IZZY SPEAKS: gives brief statement on his absence from the current GNR tours

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/izzy-stradlin-talks-skipping-guns-n-roses-reunion-w520831

Original Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin discussed why he opted out of the band's ongoing reunion tour in a short statement to The Wall Street Journal.

"The current GnR tour has been a great success for the guys," Stradlin said. "My non-participation was simply not being able to reach a happy middle ground through the negotiation process. That's life, sometimes things don't work out."

In 2016, the bulk of the classic Guns N' Roses lineup – singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan – reunited at Coachella then embarked on the fittingly-titled "Not In This Lifetime" tour a year later. While original drummer Steven Adler made sporadic cameos throughout the trek, the characteristically reclusive Stradlin has been absent from the outset.

After the reunion was announced, Stradlin launched a Twitter account to communicate with fans, though hasn't used it much in the years since. At the time, he spoke briefly with Rolling Stone about his lack of involvement, saying, "There was just so much speculation going on regarding my involvement and studio recording. There's so much misinformation, so I wanted to clarify that I'm not in the studio recording with any of the Guns N' Roses guys. At this point in time, I'm not involved in the actual shows ... A lot of stuff [fans] are reading isn't true."

Several months later, Stradlin offered his most blunt explanation for not joining the reunion after Rose addressed his absence during an interview with Brazil's Globo TV. Rose suggested Stradlin had been indecisive about joining the tour – "It's like you could have a conversation and think it's one way and the next day it's another way" – to which Straldin replied in a since-deleted tweet, "Bullshit. They didn't want to split the loot equally. Simple as that. Moving right along."

Guns N' Roses' "In This Lifetime" tour will continue with a European trek this summer and concerts in Asia scheduled for the fall. On June 29th, the band will reissue their seminal debut album, Appetite for Destruction, as a massive box set pack with previously unreleased material.