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Guns N' Roses' DJ Ashba Says Neil Diamond Is a 'Believer' In Him

Mar 14th 2011

Neil Diamond will be rightfully welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at a special dinner in New York City tonight. Turns out, though, Diamond's considerable reach goes even further than most people realized -- like all the way to Guns N' Roses. Current GN'R guitarist DJ Ashba tells Spinner that when he got the call to join Axl and co., Diamond reached out to him to give his blessing.

"When I joined Guns he was actually the first person to call me and say, 'Hey, this is a really, really good thing to do,'" Ashba tells Spinner. "He's almost kind of been a father figure to me, which is really cool. He bought me a ukulele and signed it when I joined Guns as, like, a gift. He's just been beyond amazing; I'm thankful he's a part of my life."

Ashba got to say thank you to Diamond recently, too, when he serenaded the icon at his 70th birthday bash.

"It was just such a fabulous party," he says. "I showed up to play the national anthem for him, and went into, from that, a little version of 'Sweet Caroline' to 'Happy Birthday' on the guitar for him -- we brought out a full guitar rig, and it's loud as s---; we're laughing, we were kind of almost hoping the cops would show up because it would make a funny story."

It appears the guitarist was also a tad starstruck.

"When I was at his house, there are planes that are writing, 'Happy birthday, Neil Diamond' in the sky, and I looked over and he had the biggest, proudest smile on his face, and all his family was there. It was like, 'Holy s---, I'm at Neil Diamond's house.'"

While Ashba would have jumped on the Guns N' Roses gig even without Diamond's encouragement, he admits that he wasn't really sure what lay ahead when he joined the infamous rockers -- especially when it came to his new bandmates.

"I didn't know what to expect, really," says Ashba of Rose, in particular.

"All I heard was different things from different people, and I met him like 10 years ago when Sharon Osbourne introduced me to him. They were in doing 'Chinese [Democracy]' and I was doing the Beautiful Creatures album right next door. He was the nicest guy. [But] you hear all the rumors, you see what you see."

And Ashba insists that what he's personally seen of Rose isn't at all in line with the drama depicted in the media.

"I was shocked mostly because he is quite the opposite of what you hear. He is one of the best friends I've ever had, we talk every single day. And he is the funniest guy; the guy is funny as s--- and always cracking jokes. He's quite the opposite of what people I think want him to be, that ass----."

http://www.spinner.com/2011/03/14/guns-n-roses-dj-ashba-neil-diamond/

Very nice everyone loves a bit of Neil Diamond. Most people who`ve followed Axl for a while know he has a good sense of humour it`s a shame he doesn`t do a few more interviews it`s good to know they have a good friendship  : ok:

the fact that Axl doesn't do many interviews makes him  more interesting...How he pulled an "Eddie and the Cruisers" at the peak o' his career n' didn't rebut the stories that were making the rounds, in a weird way, just adds to his legacy.

I grew up with Neil Diamond as a kid listening to my parents music, however it came about, like it or not, he is not so much the first choice I may pick when I want to hear music, but his music is definately instilled in my brainer and I have no regrets, he is an awesome musician and deserves much credit indeed, but when it comes down to it, it is hard to fathom the association between Neil and DJ, who would of thought the two would be associated, but I realize music is music and when you are a musician, it is obvious you share common ground with so many other artists regardless of the kind of music you are known for making.  Good to know how much they inspire and appreciate each other.

Awesome!  Neil Diamond's songs kick ass...maybe some of the younger folks here haven't heard some of Neil's songs:
Song Song Blue
Cracklin' Rosie
Sweet Caroline
America
I Am I Said
Forever in Blue Jeans
...and those are just some of the big hits.
dude's a legend!   :beer:

DJ was right to be a tad starstruck!!   :yes:

btw, can I just say how impressed I am with our GNR members?  From Tommy to Ron to DJ to Richard to Frank to Axl...they all just seem to be so damn respectful!  Many props to the band!
 :peace:

Funking agree with this, but the first is Song Sung Blue...  I should know, must have heard it at least 2 times a day for about 10 years.... Bit like my girl hearing GnR  : ok:

Yes, sorry for theat spelling!  You are "wight."  :)
btw, my fav. out of those is I am I said.