kind of media or context? those were low-quality demos, highly compressed and not mixed, mastered etc. with the voice pretty much in the background. still, in my experience, people that took their time listening to those songs attentively, with (good) headphones while reading the lyrics, were fascinated by what they heard. especially the non-die-hards.

My bad while typing I left out the remarkable comments by mistake.  :-[
there are

"richard says
furthermore, the release of this album is to be quickly followed by the next one. the tracks are more than ready enough that he can swear that it won?t be like after ten years since the first one."

I insert this to the original post.

I skipped a few phrases I wasn't sure if I made sence of.
For example, bh parts thing. a literal translation would be ' ron's place is the part bh would do.'  meaning Ron's role in the trio is like that of BH in the past. Well  I think I sould have used the word 'role' instead of 'parts'.

Anyway! Thanks for deliver this great news to us suntorytime!
This is enough to make me more then happy! The future looks great when they finally make the release! Haha.. if we
the next 5 years get more GNR stuff then thay have release from 1986 - 2007 that is crazy to think about

Now I can't wait for the release of a translation of another article. :P

Thanks suntorytime! :)

I think what he said about his guitar controls is the killswitch thing.

no bad. all fine. thanx.

you guys are all welcome!  :beer:

I gonna post the other interview now.

Thank you very much

'GNR's new album already completed----3 albums to be released separately!!!'

Here're excerptions from Richard interview in Young guitar june issue.
Please keep in mind that
like the last one this is a translation of another translation. Not Richard's actual words or what in print.
and sorry about any error typo.


It's a part of an article about x japan. the interview took place on the 29th of march before the 2nd show.
the first half of the interview is about x japan and then, the interviewer goes
 

---I'd like to hear about your own activities as well.

Richard tells them that besides GNR, he is in the middle of song writing for his own project with a certain singer right now. And goes 'Hopefully we'll be finished with recording it by the time GNR album is released ---in a short time.'

---you have all the time in the world don't you?

Richard denies this and says
GNR had the recordings for three albums done while ago. Only, there is still some disagreement about the release with the label.

---for three albums?

Richard gives a positive reply and notes that several songs might still need the details fixed. but three albums' worth of material is already recorded. and  the three will be released separately.

---could you tell me about this new GNR album, the content and such, as far as possible?

Richard thinks it sounds classic but at the same time, it's timeless. the listeners that hear it will either love or hate it. the contents have an impact as much. Regardless of what people may think, he's very proud of the new album.

---Are you involved in writing?

About the album to be released first, the materials were mostly done by the time he joined.
although he plays on every song in there.
the succeeding album will include a few songs he wrote.

---What do you think Axl was looking to you for when he called you to the band?

Axl is excellent at bring out peoples talents. He can tell what sort of musician each of them is and who is best for what.
And he knows as how these different qualities of the members make the album more unique.

---GNR have three guitarists, who are Richard robin and Ron. Where do you see the difference in character among the three?

Robin is an incredibly soulful guitarist. And Energetic which is so to speak a very personification of GNR sound. Slash too was this kind of guitarist that in this sense robin might be filling slash role. As for Richard himself,
he talked with Izzy as he joined with GNR at many shows during recent GNR tour to know as how their backgrounds are similar, which he thinks might have been one of the reasons Axl picked him ...then again he doesn't think either he or Robin is merely a fill-in. He knows Axl didn't take them just for that.
And Ron, like bucket formerly, has an unusual musical background and style and is the new piece vital for new GNR.


---Can we expect a new release from GNR this year?

Richard replies that
he can't say anything concrete?.. but he thinks an announcement about the release is close. Provided that the dispute with the label about how to release the album is settled.  He bets once released it will be being closely followed by another one.

Thankz friend Gunner.

 :beer:

HBK *

Crossing my fingers for 'Catcher In The Rye' and 'This I Love' being on the first record.  :smoking:

Thanks alot for the translation...
This sounds goood! : ok:

Some pictures to look at:

(http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/pics/2008/4tus/4tus_LP_young_guitar.jpg)

(http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/pics/2008/4tus/4tus_japan_mar08.jpg)

(http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/pics/2008/4tus/4tus_young_guitar.jpg)


Very special thanks to the magazine buyer for the scans.  : ok:






/jarmo

Cool pics.Minus the scary one.
As much as i hate to be an asshole here, (naah actually i love it!) isnt it bit uncool to watermark photos that are just scans from a magazine?:o

Of course it is.  ::)

Just like it's uncool for others to take pictures that somebody has scanned for this board and post them elsewhere while leeching our bandwidth.

The watermark is there to show who's hosting the pictures. It's not a copyright thing. I assumed you knew the difference.





/jarmo

cool pics, thanks for posting.

damn mutherfucker's got some ink done :)

thanks for the pics jarmo

he has the sun on his chest. Cool pics thanks jarmo. : ok:

I enjoyed reading his view on each guitarist. Great 3 Rs!

Some fans have viewed the team along similar lines.