Here Today... Gone To Hell!

Tommy Stinson Interview

November 30th, 2011

It must be a relief not to have to answer the dreaded "When is 'Chinese Democracy' coming out?" question anymore.

Tommy Stinson: Yeah! It came out [in 2008]. And it [expletive] got thrown against the wall like an old plate of spaghetti. [laughs]

You don't think "Chinese Democracy" got a fair shake?

Tommy Stinson: Hell no. No record ever gets a real fair shake anyway. It's just one of those things that you live with.

Now everyone is probably asking when the next album is coming out.

Tommy Stinson: Everyone is asking me that question. I don't know. There's talk of doing some recording in the new year, getting some songs together. But that's just talk. Let's get through the tour and see where things end up.

After earning mythic status during its creation, "Chinese Democracy" came and went in the blink of an eye.

Stinson blames record company politics for its lack of promotion, "and I don't think Axl has gotten over that," the Minneapolis native says. He calls the debacle "dumbfounding," but says Axl may not be completely finished with the record. "I think in his head there's still some stuff left to be done," Stinson says. "If what he wants to do happens, it could drag it out for awhile. But we'll see what happens."

Looking ahead, Stinson says the hope is to write new songs next year and move forward with GNR, which is nominated for entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2012. There are songs left over from the "Chinese Democracy" sessions that are almost ready to go, he says, and could be polished up for potential release.

"Who knows, maybe there will be Chinese Democracy 2," Stinson says. "Who knows?"

http://www.cleveland.com/music/index.ssf/2011/11/guns_n_roses_headed_to_youngst.html
http://www.detnews.com/article/20111201/ENT04/112010320/Guns-N--Roses-frontman-Axl-Rose-keeps-fans-guessing

I can't even imagine -- after spending all that time creating this album, to see it released without promotion. :(

"If what he wants to do happens, it could drag it out for awhile."

I'm curious to know what he's talking about.

The Best Buy deal was a blessing and a curse. It got everyone the money they wanted to get it released but it gave the record company no incentive to promote it. They recouped their investment and washed their hands of it. That being said, you can't completely blame them. Axl wasted years working on it and then wouldn't come off his hill when it was finally ready to go.

I did find it disappointing at the time that after all those years of anticipation, the average person didn't even know it had come out. But we got some great music out of it.

It's one of the best true rock records from this decade period.
It just got handled wrong, And I think Merck didn't help a lot and so did Azoff and Gould.
Everyone just wanted that reunion when they didn't even see that Axl poured his heart and soul and blood into this project.

Can't speak for him but I think like said before by tommy and others that he feels powerfull about chidem and that there is still something to get out of. Let us see where it takes us... I mean this tour is actually going for 10 years now, the chinese democracy world tour.
and It should go into the records! and going out night after night 3 hours straight... No one does that! there is no other band that pulls that off. not with the energy these guys all put into it being on stage and blasting it all away night after night.

If you can't see what that means then your a fool. Guns N Roses is giving everything now, and they are loving it each night, Band seems f*cking tight, and they are showing a lot of fun on stage 2 so that's positive!

in 2001 we got glimpse of what was to come, and same goes with 2002. I don't hate those years I love the way they performed right then! and I love to see all the changes some songs underwent through these years!

Chinese democracy
Shackler's revenge
Better
Street of dreams
If the world
There was a time
Catcher in the rye
Rhiad and the bedoins?
Silkworms
Oh my god
Sorry
I.R.S
Prostitute
Madagascar
this I love
Scraped

and with all the extra stuff we've gotten since 2006 were in for a real treat in the future!
and with the signs of gnr been touring since 2009 and they are going none stop with a european tour coming in 2012... And signs that they are actualy heading into the studio or at least getting some old songs ready for release with maybe a bit of a tune up.. damn. I'm happy I was a gnr fan by 1999 and I still don't care that the record didn't come out then because this is the right time for gnr! and for their fans! and I hope they all see it and make it worth.

these are just my opinions but I'm in it for the long haul... GNR 2012! here we come!

I'd be curious to hear what Axl considers enough promotion.
Not many albums today get television ads. Never in my life have I witnessed an album as hyped up before it's release than Chinese Democracy.
It sold relatively well considering the circumstances.
It's not 1991 anymore. People aren't flocking to record stores like they were when the Illusions were released, and this isn't the lineup that created that buzz.
Call me crazy, but I'm satisfied with the 15 years, give or take they have spent on Chinese Democracy.

They appear to be having fun on stage, and in my opinion, seem like more of a gang than the Robin/Bucket era.
Those guys created some good tunes, but I'd like to hear what this lineup can do in the studio.

Compare it to what AC/DC got and the Guns promotion was shameful. Yes, it was hyped up, but that was long before a released date was made and only as a whipping tool by anybody wanting to score a cheap hit at something that would take a some time to happen, to the point of it being made to be some kinda impossible vision that wasn't gonna happen....

yea it sucks, i went to the local music store here and they had a nice little guns n roses display (probably on account of the upcoming southaven, ms concert)... anyway it featured every album except for chinese democracy.  my wife asked, 'hey where is the new one?'  i just said something like, 'oh they must have sold out of that one already'  :'(

Other than a couple of interviews way after the fact, and touring even later than that, it's not like the band did their part to promote the album, either. It's like all three party's (the label, the band, and Best Buy) who should have been independently doing their own promotion just considered it someone else's job and didn't do anything.

The AC/DC album got a bit of promotion from all party's involved with the project, which is why it looks like there was tons of it. In the UK for Chinese Democracy there were a few train station posters, and that's it. Classic Rock magazine made a bigger deal out of it than anyone who stood to make any money out of it.

+1, In Portugal there wasn't any promotion... cd dropped, cd sold...they just had the cd laying there and that's it. We had a huge promotion for Black Ice though. They did a whole section for AC/DC at Fnac. With all their records and dvds and obviously black ice

In Chile CERO Promotion

 :-\

I can see Axl maybe changing some stuff, adding a few new songs, maybe repackaging a bit and then ultimately a wide rerelease to all stores and retail markets...I know that most of those "best buy only" album deals eventually expire and then it can have free reign.